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Author’s Notes: Yes, here I go. I’m supposed to work on Duets, but once again, I can’t get this out of my head. I really need some motivation.
Domestic Partners
Sequel to Private Messages
Prologue
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“So you’re bisexual for sure?”
“I’m pretty sure. That’s what my therapist believes. But-” he paused, taking Shane’s hand in his own, “I’ve come to realize that doesn’t matter so much. It just means that there’s the chance I could fall in love with a man or a woman, except I can’t because I’m still in love with you. I always have been. I’m here to get you back.”
Shane eyed the floor again. “I love you too. Always, but-” he sighed and started pacing. “I’m seeing someone.”
“Wait, since when?”
“Cam, it’s been nine months. I thought you were done with me and that you’ve moved on, so I did too.”
Just then, the door opened. “Hey, babe. You started without me?" he asked glancing at the big screen. Who’s your company?” a tall man with smoky eyes and jet black hair asked as he kissed Shane’s cheek.
“Oh, Emmett, this is Cameron. I’ve told you about him before. Cam, this is Emmett. My boyfriend.”
Emmett thrust his hand out eagerly, not noticing the tension in the other man’s jaw. “Oh my God! You’re Cameron Elkins, the star of Shane’s new play.”“It’s not my play,” Shane protested.“You wrote the music. That’s still writing. You’re far too modest,” Emmett said, wrapping his arm around his boyfriend’s waist.Cameron felt the jealousy clench inside his chest. “He is too modest. The music is incredible. I knew it was his as soon as I heard it.”“So you’ve heard of him before?” Emmett asked, cocking his head sideways. “Yeah, didn’t he tell you that we were once together?” Cam blurted.“Worked together, babe. We w-worked together before,” Shane stammered. “I’m sure I told you about that.”“Oh yeah, I heard all about you, but I thought he was name dropping, you know, so he could get in my pants.”Shane blushed profusely. “Uh, babe. He doesn’t want to hear about that. Actually, he’s probably extremely busy. You know, with the show opening soon and all. He was just stopping by to tell me that Savannah and Whitney had the baby.”“So you know the mysterious Savannah. I’ve met Whitney, and I have to say she’s quite a character. You know what? I just got the best idea. Why don’t we go to Acoustics? It’s a little piano bar that Shane plays at sometimes. You two can catch up and I can get to chat with Broadway’s newest star. I’m a performer too.” Emmett smiled warmly.''I know of Acoustics, but I really can’t tonight,” Cam started.“See, he can’t, and besides we already had plans for movie night,” Shane interjected.“Yes, we did. But I forgot to pick up dinner. And besides, how often do I get to speak to a future Tony nominee?” Emmett asked excitedly, completely missing the hurt look spread across Shane’s face. “Wait, Shane, didn’t you tell him that you were once nominated for a Tony?” Cam asked, staring past Emmett and directly at his former boyfriend. “You were?” Emmett asked, clearly puzzled by the revelation about his current partner.“It was a collaborative effort, with Cameron here, when we, when we worked together,” Shane explained, glancing down at the floor, avoiding Cam’s stare.Cameron patted Shane’s shoulder. “Oh please, I wrote, like three lines. You were the musical genius behind the songs in Pip, Pip Hooray.”“Wait, a second! Shane, you never told me that,” Emmett puzzled.“I didn’t seem important,” Shane muttered. Emmett grinned. “So wait, what else isn’t Shane telling me? “I’m sure you have all kinds of stories to share about one another since you two worked together.”“And I can tell them to you, but Cam said he had to go, so let’s let him get back to-”“Actually, karaoke sounds great. Let’s do it,” Cam replied with a smirk.“Great,” Emmett replied.“Wait, but you said you had plans,” Shane said, shaking his head. Cam smiled knowingly. “I did, but things change, apparently,” Cam replied, staring directly in Shane's honey-toned eyes. “Ok, great, babe” Emmett said, kissing Shane’s cheek. “Yeah, great,” Shane sighed. “Are you seriously going to leave it there?” Blaine asked, sliding his foot playfully across Kurt’s ankle.“Yeah, why? Is it bad or something?” Kurt asked, his finger reluctant to hit the post button.Blaine kissed Kurt’s crinkled nose. “Of course it isn’t, Love,” he replied, dropping a kiss to Kurt’s rumpled hair. “You know I love your work.”“Yeah, I know that you do, but not everyone has been as kind as you were when you used to review my chapters.”“Hey, I still review all of your chapters,” Blaine pouted. “Did you get hate after Christian got hit by that bus?”“No,” Kurt laughed. “Actually, I got more reviews onthat chapter than any of my others. That was the same chapter that Emmett and Shane met.”“No, I think you got more on the chapter where Emmett did a ‘favor’ for Shane in his dressing room,” Blaine teased.“Actually, I lost some readers after that because I had to change the rating,” Kurt replied smugly, as his fingers traced nonsensical patterns on Blaine’s bare back.“Maybe it was just my favorite chapter,” Blaine grinned, dropping a kiss to Kurt’s naked chest. Kurt giggled. “Of course you did. Because you were my test subject for that scene.”“Hey, feel free to conduct all of the hands-on research you want, anytime,” Blaine replied, cocking an eyebrow and teasingly brushing his thumb over Kurt’s thigh.“Blaaaainnne,” Kurt started to protest. “I told you that I don’t feel comfortable with-”“Well, then allow me to help you get comfortable,” Blaine answered, grasping the strings of Kurt’s pajama pants. “That’s something I think I can fix quite easily.”“Oh, Blaine!” Kurt cried as Blaine engulfed his semi-erect dick to the wet heat of his lover’s mouth.“Oh, hey babe. You never did finish telling me about your reviews,” Blaine said as he toweled his wet curls dry. “Oh, it’s nothing,’ Kurt replied as he hastily closed his laptop. “Probably just one of those internet trolls. Somebody jealous that I’m dating the ‘Blaine Anderson.’“You sure babe?” Blaine asked, kissing Kurt on the head. “Yeah. It’s fine. You know how critics are. And the more popular your work becomes, the more some people will try to tear it down. It’s ok.”Blaine leaned in and kissed Kurt chastely on the lips. “Ok. Hey, I have to go to the studio. The producers called Sam and I and asked if we could meet them for a semi-urgent meeting.”“Sounds serious. The show isn't getting canceled, is it?” Kurt teased. “No, I hope not. Not as good as our ratings are. They called Elliott last night and offered to make him a permanent cast member. They wouldn’t have done that if Partners was being canceled.”“Wait, seriously!” Kurt squealed. “That’s great!” he replied, waving his hands excitedly. “I need to call Elliott and congratulate him.”“Shoot, I don’t think I was supposed to tell you yet. He’s going to stop telling me stuff,” Blaine laughed.“Oh please, babe. They don’t tell you stuff anymore anyway. Not since they found out that you divulged all kinds of their juicy secrets to me,” Kurt chuckled.“To be fair, I didn’t think you’d ever meet them. Cooper still won't tell me the name of his new girlfriend.”“I’m sure I can get it out of him,” Kurt smirked. “I’m sure you could. Should I be offended that my brother likes you better than he likes me.”“I can’t help it. I’m awesome.”“No, he just forgot that it was you and not me that suggested I duct tape him to the wall.”Kurt laughed. “Oh, he remembered. But he also found the recipe I sent you for the sugar face scrub. Unlike you and me, he likes getting his face licked.”“You never complain when I lick your face,” Blaine whispered seductively, sliding his tongue up the shell of Kurt’s ear. “Blaine, don’t you have a meeting?” Kurt asked.“I can be late,” Blaine replied, rubbing Kurt’s shoulders and dropping a kiss to the nape of Kurt’s neck. “Insatiable,” Kurt replied. “Tell you what. Go to your meeting, and when you get back, I’ve got a little research to conduct, you know, for my writing.”“Is it an ‘oral report’? Blaine asked, waggling his eyebrows.“God, you really need to spend less time with Elliott,” Kurt laughed. “Seriously, go on, and we’ll pick up later, ok.”“Ok,” Blaine answered as he grabbed his coat from the rack. “Love you.”“Love you too,” Kurt replied as Blaine hurried out the door.Kurt opened his laptop and maximized the browser window
Private Message from Blainiac216
I told you to stop posting chapters of this story. Do you think it’s ok that you post pornography like this and objectify Blaine like that? DO YOU?
He deserves so much better than that. He deserves so much better than your pasty gay face.
I’ve reported this story to the site for its distastefulness, but I guess they aren’t taking me seriously. But that’s unfortunate for you because now I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.
This is my final warning. If you don’t stop updating this, YOU WILL REGRET IT!
Kurt shivered. This was the fourth private message he had received like that since his and Blaine’s engagement had been announced. He tried not to worry about it. He had blocked the other senders, but apparently, the messenger just created a new account, just changing the number behind the username, Blainiac.But this message not like the others. It was the 216 that made his stomach feel like it was tying itself into knots. 216. Those weren’t just random numbers. Those numbers were significant. The two was for February, and the 16th was a Saturday. Their wedding date to be exact. The wedding date that they hadn't even told anybody except their closest friends. They hadn't even sent Save the Dates yet. So how did this fan know? Of course, there was a chance that this person just knew that the month of February was important for them. It was the month that they officially met. February sixteenth was sacred to them. It was the date that they became boyfriends and shared their first kiss. Blaine had told many stories about them on various red carpet events and late night shows, but he never actually came right out and said the exact date. And yet, now someone knew. Kurt knew better than anybody that the internet wasn’t as private as he used to believe, especially now that he was dating a celebrity. Blaine’s popularity had risen ever since he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance on Partners. Blaine had proudly worn the tux that he designed for him as he donned one of his own, garnering quite a bit of hype and causing Isabelle to introduce him to a designer that wanted to work with him. He was actually supposed to meet with him and Isabelle today. He hadn’t mentioned it to Blaine yet because he didn’t know if anything would come of it.Just like nothing would probably wouldn’t come from this threat either. He clicked the Report Abuse button and began filling out the information again, rolling his eyes.It was just a coincidence, right?Author’s Note: Alright everyone. Strap yourselves in. The ride has begun.I’d love to hear from you guys. However, please refrain from sending me anything as creepy as the message Kurt just received.
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Domestic PartnersChapter 2- Defamation“Hey, man! How’s it goin’?” Sam asked, engulfing Blaine in a hug. “How’s Kurt?”“He’s good. We're good. He just published a new chapter.”“Old news. I read it as soon as he updated. I already reviewed. I’m the one fussing about the fact that he always leaves me wanting more. I hope he doesn’t do that to you.”“Uh, Sam, are you asking me if he is a tease because you know that he just doesn’t like public displays of affection.”“No, man. I wasn’t talkin’ about your sex life. Why do you think I supported Kurt when he suggested that you two move in with one another? I’m sorry, dude, but I had to basically sleep with earplugs in every night, and even then, I still heard more than I ever think I’ll be able to forget. Who knew that you’d be the screamer in that relationship.”Blaine blushed profusely. “Then what were you asking about?”“His story. Does he give you spoilers?”“Of course he does,” Blaine grinned. “I’m his beta.”“Is that slang for something sexual, cause if it is, I don’t really wanna know the details.Blaine smiled at his friend. “It means I’m like his editor, kind of like a second set of eyes so that there are no grammatical errors and everything makes sense. He also lets me see the outline for future chapters so that I can give insight into the current chapter he’s writing.“Cool. So, what’s going to happen at Acoustics? Are Cam and Shane going to get back together?”Blaine pretended to zip his lips. “Nope, uh uh. I’ve gotten myself into trouble before for betraying his trust, and I’m not about to do it again.”Sam attempted to blow a strand of hair out of his eyes before he brushed it away with his hand. “Fine. I’ll just have to get my spoilers directly from him. Maybe I can bribe him with some freebies from the last shoot I did.”“Wasn’t it for the Wonder Butt undies? Do you really think Kurt would want those?”“Well, maybe he’s wondered what it’s like to have a bubble butt. We can’t all have one naturally, like yours. I thought they were all the rage with gay men.”“Um, thanks, I think. So why do you think they called us?” Blaine asked.“Hey, Blaineydays! Sam,” Tina said embracing them each. “Thanks for coming in.”“So what’s this about? We aren’t, like, still trying to refute Blam rumors, are we?”Tina laughed. “No, I think the hype involving Blam is mostly over since Blaineydays and Kurt are practically attached at the hip these days. Completely old news.”“So what is it. Do we need to do some reshoots or something?”“Um, no. Blaine, you and Sam need to meet with Sydney and Quinn regarding a situation that unfortunately involves you.“I swear I’m not leaking information again,” Sam blurted. “We know,” she laughed. “Come sit down,” she urged, motioning them into the producer’s office. “Hey boys. How are you?”"Um, I’m well,” Blaine smiled.Sam pouted. “That depends. Am I fired?”Sydney laughed. “Of course not. You’re my stars. But this does concern the release of a few cast members that you are close to, and so I wanted to make sure that I told you myself.”“It’s not Jeff and Nick, is it? We’ve all been friends since high school, so that might be awkward.”“Um, no. It’s regarding your brother, Blaine. Cooper is being written out of the show.”“Wait, why?. He was already downgraded to a reoccurring cast member.”“Yes, and there has been no real outcry from fans about him leaving. And we had to do it to allow Elliott to become a main cast member.”“Have you told him,” Blaine asked. “Our relationship was strained enough last season after he was demoted. I really don’t feel comfortable being the one to break the news.”“You won’t have to. He’s coming in later so we can tell him.”“And it comes with good news as well. Sydney made some calls, and he has a role in the latest Michael Bay movie,” Tina added.“Really! That’s incredible. He’ll love that. I’m almost jealous,” Blaine said. “Can you get me a cameo?”“Me too?” Sam asked.“Wait, Blaine. It’s not so simple. The filming is happening in Los Angeles. Cooper will have to relocate while they are filming. Would you be ok with your brother living on the other side of the country?”“As long as he’s happy,” Blaine replied. “I’ll miss him, of course, but being in a movie is his dream. I can’t take that opportunity from him. When is his last episode?”“We will film his final scene later today. That’s one of the reasons that we called you two in. Here are your scripts. Why don’t you two learn your lines while we discuss all of this with him.”They both nodded. “Thank you,” Blaine added.“ There’s something else,” Quinn spoke up.“I’m not going to have to kiss any other dudes, will I?” Sam asked.“No. But I wanted you to know that part of the reason we had to release Cooper is that “Partners” has been named in a lawsuit.” Sydney said.“Wait, are you serious?” Blaine asked. “Wow, who would do that,” Sam asked.Sydney sighed. “Mr. Smythe. He alleges that was unfairly terminated for the leak when there were other cast members responsible as well.”“That’s awful. What are you going to do?”Quinn frowned. “Well, that’s the problem. We have insurance to cover the studio. But Sebastian has filed multiple suits. One of those is against you two.”“Wait, what?” Sam asked. “I don’t understand. He’s mad about a suit.”Blaine shook his head. “No Sam. He’s suing us. What is his claim?”“Libel and defamation of character which he sites as the cause of his termination.”“Quinn, do we need to hire counsel?”“No. Because it all involves the show, our lawyers will take the case. But they are going to have to have to do some thorough research to make sure that there's no proof to the claims Sebastian is making. Sam, we already have access to your Tumblr page, and we have all of the documents for the leak investigation, so aside from a deposition, Sam, your part should be relatively painless. However, Blaine, things will not be so simple for you. Sebastian claims that you were leaking information as well.”“But I wasn’t-”Quinn shook her head. “I’m sorry, Blaine, but Sebastian states in his suit that you were divulging information to a writer the entire time.”“Quinn, it was Kurt. And I didn’t tell him any spoilers.”“I’m sorry, but the emails you two exchanged will most likely be subpoenaed, and we need to speak to Kurt.”“Why?” Blaine asked.“Because he’s been named too.”
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Domestic PartnersChapter 3- Kurt whistled “Defying Gravity as he walked up his staircase, two steps at a time, careful not to drop the box he was holding. “Hey Babe, how was your d-” He stopped mid-sentence when he heard the music coming from their bedroom. Blaine was playing beautifully, but he only played the Beatles when he was incredibly happy or depressed, and since he had chosen, “Hey Jude,” Kurt knew it was the latter. He quickly sliced the turtle cheesecake, Blaine’s favorite, and placed a slice on a saucer. He poured a glass of herbal tea and walked slowly into their bedroom. He smiled proudly as he watched his fiance’s nimble fingers grace the piano keys. He sat the plate and glass on a coaster atop of the piano and propped his elbow up on the top, resting his chin on his fist as Blaine finished the last few lines. “That sounds amazing, Babe. You know I love it when you play the Beatles. Bad meeting?”Blaine sighed. “It could have been better. I just got some bad news. “What’s wrong?”“Cooper is leaving.”“Leaving the show or the city.”“Both.” Blaine facepalmed. “Crap! I keep forgetting that I’m not supposed to give you spoilers.”“So he’s been written off indefinitely?”“I think so. I mean, with the scene we shot today, I’d say it’s pretty final.”“Wait, are they killing off Dylan?”“Shoot, I did it again. I’m not saying anything else,” Blaine chuckled. “So, he’s also leaving New York? Is he going back to Ohio?’“Heck no. Cooper thinks he’s much too big for Lima. Actually, he’s got an audition in L. A. for a Michael Bay movie.”“That’s great! Wait, you said there was bad news. Is that it? Cooper moving away?”Blaine’s eyes darted to the floor. “Um, that’s not all of it. The show is being sued.”“Why? The writing isn’t that bad,” Kurt teased.“Hey, I tried to get you on the staff, but somebody thought it might be too much temptation to have me so close. That, and you didn’t think you could tame your jealousy of Mine and Sam’s onscreen relationship.”“You’re right. Maybe you should tell them I want the job. I mean, it may increase my shot at getting into Sam’s pants, that is, if he ever wore any.”Blaine rolled his eyes playfully. “Very funny, although he doesn’t wear pants much, does he? Speaking of what’s in his pants, he got a new modeling gig, and he wanted me to give you these. He wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Blaine said, handing a brown paper bag to Kurt.“Oh, the Wonder Butt undies. Tell him thanks,” Kurt smiled.“Wait, seriously? You really think you could fit your ass into those jeans you wear when they have that much padding?”“Haha. You’re a regular Robin Williams. They are for an article Isabelle wants me to write. It ’s for an experiment actually. I’m supposed to go to the same club on different nights, one night wearing the butt enhancing underwear and one night with just my regular underwear, and see if I attract a different type of man.”Blaine shook his head. “I don’t think I approve of that assignment. I mean, we are engaged. Couldn’t she have Chase do the research? Or maybe you could get Elliott. He’s single.”“Chase isn’t into the club scene. And Elliott can’t go into those places anymore, not since his character has gained some recognition. You remember what it was like.”“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But I don’t want you going out to those places alone, or I really might get jealous or worried. It may not be safe.”“Yeah, I need to talk to you about that. You look concerned. The lawsuit. Are you involved?”“Yes, unfortunately, Sam and I both are.”Kurt shook his head. “Let me guess. I bet this has something to do with the leak, and that slimy meerkat, Sebastian.”Blaine nodded. “Yeah, he’s named the producers, the cast members, the writers. Pretty much everyone.”“The only ones he could actually prove a case against is the wardrobe department. I mean, did they intentionally try to make him look like a character on a Nick Jr. Show?”Blaine laughed. “That was the one department that he didn’t name. But Kurt,” Blaine’s eyes shifted to the ground. He didn’t only name people associated with the show. He named you.”Kurt’s smile faded. “Me? What did I have to do with him leaking storylines.”“He alleges that I was leaking information pertaining to the show the entire time. His lawyers have even subpoenaed our private messages.”“Wait, he can’t do that, right? I mean, they were private. And I didn’t even realize who I was talking to. How does he even know about them?”Blaine’s eyes shifted to the wall. “My video. I never took it down from YouTube. I kinda blurted out that we communicated through private messages. Quinn suggested that I turn them over to the legal department so that they can prepare me and possibly you for any questions that might arise.”“Blaine, what exactly is he trying to claim?”“That although we were all responsible for the leaks, he was the one fired. He said that his name was so sullied in the scandal that he can’t get work now. He’s suing for defamation of character.”“Ha, he’d have to have some character first,” Kurt retorted. “I can’t believe that they are making us turn over our messages.”“Don’t worry, Kurt. They are probably going to settle this out of court.”“I’m worried. Blaine. Sebastian’s father is a state’s attorney. He’s been to court before, I’m certain.”“Regardless I don’t think they will find anything.”“They will because you did what he alleges. You gave me spoilers.”Blaine cocked his head sideways. “I’m pretty certain I didn’t,” Blaine replied.“And I’m certain that you did. Not only did you tell me that you were lobbying to get Sebastian fired, but you also told me about Cane split.”“I don’t think I did,” Blaine replied sincerely. Kurt shook his head, as he went to his desk and grabbed his laptop. “I hate to tell you but you did. Not blatantly, but you did confirm some rumors for me regarding the finale. Remember?” Kurt asked, pulling up his fanfiction account. He showed Blaine the exchanges that worried him.
I have to ask. Where did you come up with the plot line about Cam being interested in Whitney? You don't have to tell me. It was such an interesting twist, and I didn't see it coming. I can't wait to see what you have in store next.
Regarding the plot line, did you think it was too out there? I read on Tumblr that Cam and Shane were splitting, and one blog I follow even said that Cam might be having an affair with one of the ladies. Cam and Savana have zero chemistry, but Whitney and Cam actually would look sweet together (although Cam belongs with Shane. To me, they are endgame, which is why I ended their relationship open-ended like that. They are like Noah and Alley, tethered together. Though they may drift apart, they will always come back to one another. Soulmates. ). I hope the rumors are wrong and they are ok, but I don't expect it to be that simple. :(
I agree that Whitney and Cam have amazing chemistry. However, I don't think it would fly well with fans if they ended up together. People love Whitana. They also love Cane, and I think there will be riots if either couple splits up. I can't wait to see what happens on the show and in your story.
"I never said one way or another," Blaine replied."Not right there, but you did here. See," Kurt said, scrolling further down.
I can't wait to see what you do in your story. I will always read each update as soon as I see that you've published, I wish that your storyline was used instead of what happened on the show with the breakup. Ugh!
Blaine sighed. "Well, shoot. I guess I did. But that's not enough to prove anything. ""It doesn't have to be. He just has to have enough there to collect evidence. It's up to the attorneys to prove it from there.""But they won't because we weren't actually doing anything wrong."“Not outright, but if you add that information with where I got my spoilers, it’s a dead give away.”“Where did you get the spoilers?”“Well, I had more than one site, but the main one I used was JBIMuskrat.”“Wait, Jacob Ben Isreal?” Blaine blurted.“Um, yeah. Sorry. I didn’t realize who he was. I actually think I found his page after I started following another page.”“What page?”“SePartner’sFan,” Kurt replied.“Shit! We’re screwed.”
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“I’m not sure that I should let you use that packing tape after you told Kurt in your messages that you wanted to tape me to the wall,” Cooper chuckled as he lifted a box and stacked it on top of another one. "You were never supposed to read those messages, Coop,” Blaine retorted, as he tore off an extra long strip.“I’m glad that I did. That facial scrub recipe has done wonders for my skin. It also tastes delicious. I tried making it myself, but I used vegetable oil instead of coconut oil.”“Coconut oil and vegetable oil have a completely different consistency. Surely, you didn’t use that on your face.” Blaine laughed.Cooper shook his head and grabbed a picture frame from the wall and handed it to Blaine to wrap. “No. Kurt showed me how to make it correctly. It was kinda awkward actually. I sniffed his face cause I was curious if he used the sugar stuff or the duck fat. Then, I remembered that he said that he hated that. I explained that I tried to make the scrub but I did something wrong. He was nice enough to make me a huge batch. It was so good, I ate it all in a week.”Blaine shook his head in disbelief. “Seriously, you aren’t supposed to eat it. Remind me to never share his hair remover recipe.”“Kurt already made me some of that too. You know, you really owe me.”Blaine cocked his head sideways as he gently placed the bubble-wrapped frame into the box. “How do you figure?”“Duh, you never would’ve met Kurt if it wasn’t for me.”“What makes you say that?” Blaine asked as he ripped apart a perforated bubble wrap sheet in preparation for the next frame. "I’m the one that messaged him.”“Yeah, but he would’ve never written the story in the first place if it hadn’t been for me. I was the one that gave you the script for Partners,” Cooper smirked as he removed another frame from the wall. “Actually, the way I recall it, you tried to drag me down to the studio to read for the parts of Cam and Shane. You wanted me to play the role of your lover.”Cooper placed the photograph on the bubble wrap sheet. “I told you that I hadn’t read the script yet,” Coop sighed, ruffling Blaine’s hair. “You do that again and you really will be taped to the wall, so help me” Blaine teased.“Oh come on Buddy, you know you’ll miss me.”“Maybe just a little bit,” Blaine admitted. “I’m surprised that you are even allowed to leave since all of this nonsense with the lawsuit began. Sebastian named you too, didn’t he?”“Yep, and he had a lot of nerve doing that, especially since I think he’s the reason they didn’t renew my contract. They said I was a lying ability. I don't even know what that means.”“Liabilty, Coop. It means that the producers feel like having you on the show is a risk," Blaine explained. “I don’t get it. I wasn’t the only one that leaked information. Santana and Brittany both gave spoilers directly to the geeky afro guy. All that I did was trust the wrong person. Why didn’t you tell me what a weasel he was, Blaine? I didn’t even realize that you two dated until all the leak stuff became such a big mess.”“I’m sorry," Blaine sighed. "Honestly, it wasn’t something I liked talking about. He made my life a living hell my senior year. I moved to New York to get away from him, and then he followed me here and was cast in the same show I was on. Not to mention, I didn’t really tell a lot of people that we dated. Some of the Warblers knew, and Sam, but I really didn’t want dad finding out. You know what he was like after I came out. He thought that I was just going through a phase. You should have seen him when I introduced him to Kurt.”“Does he know about the engagement?” Cooper asked as he grabbed another frame and handed it to Blaine.“No, not yet. We don’t really talk much anymore, especially since the divorce. It’s just so uncomfortable. Not to mention that he doesn’t approve of me marrying a guy, Blaine said.“So are you going to invite him to the wedding?”Blaine nodded as he carefully placed the wrapped frame inside the box. “Yeah, just not now. I mean, we haven’t sent out any invitations yet.”“But you’ve set a date, right.”Blaine nodded again as he wrapped another picture frame that Cooper handed him. “Yeah, but we haven’t really announced it yet. I don’t want it to get out. The paps are still trying to get photos of us together, and Kurt doesn’t really want them in our private business. I really don’t either, especially not our wedding.”“Are you doing it here or Ohio?” Cooper asked.“Ohio. Kurt wants to get married in the same place that his parents were married. It’s a beautiful location, much more private. And that way, most of our family will be able to come.”“Does mom know? I’m sure she’s willing to help Kurt with the wedding plans.”Blaine chuckled. “Of course she does, although I didn’t get to tell her. Kurt grabbed my cell out of my hand and blurted it all out before I even got a chance to say a word. I think they had the whole wedding planned by the time they got off of the phone. Kurt’s already started on her dress.”“So when do I get my invitation?” Cooper asked.“I sent a 'save the date' to your assistant. She’s already reserved your tux as well. All you have to do is show up.”“I think I should take offense that you don't trust me enough to just tell me. I also think I have the right to be offended that you chose Sam instead of me as your best man.”“Because it took me forever to convince you that I was seeing Kurt and not Sam. You were so convinced that I was in a relationship with Sam for the longest.”“Yeah, until I walked in on you and Kurt. I mean, I thought Kurt would be the submissive one in the relationship. You surprised me.” Cooper handed Blaine another frame to wrap. “And you surprised me. You’d think you’d learn to knock on the door before you just barge into mine and Kurt’s apartment.”“It was Santana’s fault. She sent me over there. She said she thought you guys had seen a rat or something, with the way you guys were screaming and all,” Cooper laughed. “I figured that she had something to do with it,” Blaine chuckled. “So, when is the audition?”“Friday, and I’m supposed to dress warm, I think. Sylvia said something about it being cold when I read.”“Oh, it’s a cold read. That will be right down your alley. Do you know what movie you’re auditioning for?”“No, but It’s Michael freakin’ Bay. It’s gotta be the new Transformers movie.”“Micheal Bay didn’t direct the last film. I think they said he’s got several smaller projects in the works, including a documentary about elephant poaching.”“I don’t even know what that is,” Cooper sighed. “So, I don’t know when I’ll move into my own place, but when I do, you’ll send the boxes, right?”“Of course, just call me when you get settled,” Blane replied with a smile.“Will you visit me?” Copper asked reluctantly, his eyes avoiding Blaine’s.“Absolutely. It might be a little hard. You know what the filming schedule is like, and now that Kurt’s working full time for Vogue dot com, his schedule is crazier than mine. Plus, with the wedding, we’ll be pretty busy, but with some notice, we should be able to work something out. It’ll be nice to visit L.A. again. Kurt was absolutely starstruck at the Golden Globes last year when Helena Bonham Carter bumped into him. ” Blaine replied with a smile.“I can’t believe that you got nominated for an award before I did,” Cooper pouted. “Too bad you lost. I was rooting for you, man. It’s ok though. This movie will be my big break.”“I hope it will. I really do. But, Coop, promise me that you won’t get so big that you don’t come and visit.”“I promise, man, under one condition. I stay in a hotel because if I walk in on what I saw last time I’ll have to start therapy again to get those images out of my head,” Cooper said, embracing Blaine tightly. "Alright. why don't we call it a night on the packing and you go home to Kurt."
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“So, Kermit,” Cam began.“Emmett” Shane corrected.“Emmett, you said that you were a performer. What kind of performing do you do?”“I play guitar and sing,” Emmitt answered, and then sipped his tea. “I’ve done some acting too.”“Is that so? Where? Off-broadway? Community theater? Dinner theater?” Cam asked smugly.Shane glared at Cameron. “Emmett was a star in Paramus.”“Do they even have a theater in Paramus?” Cam asked as he lifted his sandwich to his mouth. “I thought that they just had a lot of malls.”“Oh, they do. And I’ve played gigs in several of them. But they have the Musicology Performance Center, where I taught. My mom taught piano lessons there, and I gave guitar lessons. They’ve only been open for a few years, but before that, I taught private lessons to teenagers and played at local bars and cafes. It paid the bills,” Emmett answered with a smile.“So how do you meet Shane? He doesn’t frequent the gay club scene much, especially not in New Jersey. At least I didn’t think he did,” Cam said as he stared at Shane. Shane dropped his eyes to the floor. Emmett didn’t seem to notice. “Oh, I moved here last year, for school. I’m a senior at NYU. We met at Acoustics about six months ago. I think I was supposed to just be a hookup, ya know, just to help him get over his ex, but I guess Shane decided to keep me around. That guy really hurt him,” Emmett explained as he wrapped his arm around Shane’s shoulder and kissed his cheek.“Actually, I heard it was the other way around,” Camden retorted, glaring at Shane.Shane shifted his eyes away from his ex and to his current boyfriend. “Have you put in a song yet?”Emmett smiled sweetly at Shane.“No, I haven’t yet. Did you have something you wanted us to sing together, babe?”“Uh, yeah. Why don’t you put in one of our regulars?” Shane replied as he took another sip of beer and pretended to thumb through the song catalog.“Sure, sweetie. I’ll go put it in now. I’ll be back in a bit, Emmett said, kissing Shane’s cheek gently. Cameron cleared his throat. “Six months? So I guess “take as much time as you need” translates into a few months, huh?”“I intended to wait, Cam, I did, but it was a lot harder to let you go than I had anticipated.”“I see that,” Cam replied bitterly.“I tried. I meant what I said. I wanted you to feel free to choose who your heart wanted you to be with. And for weeks I hoped that you would turn around that day and tell me that you had a mistake, but you didn’t. I waited for weeks. You never called, not once. It ripped my heart out. I guess I just expected more of a fight from you.”Cam looked like he had been slapped in the face with the way his cheeks burned with anger. “You told me to go. Actually, you left me. Do you remember that? You took my suitcase from my hands, packed, and left in the middle of the night after we made love. I thought you’d change your mind, and you’d still be in my arms in the morning.”Shane’s gaze shifted to the floor. “You said one last time. If I hadn’t left when I did, I wouldn’t have ever been able to walk away. But I told you I was letting you go, and I wanted to keep my word. I thought it would hurt less if I gave you time and space. But it broke me, Cam. Dylan actually convinced me to go to Acoustics with him after a month of moping around the house.”“I thought we had always said we’d go through hell and back for one another, that we’d fight whatever odds we faced together, but instead of fighting for me, you let me go,” Cam almost yelled.“Why haven’t you told him about us? You’ve been together for six months, and you never told him. We were together for two years, Shane. I loved you. Hell, I still do.”“And yet, you didn’t love me enough to stay faithful to me.”Cam jerked his head around as if he had been slapped. “Did you forget that you were the one who talked me into getting Whitney pregnant in the first place. I would’ve never slept with anyone else. And you know how horrible I felt about the whole situation, but I never wanted to hurt you.”“But you did,” Shane blurted. “I loved you too, but-”“SHHHHHHHHHH!” hissed a lady at a nearby table who was trying to focus on the current performer.“Do you love him, this Rocket guy?” Cameron asked so only they could hear.“Emmett. His name is Emmett.”“Ok, Do you love Emmett?”“I’ve never told him that I do, not yet.”“That doesn’t answer the question.” Cam reached for Shane’s hand, his eyes staring into Shane’s intensely as if searching for any hesitation or doubt.“I, I’m not-”“Hey, we’re up next.” Shane jumped at the sound of his boyfriend’s voice. He immediately jerked his hand out of Cam’s grasp. “You ok. What were you two talking about?“I was telling Cam that he better put a song in if he wants to sing. The slots fill pretty quickly here.“Yeah, he’s right. You gotta do one of your songs. I bet the pianist could play it. Or if they knew who you were, they’d let you play for yourself.”Cam smiled. “Actually, I have the perfect song. “Love Triangle” from Boleyn.Emmett cocked his head sideways. “I’ve never heard of that show. Is it new?”Shane shook his head. “It never made it to the stage. It was the first show Cam and I ever worked on together. It was about Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII.”“Oh my God! You two must do it. I’m gonna tell Tom right now,” Emmett exclaimed, clapping his hands, and running off to the KJ. Kurt almost flew out of his chair at the sound of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” blaring from his iPhone speaker. Kurt grinned as he hit the talk button. “Hey, dad.”“Hey, Kurt. Carole wanted me to call ‘cuz I got this photo thingie in the mail, and she wanted me to make sure it wasn’t a misprint or something.”Kurt felt a sense of panic wash over him as he snatched the ‘Save the Date’ from the refrigerator. He let out a sigh of relief as he read over the invitation. “I don’t see anything inaccurate. Dad, you almost gave me a heart attack.”“Son, you know we don’t make jokes about heart attacks. You do know that February 16 is in 3 months?”“I do since I mastered calendar skills in first grade,” Kurt teased.There was a long pause on Burt’s end of the line. “Hmpf. I thought you always said that you wanted a long engagement.”“Said the man that was engaged for two weeks,” Kurt laughed.“Fair enough,” Burt replied. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re a Hummel, and when we Hummel men meet the love of our life, we don’t give them a chance to get away. And the theater?”“In honor of you and mom. It’s such a beautiful venue. And of course, Blaine and I both have ties there. Besides, it wouldn’t be an obvious place. That way we can be discreet.”“I’m still not sure that I understand all this secrecy. I mean, some of the guys at the shop wanted to come. You grew up around those guys, and they love you.”“I know, it’s just,” Kurt sighed. “Blaine’s a celebrity.“You ain’t tellin’ me anything that I didn’t know. I even watch that Partners show that he’s on, and he does a damn fine job, although I kinda wish they didn’t show the blonde’s ass so much. I mean, you said he’s Blaine’s best man, and I have to look at him with a straight face after all of that,” Burt chuckled.“I’m serious, dad. The guys at the shop can come, but you have to get them to promise that they won’t let the date or venue leak. It’s important,” Kurt said. “You haven’t already told anyone, have you?”“No, but I think Carole told Finn.”“Finn, God, now the whole East coast will know!”“I still don’t see what the big deal is. People know that you and Blaine are engaged.”“Yeah, and some don’t approve, ok,” Kurt replied.“I don’t really like the sound of that. What aren’t you telling me? This isn’t like that situation in high school with the bully, is it?”Kurt sighed. “No,” Kurt lied. “It’s just the paparazzi. They’d kill to get photos. This is my wedding, dad. It’s supposed to be private, intimate. I don’t want anything or anyone screwing it up.”“It’ll be alright. I can ask Finn to get some of his football buddies to stand outside of the theater. Better yet, ask the football coach at McKinley. She’ll kick some serious ass if anyone tries to get in that isn’t supposed to be there. It’ll all work out.”“You’re right.”“I always am,” Burt laughed. “I read your latest article. It seems to me you’re getting the main article almost every week now.”“Yeah, I’m actually the official head writer now. I get to cover all the big fashion events and everything!” Kurt gushed.“That’s great son. I bet Blaine is extremely proud of you.”“I haven’t told him yet. He’s kind of had it rough at work, and I didn’t really want to rub it in. But I know he’ll be happy for me. We can certainly use the money, especially with all the hoopla regarding this lawsuit.”“I thought that the network has that under control, right?”“I hope so,” Kurt replied, running a hand through his hair. “I have to meet with Quinn and the rest of the legal team Friday. It’s just not what I need to be focusing on right now, with the wedding coming up, awards season, the extra workload, Fashion Week. It’s just a lot.”“It’ll be alright. I mean, if I was the judge, I’d take one look at that Seabiscuit kid, and throw out the case. I’ve never thought a character more deserving of being hit by a bus.”Kurt laughed. “Yeah, apparently, Blaine pitched that idea to the writers, and they ran with it. I might have messed up the remote by hitting the rewind button a few hundred times.”“Well, tell Blaine that I said hi, and I’ll definitely be there. You done good with him. He’s a great guy. I’ll tell Carole not to tell anyone about the wedding, kay kid.”“Thanks, dad. I’ll talk to you later,” Kurt said as he hit the end call button and sat down his iPhone on the computer desk. “Was that your dad?” Blaine asked, placing a kiss on Kurt’s cheek.“Hey babe. How long have you been home?”“Just a few minutes. How’s your dad?”“He got the save the date today. He just called to chat about it, I guess.”“I heard the tail end of it, not that I was snooping or anything. Why didn’t tell me you were promoted again.”“Um, yeah. That’s what Isabelle wanted to talk to me about. I haven’t actually told her for certain or not if I can accept it or not.”“Wait, of course you will. This is your dream,” Blaine replied.“Yeah, but it couldn’t come at a worse time, with the wedding plans and this lawsuit with Seabiscuit, I mean, Sebastian.”Blaine snickered. “You know that’s what everyone calls him now. And it’ll be fine. I spoke to legal today and David assured me that Sebastian doesn’t have much of a case. And as for the wedding, we have all the major things taken care of. I mean, I thought you were kidding when you told me that you had multiple wedding binders put together, but it made everything so much easier. Everything will be fine,” Blaine assured him, kissing him sweetly.“I hope your right.” “Of course I’m right. Now, no more of this worrying allowed. We have a promotion to celebrate,” Blaine said as he tugged on the drawstrings of Kurt’s pajama pants. ____________________________________________________________________________Author’s Notes: Sorry this is late, guys. Real life has been absolutely crazy. I’ve been writing and editing, but most of you know I’m also writing something else. I’ve been working on this children’s series, and I really want to have the first book done by the end of the year. It’s a lot of work. As for the chapter, don’t forget to review. I love hearing from you guys. It absolutely makes my day.
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Private MessagesChapter 6- Deposition“Hey, Ladyface. Whatcha doin’ here at the studio? Did your future hobbit husband entice you to take that job here by promising some hot action in the broom closet?”Kurt rolled his eyes at the feisty Latina. “We’ve already christened the closet. And I don’t have time to take another position, not since the last promotion. I mean, they requested that I cover Fashion Week. Besides, the writers are doing well now that they don’t have to worry about the cast leaking spoilers. But you weren’t really involved in that- oh wait. You were. I guess you were just fortunate that the gave you a second chance.”“Whatever, Pillsbury Doeface,” Santana sneered as she perched her hand on her hip. “When your boss decides to do that piece on mini dresses, I’m available for the cover photo.”“Yeah, I’ll do that. Let me just check my datebook to see which date hell is supposed to freeze over, Satan.” Kurt yelled back as she flipped her hair and strutted off to hair and makeup. Kurt smiled at his witty reply when he heard a laugh that made him go weak in the knees. He expected his finance a few minutes ago, and the fact that he was late made him more nervous than he’d ever admit. He stood there a few moments more, wondering why Blaine hadn’t noticed him waiting there. When he turned his head to look, his face immediately felt as if it were on fire. Blaine was laughing with some cute guy that had his swarmy hands wrapped around Blaine’s bicep.Kurt cleared his throat, causing Blaine to turn abruptly and pull away from the grasp of the flirty guy he had been laughing with at moments before. “Kurt! Hey baby. I didn’t realize you were already here.” “Yeah, I arrived precisely at one, but someone seemed too preoccupied to notice. Who’s your friend?”“Oh, you’ve met Hunter, right? He just started. He’s going to be-”“Yo, Blurts, Sidney warned you about that. No giving your boyfriend spoilers, especially on the set,” Artie laughed, rolling over to join Kurt. He extended his hand to his former classmate. “How’s it going, yo?”“Great. The final scene from last week’s episode was amazing! It still doesn’t trump my favorite scene, though,” Kurt teased. “With the bus,” Artie said with a humongous grin. “Yeah, we love that scene around here too. We had that episode on repeat all week to bring the mood back up after all of the depositions. Is that the reason you are here? Blaine told me that he named you in a lawsuit as well."Kurt nodded. “Yeah, but I’m not concerned. I mean, I was at first, but then I realized that he wouldn’t have claimed so many things if he had rock-hard evidence. He’s fishing. He knows the reason he was fired was that he had the charisma of a kumquat. Unless somebody in Hollywood decided to make another god-awful Chipmunk sequel or a reboot of Mr. Ed, there’s just no fitting roles out there for him.”Artie snickered. “Well, I’m sure that everything will work out. We certainly have a more harmonious vibe here without him. Blaine, I won’t need you and Sam until later today. Suprisely, filming took less time than I expected, since Coop isn’t here to interrupt or mess up scenes. ” Artie said, frowning when he realized that he made that comment in front of Blaine. “I’m sorry, man. That wasn't cool of me.” Blaine shook his head. “I get it. He was frustrating to me sometimes too, but I’m going to miss him. I really hope this film is his big break.” “Me too. Michael Bay! That’s awesome. Although, most of his films don’t get great critical reviews. Oversimplified plots, unrealistic scenes, sloppy writing. Actually, Cooper might be right at home.” Artie laughed. “Well, I’ll let you get in there. Let me know how it goes.” Blaine nodded and stepped into the large conference, Kurt right behind him, their finger intertwined. They sat down beside one another in the office chairs. Blaine whistled softly as Kurt sat quietly in his chair, his knee bouncing up and down. “Are you nervous?”“It’s a lawsuit, Blaine. Of course, I’m nervous. I’ve never even gotten a parking ticket before. I told you I’d never make it in prison,” Kurt laughed nervously.“I seem to remember you mentioning all kind of felonious acts in our private messages; arson, kidnapping, and duct taping people to walls,” Blaine joked. “I mean, you even told me we could only be besties if I was a secret badass.”Kurt grinned. “You are a secret badass. Boxing, fight club, scandalous serenades about sex toys. I’d say that’s pretty close.”Blaine cocked an eyebrow. “Says the guy that once had a tongue piercing, has a tattoo and knows how to use sai swords. I’d say your pretty badass yourself. Although, I have to disagree with that now. You have a perfect ass."“So that's the reason you didn’t let me out of your sight the other night at the club. You didn’t give me a chance to collect any research for my article,” Kurt pouted. “So I stretched out my favorite pair of skinny jeans for nothing.”“I don’t recall what happened later that night in our bedroom as nothing. If I do remember correctly, you peeled off those jeans and padded undies in record time,” Blaine teased, winking at his fiance. “Um, excuse me boys?” said a familiar voice. Quinn asked as she walked into the office and took a seat on the other side of the conference table. “Were you waiting long?” “No, we just got here,” Blaine smiled. “Where’s Wes?”“He was right behind me in the hallway. He must’ve gotten delayed. He’s usually quite punctual.” Quinn said.Blaine glanced at the clock on the wall and then the door. “Wes, oh, he was quite perturbed if you were late to Warbler practice. He was a tyrant.”“Well, could you blame me? Some freshman kept throwing sheet music all over the choir room and jumping on our furniture. Not to mention, one of us kept suggesting inappropriate songs to sing off campus at the Gap. I had to keep you in line.” Wes said with a laugh as he joined Quinn at the table.Blaine blushed deeply. “That was one time. Geez.”“That's because they fired the kid and banned us from the Gap,” Wes teased. “Hopefully, Kurt is able to keep you in line better than I did, although it sounds like you still think serenades are the best course of action. I saw the video you made him. It seems you’re still as sappy as an old maple tree.” Kurt smiled. “I thought it was romantic. Although I’ve got to get someone to track down a video of this serenade at the Gap. It must’ve been quite the spectacle,” “It was, but it makes for a good story. Anyway, why don’t we get started? So this must be the famous Kurt,” Wes said, extending his hand toward the paler man across the table from him.“Yes, I am, although I don’t know about me being famous,” Kurt laughed.“Oh, trust me. You are engaged to Blaine Anderson. People know who you are. Actually, you may have more followers on Tumblr than Blaine if you count all of the people that follow your fan fiction,” Wes stated.“Oh god! Please don’t tell me they are going to drag my story into this,” Kurt groaned. “Unfortunately, we have to since Smythe's alleges that Blaine gave spoilers to you. It’s quite good. I can see the reason that Blaine tried to get you hired on the writing staff,” Wes smiled. “We thought the story might help prove Kurt’s innocence. But-” Wes cleared his throat. “It actually might make things a lot more complicated than we hoped.”Blaine’s head jerked up. “What do you mean? I thought that you said that there wasn’t any proof in the messages that I actually told him any private information regarding the show.”“Well, as we were reading, Quinn recognized some of the lines from the show. She went back and checked the script. They were verbatim,” Wes explained.“It’s not plagiarism. It’s Fanfiction. I included a disclaimer. Besides, they stole those lines from me. I wrote them first. That’s why I was so pissed at Blaine. Remember, Quinn. I told you about all of this,” Kurt said.Quinn bit her lip. “Yes, but you might have a hard time proving that. Do you still have a rough draft or something saved on your computer?”Kurt shook his head. I typed the chapter into the document manager. They only store the file for ninety days unless you go back in and edit it.“Did you do that?” Wes asked.Kurt dropped his head. “I used to, but I kind of let it expire. I’ve been so busy with my articles at work and my school work that I kind of let my leisure writing lapse a little. But I still don’t understand why all of this is even relevant.”“It’s only relevant to one of the claims. We found no evidence of defamation of character. We didn’t even find any proof of Blaine leaking spoilers, except that the matching plot points near the midseason finale, which aired right before Mr. Smythe was fired.”“We explained this all to Quinn. I brought his story to Mr. Remington in hopes that he’d see the brilliance and hire Kurt for the writing staff. Instead, he gave the script to his writers, and they stole it.” Blaine explained.Quinn nodded. “Yes, I remember that. But Sebastian could claim that you gave Kurt the scripts and he copied it in his story.”“But I didn’t even know he was Blaine. I just thought he was some guy that read fanfiction and wore bow ties. There’s got to be a way to prove that Blaine and I did nothing wrong,” Kurt almost shouted. Blaine patted his knee and then squeezed his hand tighter.“We tried to contact Mr. Remington, but we couldn’t track him down. It seems that he fled the country. And this Sue Sylvester character is a liability. We sent an intern down to the gym where she teaches aerobics.”“Oh my God! I bet that ended well,” Kurt said.The poor girl said Sue was verbally abusive. Then, she said some short blonde called her a stupid bitch and told her to get out of her office. What is a Beckatary, anyway,” Quinn laughed. “Anyway, you see the problem, right?”Blaine nodded. “It’s our words against his.”“What about Sam or the other castmates? Did anyone else know that you took the script to Mr. Remington.”Blaine shook his head. “There’s only one other person that knew what happened with Kurt’s story. But I really don’t want to ask her. Wes looked at his friend squarely in the eye. “Who was it, Blaine?”“Santana.” Kurt answered for him. “We talked about it in length one night after Blaine and I got together. You said that you told the rest of the main cast too though, right?”“Not before the midseason finale aired. I told them the day after the show at Callbacks.”“So wait, your only character witnesses is Santana. You really are screwed,” Quinn said, shaking her head. “Why in the world would you spill your guts to Santana, of all people.”Blaine sighed. “Because she knew Kurt. She actually knew that it was Kurt that I was talking to before I did. We were neighbors, and I guess she was reading our messages.”“That Bitch!” Kurt blurted, then covered his mouth. “Sorry. So that’s how she seemed to know what was going on.”Quinn pursed her lips. “She was most likely trying to stay one step ahead of Sebastian. Santana is a firm believer of keeping her friends close and her enemies closer. She was a master at playing both sides when we were on the Cheerios together.”“So she might hurt our case more than she helps it,” Blaine reasoned.Wes nodded. “Yes. It is a possibility. Is there anyone else that might’ve known what was really going on. Blaine nodded. “Yeah, but you aren’t going to like it.”“Who could be worse than Santana as a character witness?”Blaine buried his face in his hands for a moment and looked back up at his former council leader. “My brother, Cooper.”In the very next room, he sat quietly as he listened to the interview next door. All of it was Kurt’s fault. He was no good for Blaine. He couldn’t be trusted.He opened his laptop and maximized the browser back up to full size so that he could continue the message he had started earlier. He logged back into his new account. He had to create another because someone had reported his last one. It was fine. He would still be able to get his message across.
Listen Bitch,
I told you last time to stop publishing your awful chapters that exploit Blaine. I said it before. You don’t deserve him. He’s a star, and all you do is write pathetic fictional garbage. I don’t know what he sees in your sickly pale complexion and scrawny toothpick body. I could snap you like a twig. And I will.
It was actually smart of you to pass on that promotion. You’d never be able to handle the pressure of writing anything of quality, especially anything that has to do with Fashion Week. It was probably a lapse in Isabelle’s judgment.
I’m glad that you ignored my warning. This will be much more fun now. See you soon.
Blainiac2:16
He hit send and laughed quietly as he closed his laptop, put it into his bag, and slipped out of the dark room unnoticed. Author’s Notes: Thanks to everybody for the comments and reviews on this thus far. Some of you have stated that you wanted to hear more about Blainiac, so here you go. Let the games begin.
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Domestic PartnersChapter 7 -DefensiveKurt shifted uncomfortably in his seat as Wes leaned into the table. “So you mean to tell me that no cast member told you any spoilers, even though you were in a band with Ms. Lopez and were secretly messaging Mr. Anderson on a regular basis?”“Santana refused to talk to me about the show, although that caught me completely by surprise because she absolutely loves spreading gossip, the juicier the better. I respected her wishes and didn’t ask. As for Blaine, I didn’t realize that I was speaking to him. Trust me, if I had, I wouldn’t have told him that I fantasized about him. I was actually quite pissed at him when I realized that he wasn’t just some dorky guy that spent his nights reading fanfiction.”“You really expect us to believe that you didn’t realize that this Devon character was Blaine Anderson?” Wes asked.“That’s exactly what I expect you to believe because it’s the truth. He used a pen name. And he was really quite vague with what he told me.” Kurt replied, rolling his eyes slightly. “He actually dropped quite a few clues. He said that he was from Ohio and that he used to be a member of the Dalton Academy Warblers. He used his middle name to close his messages. You’re a writer. A quick search on his Wikipedia page would have given you enough information to fill in the blanks. How is it possible that you didn’t put two and two together?”“Because he never came out and said, oh by the way, remember when you said you wanted to wake up in Blaine Anderson’s perfect arms. Wish granted because I’m him,” Kurt replied harshly. “Actually, I would’ve been less mortified if he had.”Wes smiled gently. “So when did you realize that you were talking to Blaine?”“Well, since I apparently have a faulty bs meter and poor research skills, not as soon as you think I should have,” Kurt said bitterly.Wes sighed. “Kurt, you’re getting really defensive.”“I can’t help it. Geez, I thought this was just a formality. Besides, I’ve read humor was better than a standard reply,” Kurt said, shaking his head.Quinn smiled. “Humor helps. It breaks up the serious vibe in the room and helps relax the people in the courtroom. However, sarcasm and a defensive tone can actually make the defendant seem arrogant and insubordinate.”“Quinn’s right. A little humor is fine, but you have to watch your tone.” Wes replied. “Let’s try again. When did you find out that the person messaging you was Blaine Anderson?”“The night the finale aired,” Kurt replied calmly.Wes nodded. “And how did you come to discover this information?”“I found a picture of him and Sam in Dalton blazers on Sam’s Tumblr page. I put two and two together.”“I see. And how did you respond to this discovery?”“I was furious. I felt deceived at first,” Kurt replied.“Why?”Kurt paused. “Because I had told him some very personal information. I trusted him. Then, I discovered that he wasn’t who he said he was. On top of that, I discovered that very night that someone had stolen my story and used it in the Partner’s season one mid-season finale.”“And you believed that Blaine Anderson was responsible?”Kurt chewed his bottom lip. “I wasn’t sure what happened. I just recognized my own words, and I have to admit that I initially thought it was a possibility.”“Are you saying that someone from the show stole your work?” Wes asked.“Correct. Those imbeci- um writers, were given my story and decided that it was better written than anything that they could come up with.”“You said they were given the story. By who?”Kurt’s eyes shifted to the floor and his teeth scraped against his bottom lip again. “Um, Blaine explained to me later that he gave it to his producer. He said that he wanted to get me a job on the writing staff. Instead, one of the so-called writers decided to flat up steal my work.”“Do you have an original document somewhere to support this claim?” Wes questioned.“I typed it into the Doc manager on the Fanfiction website, and at the time, the site would only store documents up to ninety days. I do have an email with the date I posted that chapter which was posted several days before that episode aired.”Quinn looked directly at Kurt. “Wait. You kept an email stating that you posted a chapter. They do that?”“Um, if you subscribe to a story, it will send you an email anytime the author updates,” Kurt explained.“So you subscribed to your own story?” Quinn puzzled. “Why would you do that?”“Because I was excited. It was my first time publishing anything. I wasn’t sure anyone else would subscribe, so I did. Besides, one of the chapters I published early on didn’t update correctly. To make sure that didn’t happen again, I checked the email link immediately to make sure my readers got the correct chapter.”Wes nodded. “That’ll help, although it won’t be enough. We will need a copy of the email, and any other emails that might help us establish that they stole the storyline from you and not the other way around. Can you show us the emails?”“Yeah. Let me log in. I’ll pull it up for you.” Wes turned his laptop around, and Kurt immediately began typing in his login information. "You don't have to read them all, do you? Blaine continued to review my story after we got together, and some of them are pretty personal.""No, that's fine. I know that this must all feel invasive in your private lives, and I'm sorry. I just want to make sure that we defend you two the best that we are able. Just pull up the one that you want me to read, and we will see if that will be enough to refute his claims. If not, we will come up with something." Kurt smiled warmly as he pulled up the email that Wes had requested. "Thank you." He turned abruptly when he heard a knock at the door. “Hey Kurt,” Blaine smiled, cracking open the door. Did you still want to get something for lunch? We’re done with the scene and Artie told us to take lunch. Is it going ok in here?”“Yeah, I guess." Kurt turned to Wes. "Is it ok if we take a break? We have been going over this for hours.”Wes smiled. “Sure. We need to check out that email anyway. Quinn, why don’t you go ahead and call in something for lunch at the diner across the street.” she nodded and stepped into the hall. Wes turned toward his clients and nodded. “You guys have a nice lunch. We’ll meet back at two.” Wes watched Blaine place his hand on Kurt’s shoulder. He was glad that his friend found Kurt. They were really sweet together, and he hoped that this experience wouldn’t hurt their relationship. He turned the laptop around and sat back down in his desk chair. He read the email and then hit print. It wouldn't be enough, but it would be a start. Wes smiled as he closed out the message. He started to close the laptop when he saw a new email pop up in the main inbox.
New Message from Blainiac 2:16.
Wes knew he shouldn't look, but the subject line made his stomach feel a little uneasy.Blainiac 2:16 You were warned!Wes opened the email and read the threats and slurs in front of him, his hand covering his mouth in shock as he read the final line.“Wes, I ordered you the fish sandw- What’s wrong?”“Call Blaine immediately. Tell him to get Kurt back here now! And call our security firm. We are going to need their services.”
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Author’s Note: This chapter takes place immediately after chapter 7, in November 2018.
Domestic Partners
Chapter 8- Protective
Listen Bitch,
I told you last time to stop publishing your awful chapters that exploit Blaine. I said it before. You don’t deserve him. He’s a star, and all you do is write pathetic fictional garbage. I don’t know what he sees in your sickly pale complexion and scrawny toothpick body. I could snap you like a twig. And I will.
It was actually smart of you to pass on that promotion. You’d never be able to handle the pressure of writing anything of quality, especially anything that has to do with Fashion Week. It was probably a lapse in Isabelle’s judgment.
I’m glad that you ignored my warning. This will be much more fun now. See you soon.
Blainiac2:16
Blaine was shaking with rage and fear as he reread the message for the third time. “Kurt, how could you have kept this from me. He’s threatening you.”Kurt averted his eyes to the wall of Wes’ office. “I’ve been threatened before. I’m kinda used to it. I told you about the guy, Karaofsky that bullied me so relentlessly. After he kissed me, he threatened to kill me. He later apologized. He didn’t mean it. He was just scared and angry, and he didn’t know how to handle everything he was feeling. Besides, I didn’t want to worry you, with everything else going on, the wedding planning, the lawsuit, your brother’s move. I didn’t want to worry you over nothing,” Kurt explained, taking his fiance’s hand in his own.Blaine squeezed Kurt’s hand and looked at him directly in his eyes. “Hey, it isn’t nothing, babe. You’re my finance, and it’s my job to protect you. To protect us. This is serious. This guy seems like a complete lunatic, and unfortunately, we don’t know anything about him. He could be across the country or across the street. All we know is that he’s done enough research that he seems to know some personal things about you and I. I mean, he knows the wedding date, about your promotion, and God knows what else. This is serious!”Wes nodded. “Blaine’s right. We need to treat this as a legitimate threat. From now on, you don’t go anywhere without a guard, not to the farmer’s market, not work. Nowhere. And before you check your emails, someone will go through them first.”Kurt rolled his eyes. “Listen, Wes. I appreciate your concern. I really do. But It’s probably some guy Sebastian conned into harassing me. You know, to mess with my head.”Quinn shook her head. “And if that’s the case, we will make sure that we can file our own charges against him for harassment, but until we are certain that this isn’t serious, we are going to treat it as our number one concern. You will both have someone standing watch at all times.”“Kurt, I called in a guy we used before. His team is going to take the case.” Wes stepped to the door and turned the knob. “Mr. Puckerman, can you come in here? This is Puck. He’s going to be Blaine’s guard.”“Hey, Noah. I thought you went into the service?” Kurt smiled.“Noone calls me that. You may address me as Puck or Badass number 1.”Quinn rolled her eyes. “You’d think you wouldn’t want to call to attention to the fact that you have a bad ass.”“Check it out for yourself. You could bounce a quarter off those glutes. Go ahead. I'll even let you check it for yourself.,” Puck smirked."Been there. Done that, and it wasn't worth the trouble," Quinn retorted, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. “I take it you all know each other,” Blaine blurted, looking first at Kurt, then Quinn.“Yeah, Ritzy here, he said pointing at Kurt, used to get a morning greeting from me daily.”“Yeah, right into the dumpster. Good times. I take it the army made you take out the nipple ring. Oh wait, that was the aftermath of the waffle scuffle in Juvie.”“You knew about that?” Puck asked, wide-eyed.Quinn smiled. “I volunteered the information. Must’ve slipped out. Much like that ridiculous nipple ring you insisted upped your cool points. The Cheerios just thought it made you look like you had a doorknocker installed on your chest. Those guys did you a favor. Enough about the past,” she remarked coolly. “It’s your job to protect Mr. Hummel here. Where’s your partner.”‘Scuse me, gentleman, Ms. Fabray," she said and turned to Puck. "I told you to hold back. I don’t want them to take one look at the stupid hair and think we aren’t professionals. I’m Lauren Zizes, tech guru and bodyguard for WatchGuardInc. I’ll be the daytime guard, and Puckerman will be on night watch. We have a guard for Mr. Anderson as well. Spencer and Alistar will be your detail.”“Wait, I have to have one too?” Blaine asked, his head turning abruptly toward Wes. “Why?”“Because this thug claims to be your fan. And I suspect that he’s probably someone you’ve met briefly, such as a fan asking for a picture or autograph or an extra from the set or something.”“Why do you think that?” Blaine asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.“Because we traced the IP address to New York City. In some of the earlier messages, the perp has mentioned some things that make me suspect that he or she met you, although it clearly meant more to him than it did to you.”“He or she? You don’t know if it’s a man or a woman,” Kurt inquired.“Conversation style sounds more like a gay male than a female suspect. But then again, I’ve been profiled before as a male and I’m sure two men such as yourself understand what it’s like to be stereotyped, especially you, Casper,” Lauren said staring directly at Kurt.“Look, I’ll quit updating the story for a while. I don’t really have time to do it anyway anymore, especially since the promotion. I’m going to be covering New York Fashion Week, and I’m sure that it’s the right scene for either of you, especially you Puckerman. I mean, your head looks like it had an unfortunate run-in with a lawnmower.”“Ha, freakin’ ha. Remember you said that when you are in the dumpster again,” Puck replied.Wes cleared his throat loudly. “Alright, Mr. Hummel, this is not negotiable. You are going to have a bodyguard, or our firm will not continue on this case. As far as I know, the threats could be related to the case, and I am not taking a chance of either you or Blaine being hurt. That being said, we hired Watchguard because of their track record. Mr. Hummel, they will do everything in their power to keep you safe. However, Mr. Puckerman, if you are going to state right in front of us that you aren’t going to thoroughly do your job, we can immediately dismiss you from this case. Is that understood?”“Fine,” Kurt said with a heavy sigh and a bitch glare.“Ditto,” Puck said with a nod. “Kurt, about the wedding date. Is that set in stone?” Wes inquired, sighing deeply.“We already sent out the save the dates. Plus, that date is significant. It was the date that we got together officially, our first kiss, our first date. That’s our date,” Kurt whined, pouting at Blaine.Blaine shook his head. “Several people already have plane tickets and Kurt’s right. That’s our date. Please don’t make us change it.”“What about the venue? Did the invitations have the location on it?” Wes asked.“Of course not,” Blaine said, shaking his head. “We didn’t want to risk having the paparazzi show up at the wedding. It’s in-”Wes held up his hand in a stopping motion. “Don’t. The less I know, the better. And from now on, we don’t do meetings at the studio.”Lauren frowned. “Keep the venue and time as disclosed as possible. And Kurt, I’m sorry. You can’t go to cover Fashion Week. It’s too high profile.”Kurt looked pissed. “Covering fashion week is my dream. I can’t pass this opportunity up.”“Kurt, this is your safety we are talking about, baby. I want you to be safe. Besides, I didn’t think you had decided if you would take this promotion or not,” Blaine replied, caressing Kurt’s hand. “Well, if I can’t cover Fashion Week, then I don’t get the promotion. It’s for a trial period. Depending on the quality of my coverage, the promotion would become permanent. I had to negotiate those terms. If I back out now, they’ll give the promotion to someone else. Besides, the Hummels don’t let anyone push them around, and this would be allowing this jerk to determine what I do or don’t do.”Wes sighed. “Look, Kurt. Fashion Week is February fourth to the fifteenth, correct?”Kurt's mouth dropped open at Wes’ fashion knowledge. “Yes, but I’m only covering men’s Fashion Week. I didn’t want to take on too much so close to the wedding.”Lauren opened her mouth as if to say something, and then paused. “Alright, Casper. I see your point. We’ve got a couple of months until then. Let’s see what we can do to stop this twerp before then and get you to that event. And Kurt, don’t stop publishing your story. I’ve gotta know what happens between Cam, Shane, and Emmett.”
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Domestic PartnersChapter 9 “So, how long were you and Cam a couple?” Emmett said with a frown as he rubbed the towel over his wet hair.“Um, a while,” Shane mumbled as his eyes shifted from the wall to the floor.“Define a while,” Emmett replied, cupping Shane’s chin with his damp hand in an attempt to make eye contact with his boyfriend.Shane frowned. “Two years. We were friends before then. We were roommates in college.”Emmett nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me he was the ex that had you so torn up? I feel like an ass for inviting your ex to go out with us. I wouldn’t have if you would’ve said something beforehand. Why would you keep that from me?”“Honestly, neither of us have really talked in depth about our exes. But at the time, everything was so fresh and talking about him hurt like hell. I needed to move on, but it wasn’t easy at all. Everything was a reminder of us, from the job I had, to our friends, the places we used to go. I wanted a clean break. So I decided to switch things up. I changed companies. I stopped seeing my old friends. I got a new wardrobe. Everything. And it still wasn’t enough until,” Shane paused and took Emmett’s hand in his own. “Until you helped me move forward. I was able to smile again and find joy in everyday things. I guess I didn’t want to revisit the painful history but focus on the present,” Shane explained.Emmett nodded. “You guys sounded great together. And your song was brilliant. But I have to say I’m sorry.”“It’s ok. I should’ve said something. I owe you an apology as well for not telling you about him. But it’s over now,” Shane said assuredly.“Is it? Because it didn’t look like he was aware of that.”“He wasn’t. Look, when we split, I didn’t have a clue what would happen next. I told him to go find the answers that he was searching for, and I told him to take the time that he needed. And I had every intention of working things out with him if he came back, but that was months ago. And then I met you.”“And?” Emmett asked hesitantly.“I started to question things. How I felt about him. If he was ever going to come back? If I had made a mistake in telling him to leave. And then, you were added to the mix. That’s why I was so hesitant about accepting a date. I guess that’s why we remained casual for so long.”“You mean the hookups? So I was just supposed to be a rebound,” Emmett looked heartbroken.“Maybe at first, but I don’t see it that way anymore,” Shane admitted, biting his bottom lip.“Enlighten me,” Emmett said quietly. “Cam asked how I felt about you tonight, and I honestly didn’t tell him. I couldn’t because I haven’t even told you yet, but I am so grateful for you. You’ve been so patient, so wonderful about everything. And I realized that I was able to make it through tonight because I had you. I love you.”“But-” Emmett added.“No buts. I love you, and I should’ve said it before,” Shane said with a smile.“I love you too, but there is a but we need to address. Do you still love him? I can tell he still loves you by the way he looks at you. And I don’t blame him.”“I’m trying not to. I want to be over him, and I am trying desperately to get over him completely, and you are helping. He was my first love, Emmett.”Emmett nodded. “I get it, but I can’t compete with a fantasy, Shane. And I don’t want to be in a love triangle like the song described.”“I don’t either. I want you. And I’m sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t tonight,” Shane frowned as he took his boyfriend’s hand in his. “I want to make it up to you.”Emmett smiled. “And how do you propose to do that.”“Move in with me,” Shane blurted. “I mean, if you want to.”Emmett’s smile radiated from his lips. “Hell yes. I’d love to. But Shane, about Cameron. Will he be stopping by randomly like he did tonight.”“No. I told him not to,”Emmett nodded. “And do you think he’ll listen?”“Um,” Shane bit his lip. “The thing about Cam is that’s he’s kind of unpredictable. But he does respect me, and I think he will respect our relationship.”“He better,” Emmett said, jealousy evident in his words. “You’re mine.”“Is that right?” Shane asked, fumbling with the buttons on Emmett’s shirt. “Show me.”“With pleasure,” Emmett said moving in to smother Shane’s neck in kisses.____________________________________________________________________________ “It’s not bad, babe, but I thought you weren’t going to update right now. It’s not safe,” Blaine said, taking Kurt’s hand into his own. “I don’t want to give this guy any reason to come after you.”Kurt sighed heavily. “He’s a coward, Blaine. He’s crouched behind a computer desk, typing out anonymous treats. But I’m not going to publish, not until all of this is over. However, Lauren asked me not to stop writing this, and she’s not the kind of person I’d want to piss off.”Blaine grinned widely. “I get that. I think she’s scarier than the mohawk dude.”Kurt laughed. “His name is Puck, and he’s about as threatening as a puppy. I’m personally more frightened of Quinn than I am of him.”“But he’s your bodyguard. Do you think he’s up for the job?” Blaine asked. “I mean, Wes said that they are one of the best in the city.”Kurt smiled. “Relax. Other than embarrassing the hell out of me because of the haircut and horrendous clothes he insists on wearing, he won’t bother me at all. Besides, maybe I can give him a makeover. You know how I feel about makeovers,” Kurt giggled.“Yeah, I do,” Blaine smiled as he looked up over the laptop screen. “But, I need to ask. Why didn’t you tell me?”“About Puck’s haircut?”“About the threats. Kurt, why didn’t you tell me?”“Because I didn’t want to worry you. As I said, there are always going to be haters and naysayers when you are more successful than they are. I don’t want to waste time on people like that. But while we are on the subject, why didn’t you tell me about the new guy?”“Oh, Hunter. There wasn’t anything to tell. He’s a guest actor for right now. You know how it goes. If audiences like him, he may stay for a while. Why?”Kurt rolled his eyes. “Do you have a lot of scenes with him?”“Kurt, are you jealous?” Blaine smiled playfully.”“No more than you were when we went to the club the other night,” Kurt laughed mischievously. “By the way, what happened to that pair of underwear?”“I threw them in the garbage. They kinda got ripped the other night. Sorry about that,” Blaine teased, leaning in to drop a kiss to Kurt’s neck.“Blaine,” Kurt moaned, as Blaine continued peppering kisses down his neck. “I thought you were going to finish editing this chapter tonight.”Blaine pulled back to look his fiance in the eye.“What’s the rush? You aren’t going to publish right now. Besides, I thought we had something else we could do first,” Blaine said, waggling his eyebrows.“Nuh-uh mister. First edit, then we can get down to other business. I told Lauren I’d try to let her see the new chapter tomorrow, and I don’t want to let her down.”Blaine began teasing his lips down Kurt’s creamy skin at the base of his collar. “Fine, but if she’s pissed at me ‘cause this chapter isn’t done, I’m throwing you under the bus and telling her it’s your fau-oh, God Blaine. Screw the chapter.”“I’d prefer to screw you,” Blaine smirked, closing the laptop and laying it on the nightstand and then opened the drawer to retrieve a condom and lube. “Well, then, what are you waiting for,” Kurt asked seductively, removing his pajama top and dropping it to the floor.
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Private MessagesChapter 10 “Hey babe. What are you doing here!” Kurt exclaimed, rising from his desk chair and embracing Blaine in a warm embrace.“I brought lunch. I knew that you’ve been so busy lately that you skip lunch sometimes. Lauren ratted you out,” Blaine said with a smile.“If you don’t leave for lunch, I can’t leave for lunch and that makes me bitchy and hungry, which is not a good combination. So yeah, when loverboy called asking if you’d eaten lunch, I sold you out. Did you bring the eggrolls?” She asked, grabbing the bag from a startled Blaine.“Yeah, check the box on top.”“Fanx” She said while taking a bite of an eggroll. “Um, you’re welcome,” Blaine replied, shaking his head in disbelief. “Um, Lauren, can Kurt and I eat in private? I kind of had something I’d like to discuss with him.”“Oh, I see. Teen Angel here tried to butter me up with food so that he could fit in an afternoon booty call. Go ahead. I’ll turn my head,” Lauren said.“Wait, is she serious?” Blaine asked as he stuck his fork into the carton of orange chicken.Kurt burst out in hysterical laughter. “Of course not. Lauren, we’re fine. You want to call Elijah in here and see if he wants something?”Blaine cocked his head to the side. “Who’s Elijah? Did Isabelle get a new intern?”“No. He’s my assistant. Well, he is an assistant. Isabelle hired him for me last week to lighten the load for us since Chase took that other job at Elle,” Kurt said as he rolled his eyes. “He’s pretty great. He actually runs and gets us lunch most days, but we were up against a deadline the other day and I needed him to help me finish. He is basically me, before the promotion,” Kurt grinned.Blaine smiled. “That’s great, Kurt. I’m glad you told Isabelle you were taking it. I can’t wait to read your articles about Men’s Fashion Week.”“You won’t have a lot of time. We’ll be doing last minute wedding stuff. It’s going to be a busy week, I get two things I have always dreamed of; to cover New York Fashion Week and marry the most handsome man in America.”“Yeah, Cooper,” Blaine laughed. “Remember you admitted that you thought he was the hottest guy you’d ever seen.”“Until I saw you. And you act better. Clearly, I got the better sibling.”Blaine chuckled. “Don’t let him hear you say that. He's still disappointed that he’s not the best man.”“Eh hmmm”Blaine looked up to see who entered the room, and immediately, he felt his whole body tense up. A skinny brunette about Kurt’s age was perched in the doorway. “So those pictures of you and Mr. Anderson weren’t photoshopped after all. Aren't you going to introduce us?”“Well, obviously, you know this is Blaine. Blaine, this is Elijah, the new assistant.” Kurt said with a grin.“I’m a huge fan. Partners is like, my favorite show. Although I don’t care too much for that Emmett guy. Kurt keeps saying he’s not jealous that you’ve been locking lips him.” Eli said as he thrust his hand toward Blaine. Blaine shook his hand and tried to retract it, but Elijah tightened his grip.Kurt shot Elijah a glare. “Elliott and I were friends before he started on the show. I trust Blaine and Elliott. Besides, I happen to know that he likes kissing me better.”“It’s gotta be better than kissin’ Sam Evans. That guy looks like one of those egg-sucking snakes, you know. Like if you aren’t careful, he’d swallow you whole. Although, some guys like that kinda stuff,” Elijah finally released Blane’s hand. Blaine immediately squirted some sanitizer from Kurt’s desk into his palm when Elijah turned toward Kurt. “So did you need anything, or did you finally realized that I was owed the pleasure of meeting this guy?” Elijah asked, winking at Blaine. “Um Elijah, would you mind to go to that little cafe across the street and get me a herbal tea? Blaine forgot to get me a drink.” Kurt said casually.Blaine eyed Kurt suspiciously. “But Babe, I-” Blaine said in confusion/“He’s like that, so forgetful. Please?” Kurt asked again.“Yeah, sure. Honey lemon, right? I’ll be back in a few minutes. Save me a bite of that orange chicken, will ya?” the assistant called out to Blaine as he stepped out of the door.“Such a weirdo,” Lauren said, sticking her head in the door. “I thought I saw you holding a drink carrier, Blaine.”Blaine scratched his forehead. “I did. What was that about, Kurt?”“Oh, he wanted me to arrange a meeting with you. He really is a huge fan. He never shuts up about the show. He’s constantly asking for spoilers. But I could tell you were uncomfortable. You ok?”“He’s got a firm grip, that one. He seems to be a good assistant,” Blaine said with a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.“Oh, he is. He pays attention to small details. I never told him what I drink. He picked up on that. And he’s a fantastic editor.”“He’s a total skeez,” Lauren interjected. “I thought I was gonna have to come in here and rescue your fiance from the lynx. Have you seen the size of those paws?”Kurt shook his head. “Oh Lauren, Eli’s great. Saves me a lot of time. You just don’t trust him yet.”“I don’t trust anybody. It’s the nature of the job. Although, if people weren’t total assholes, I wouldn’t be employed, so I guess it isn’t all bad. Anyways, thanks for the food, Reynolds.”“Reynolds?” Blaine questioned, cocking his head sideways.“Burt Reynolds. It’s the eyebrows. That’s a compliment. He was a good lookin’ guy in his younger days.”“Um, thank you.” Blaine said. He took another bite of his orange chicken when he heard his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out of his pocket and sighed. “Crap, that’s Artie. He wants us to redo a scene.”“Oh, ok. Thanks for bringing me lunch. Love you.” Kurt said, raising up to kiss Blaine’s cheek. “Wait, didn’t you need to talk?”“It’s fine. We’ll talk more tonight, ok,” Blaine said. “See you tonight. Love you too. Bye Lauren.”“Later, Reynolds,” she laughed as Blaine walked out of the office. “That was sweet of him.”“Shameless. I can’t believe you conned my fiance into bringing you lunch.”Lauren took another bite of her eggroll. “What? Don’t pretend like you don’t appreciate it.”“I do. And he’s the kinda guy that would do it every day if I asked him to do so. I mean, for the first few months that we lived together, he made me breakfast in bed. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if he talked you into telling me that it was your idea for him to get us lunch.”Lauren averted his gaze. “Oh my God. It was his idea. He was checking on me.”“Look, I told him he could drop in from time to time. Although I did warn him against he sneaking in, because I might accidentally taser his ass, and then you’d hate me, and I wouldn’t be able to do my job as sufficiently. You should be flattered that he cares so much.”“Oh, I am. I just don’t want to give him a reason to worry. All of this stuff with the lawsuit and now the threats. He’s not sleeping well. He’d never say anything out loud, but I can tell that this is all taking a toll on him. Maybe after he saw there was nothing to worry about though, maybe he can relax a little.”“Um, Kurt. It bothers me that you think that this Blainiac guy is harmless. Blaine’s right to be concerned. This guy is seriously off his hinges, and I don’t think he’s playing around. Besides, I believe after meeting your new assistant, Blaine will be dropping in a little more often.”“You think he’s attracted to Elijah?”“Uh uh. I believe he thinks Elijah wants in that second skin that you insist on calling jeans. I think if Eli would have stuck around any longer, he would have had two nice, round holes burned into his forehead from the the laser beam blazing from Blaine’s retinas.”“Oh, please,” Kurt said, his eyes rolling playfully. “Blaine isn’t really the jealous type.”“It’s not jealousy. I think he’s just super-protective of you, and I think that’s sweet. Actually, it kinda makes me want to hurl.“Kurt, I have the drinks. I got you that tea you- where’s Blaine?” Elijah asked, looking around the room.“He got called back to the studio. He said it was nice to meet you, though,” Kurt replied.“He seemed thrilled, especially since you sent me to get something that he already brought,’ Elijah said, eyeing the styrofoam cups still in the carrier on Kurt’s desk. “Yeah,” Kurt said, looking down at his desktop to avoid his assistant’s stare.“It’s ok, Kurt. You could have just said I want a few moments alone with my smokin’ hot fiance so he can ravage me in my office. I would’ve taken the hint. Besides, you know anything you say in this room won’t be repeated. Scouts honor,” Elijah said, holding up the universal boy scout sign. “I’m sorry. Next time I won’t send you on some silly errand. I’ll just be honest with you and tell you I want you to get lost in the photography department for like half an hour,” Kurt joked.“Half an hour? That’s it? If I had ‘Mr. Sex on a Stick’ in my office, I think we’d be tied up a little longer than half an hour. Or at least he would be,” Elijah said, closing his eyes and shivering, as though he was picturing it in his mind.“Elijah, that ringing sound. I’m not sure but I think that might be a telephone, and I’m pretty sure it’s in your job description to answer here so my boy can finish his chicken.” Lauren barked.Elijah winced and hurried out the door to answer the phone. Kurt shook his head. “Girl, remember that discussion we had about delicacy in one’s tone. If you would have said that any fiercer, we’d have to remove him from the ceiling.”“Sorry, not sorry. He just called your fiance sex on a stick and insinuated that he wanted to bind and gag him in your office. I know you like him, but I just don’t trust that kid.”“I thought you said you don’t trust anyone,” Kurt said with a smirk.“I don’t, except for maybe Reynolds. That guy would probably thank a robber for taking all his money and tell him where his spare cash is in his wallet. There’s not a malicious bone in his body, is there? Although, I bet he could kick some serious ass if he needed too. He a boxer, right?”Kurt raised his eyebrows. “How did you know that?”“Scuffed knuckles. Also his stance. I’d like to see ‘Fetch’ try to tie him up. I’d pay to see the beatdown that’d ensue,” she chuckled. “By the way, thanks for the chapter. That’s some hot stuff, although I feel bad for Emmett. Sad sack!! He doesn’t stand a chance, much like Fetch with your fiance. Well, I best be getting back to my post so you can be a least a little productive today. Thanks again for lunch. Oh, Kurt. Isabelle said she needed to speak to you earlier. Why don’t you go check if she’s in your office?”Kurt nodded. “Thanks.” He got up from his desk chair and dropped the empty cartons into the waste can and exited his office. Lauren immediately hurried to his desk and sat down in his chair, silently cursing her skinny boss. She quickly logged into Kurt’s email and sighed in frustration. No new emails from Blainiac. Deep down, she hoped that Kurt was right, and this guy was just an internet troll, but the strong feeling in her gut told her otherwise. That and the threatening note scrawled out on a post-it that was attached to his monitor before he arrived. She closed out the browser and exited the office as quickly as she entered. She grabbed her cell from her pocket and hit the speed dial.“Wes, I’m gonna stop by after my shift is over. There was another message today. No, not in his email. This one was in his office.”___________________________________________________________________________
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Domestic PartnersChapter 11-Ship Wars
So I see that you decided to continue on seeing Blaine. That just means I can continue on with my own plans. See you soon.
Blainiac 2:16
Wes stared at the square of paper. “Lauren, did he see this?”“Of course not. I wanted to show it to you first,” Lauren replied. “I told Puck about the latest threat. He’s on extra alert. We also more people on the case to guard his house when he’s home and we have security systems and cameras in both his apartment and his office. We’ve also increased Blaine’s security as well.”“Any chance it could be Kurt’s assistant?” Wes asked.“He was acting particularly skeezy today, especially around Blaine. But, he’s not a major suspect. He’s not the most articulate guy in the world. Although he’s a Partner’s fan, he just doesn’t seem like he fits the profile,” Lauren replied. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s definitely a few crayons short of a whole box, but I don’t see him as menacing. Blaine looked like he wanted him to use him as a punching bag though. I’d be happy to hold him steady while Reynolds practiced his jab.”Wes chuckled. “Easy there. So if it isn’t the assistant, do you have any other suspects? I remember you said it was likely someone that had met Blaine before.”“He’s a celebrity. It could be anyone. And I kind of stumbled on something that makes me wonder if we aren’t dealing with multiple perpetrators,” Lauren revealed. “Check this out.” She turned her laptop around to show Wes a Tumblr page.
BLAINIACS 4 LIFE
Wes’s eyes went wide as he scrolled down to see post after post of fans and Blaine, reports of sightings, and even rants about seeing Kurt and Blaine out together. There had to be hundreds of them. “When did you find this?”“Earlier today. I got suspicious after I found the post-it. And I started thinking about the other warnings that Kurt got. The writing style wasn’t consistent across the board, especially on the post-it. It was like there were multiple authors. And one of the senders even spelled Blainiac wrong,” Lauren groaned.Wes shook his head. “This is a mess. So now you are saying we could be dealing with multiple threats, and we don’t have a clue who any of them are? Do you know how many gay fans Blaine has?”“Not just gay fans, although most of them are. Quite a few of them are Blam shippers. A few of them even ship SeBlaine.”Wes jerked his head toward Lauren in shock. “Wait, that’s Blaine and Sebastian, right? Are these people aware that they once dated, but it ended because Sebastian was a self-absorbed ass?”“Yeah, most of them know, and they don’t care. Hell, some of these are female, with a goal of turning Blaine straight.” Lauren rolled her eyes.Wes shook his head as he continued to scroll down the page. “Who is Porcelain?” Wes asked, clearly confused by the name written repeatedly amongst the numerous posts.“Best I can figure, it’s Kurt. These people write in code. See, on Tumblr, you can search posts by name or by tags. These fans are careful to not actually say their names so nobody stumbles across the site and reports it.”“So I guess that Bumble Bee is Blaine,” Wes surmised.“Yeah. It’d be a cute nickname if it weren’t posted by complete nutcases. I mean, there are some that say that Sam is the real boyfriend.”Wes furrowed his eyebrows. “Sam is straight.”“Not according to these people. They’ve mostly used scenes from the show, but they’ve also found pictures of Sam and Blaine in various compromising positions. Some appear to be photoshopped. Didn’t you say there was this one pap in particular that you guys had to deal with before?” Lauren asked.“Yeah. Jacob Ben Isreal. We brought a suit against him, but it was settled out of court. He had to pay a fine, but then his paper just gave him a substantial raise.”“Well, it seems to me, quite a few of his photos are used here, and some of the articles from his blog are reblogged here. And unfortunately, there are quite a few blogs that are tagged as Blainiacs. This particular page looked like it had the most followers, but there are quite a few more.”Wes’ head fell into his palm. “This just got a million times more complicated. Do you believe this to be a conspiracy? Are they all Blaine stalkers?”“Lauren shook his head. No. Most of them just wish that he was single so they had a shot. Some of them are Blam shippers, as I stated before, and some of them just hate Kurt. I could try to make a profile of the perp, but it’s going to take awhile. Plus, I need to go through all of these followers pages as well,” she sighed. “And even if I do find this guy on Tumblr, it’s really hard to track them down. Although members of the site have to register, all they need is an email account, and anyone can create one of those. Not to mention, several of these blogs can be run by the same person because you can have multiple pages. People can even post as an anonymous poster, and that’s a lot harder to trace.”“So what do you think we need to do? Do we need to sit them down and show them the site.”Lauren shook her head no. “Are you kidding? Kurt would be pissed. He’d spend days holed in his office writing scathing replies to all the haters, ripping them all a new asshole, and Blaine would be devastated. You know what a people pleaser he is.”Wes nodded. “You’re right. So what do we do?”“I have an idea. But you aren’t going to like it. And they are going to absolutely hate it,” Lauren sighed. “Let’s hear it anyway.”“They need to break up,” Lauren said, matter-of-factly.“There’s no way that’s going to happen. Blaine and Kurt love each other. I’ve never seen Blaine so happy.”Lauren shook her head. “That’s not what Kurt said. He said Blaine’s on edge. He’s not sleeping, and he’s looking over his shoulder constantly. Elliott said he’s screwing up lines left and right, and Artie actually said he missed Cooper yesterday. And Spencer and Allister said he’s been irritable. Well, Allister said that. Spencer just said he was being a dick.”“Blaine? He must really be terrified. Blaine would be horrified if he knew anyone said those things about him. He likes to appear calm and confident, even if he’s a wreck inside. I remember when he first came to Dalton. He would jump at the slightest touch or noise. We brought him out of his shell, but I still think he was guarded. David has always said that Blaine was the poster boy for anxiety. He was just good at hiding it.”“I could agree with that. You, Quinn, and David, are you going to be able to handle this case on your own? Sebastian named almost the entire cast and crew. This is a huge case. ” Lauren said.Wes frowned. “No. We had to bring in more council on this case. Sebastian’s father has been burying the firm in paperwork, and we’re over our head. We brought in Trent Nixon and Thad Harwood. Trent is a paralegal, and Thad is an attorney. He was a Warbler with us, and he knows Blaine and Sebastian. He'll be an asset to this case," Wes smiled softly. "Do you believe Sebastian could be Blainiac?" Wes inquired."I did at first, especially since he addressed him as pasty-face, but I've seen that slur on this page too. I just really don't have a clue right now. So, does Sebastian actually have a case or is this trial mostly bullshit?"“There's more to it than I originally thought. There were definitely some shady things happening behind the scenes of the show, but I don't believe that Kurt did anything malicious, and although Blaine uncovered the leak, I don't think he did it out of spite for Sebastian, nor did he slander him in the process. He was trying to save the show. And Sebastian is trying to get at him because he was fired, and he doesn't know how to take responsibility for his own actions," Wes replied. "I know this isn't your usual scene, but I don't trust anyone else to do this. You and your team are the best. But are you ok with this?”“The reason I hate working on huge cases is that all of the people that end up getting involved. You know that as a rule, I don’t trust people, and then I’m thrust in this situation where I’m supposed to just believe that they are in it for the right reasons, and we all know that in the legal profession, that ain’t true. I don’t want my clients to get hurt because someone that doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the people involved overlooked major details,” Lauren said bluntly.“You have a valid point, Lauren. But I want you to remember that Blaine and Kurt are my friends, and I will still be lead counsel on this case. Everything will be seen by me, and I swear I won’t just pass it off on someone just trying to get done so they can go home early. I need you to trust me.”“I do. I'm just a little stressed. I've been on guard duty and when I finish that, I'm trying to sort out all of this Tumblr mess, and it's a lot. I'm decent with tech, but it's not really what I excel at doing. “That sounds like a lot of work. Shouldn’t you enlist some extra help yourself?” Wes asked“Don’t you worry. I got the studio’s PR representation firm to help. They loaned me Tina Cohen Chang. She was head of PR at the studio, but she's a wiz on the computer, and she knows how to navigate social media like it's her backyard. Also, I’m going to be spending the majority of my time trying to crack the mystery of who Blainiac is, so we’ve got two other guards to watch Hummel. Puckerman’s brother, Jake and his partner, Ryder, are going to take over.”“Oh Good Gracious! Are those two even capable of staying in the same room with one another without a brawl breaking out?” Wes questioned, raising an eyebrow. “I had the most horrendous time getting the firm to use you guys again after the incident with that singer last year.”“Don’t worry. There aren’t any girls involved this time, and they won’t be working on the same shift. Besides, they both know that if either one of them screws this up, they’ll be dusting the dirt off their asses and picking their teeth out of the parking lot, courtesy of the real biggest badass they’ve ever met. Moi.”“Well, that would certainly deter me from doing anything stupid,” Wes grinned, but then his smile quickly faded. “But I have to admit, it makes me nervous that you are going off Kurt’s detail. He’s quite guarded. He trusts you. Besides, you are smart enough to know when you need to stay close and when to back off. I worry that if things get really tense, Kurt may get careless and try to get away from his detail.” Wes said pressing his hands flat against the table top. “He’s independent, and he’s smart. But he’s also a little naïve. I don’t think he’s taking this as seriously as he needs to do so.“Let me talk to them, both Kurt and Blaine, and I’ll explain the severity of this whole situation. We both can. You know me. I’m not great at putting things delicately, and I don’t want this to backfire. I’ll set it up for Monday if that’s good for you,” Lauren said.“I can do ten A.M. Will that work for you?” Wes inquired.“Yes, at ten o’clock. We’ll meet you here. And hopefully, I’ll know a lot more about all of this,” Lauren sighed.
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Domestic Partners
Chapter 12-It’s not ok
Warning: Angst ahead.
Kurt sighed in frustration as he deleted an entire paragraph from the article he was typing. It had been a hellacious Monday, starting with a meeting with Lauren and Wes, and then Isabelle informed that she needed him to scrap the Wonderbutt article he was writing and submit something else. He was about to shut his laptop when an alert popped up.
Incoming Call: Burt Hummel
Kurt sat his laptop down on his nightstand and adjusted the monitor so that his webcam was positioned properly. Then, he clicked the accept button. “Hey, dad. Is everything ok?
“So what’s this Finn said about you not coming here for Thanksgiving, Kurt? You always come to visit us for the holidays,” Burt grumbled. “I figured with that promotion, you’d be able to come up with the money. If you can’t, I’ll get you a ticket and fly you and Blaine here. We miss you, kiddo.”
“I miss you too, dad, but it’s not a money issue. It’s a lot more complicated than that, unfortunately,” Kurt replied with a frown. “It’s this trial. With that and work, they have me pretty busy,” Kurt replied.
"All the more reason to take a break. You look pretty rough. Have you slept at all?"
"Well gee thanks. And no, I haven't been sleeping well," Kurt replied with a little more snark than he had intended.
“So does this have anything to do with this crazy stalker guy and the kid with the Geronimo hair that used to throw you into dumpsters now actin’ as your bodyguard. You want to tell me what that’s all about?”
Kurt grimaced. “Actually, not really. How did you even hear about that?” Kurt questioned in disbelief.
“I’m not an idiot, Kurt. He still calls here to talk to Finn from time to time. And Finn asked what I thought about this situation with you and this psycho stalker guy, which I had to tell him that you haven’t said the first thing to me about. So why don’t you fill me in? Who's this nutcase that’s stalkin’ you and why in the Hell do you need a bodyguard? And Puck, of all people? If I remember, he wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box,” Burt retorted.
“Dad, calm down. It just this guy on the internet making idle threats. The studio and the lawyers are just being cautious.”
“I don't get it. Why is this guy threatening you?”
Kurt sighed. “He’s a fan of Blaine’s, and he wants me out of the picture.”
Burt removed his cap and scratched his head. "So this guy is after Blaine or you?”
“Both of us, I guess. The actual threats though are toward me. Lauren, one of my guards, thinks that it’s just some jealous fan. I think it’s Sebastian. I think he’s trying to spook us so we aren’t on our game during the trial. It’s fine.”
Burt shook his head. “It’s not fine. You are my son, and I don’t like anyone trying to push you around. Especially if I can’t protect you.”
“That’s what the bodyguards are for. They’re mainly a precaution, just to make sure that we’re safe. It’s just some coward hiding behind a keyboard making bitter threats,” Kurt said, trying to reassure his father with a soft smile.
Kurt could feel his father’s gaze burning into his forehead. “What aren’t you telling me? Is this like the kid in school? The one that threatened to kill you. The one you didn’t want to tell me about,” Burt prodded.
“No. It’s nothing like that. And if you remember, Karofsky never actually did anything except kiss me. He was just confused and scared. We’re actually friends now. It’s no big deal.”
“It was a big deal then, and it’s a big deal now. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Kurt sighed. “I assure you, it’s ok. Look, Dad, I have to go. But I’ll call you back tomorrow, ok? I love you.”
“Love you too. But this conversation is not over. And promise me you’ll be safe,” Burt said. “Tell Blaine I said hi.”
“I will,” Kurt said as he clicked the end call button and sighed loudly.
“Was that your dad?” Blaine asked as he stepped into their bedroom and kissed Kurt’s forehead. He sat down next to Kurt on their bed.
“Yeah. I relayed the news about Thanksgiving.”
Blaine frowned. “How did he take it?”
Kurt shook his head. “Not so well. Finn told him about the bodyguards and the situation with Blainiac.”
“How much does he know? Kurt, you should have told him before now,” Blaine scolded. “I bet he’s worried to death.
“I didn’t expect Finn to blab. Although, I should’ve known better. It still makes me nervous that he knows the wedding date and venue. Besides, I told him he doesn’t have a reason to worry. It’s all just a precaution,” Kurt smiled reassuringly at his fiance.
Blaine placed his hand on his own forehead. “I don’t think you are treating this with the seriousness that it deserves. You remember what Lauren told you this morning. Someone was in your office. This wasn’t an email this time. He walked right past the night guard and put a note directly on your work computer. And they said there was evidence that there could be more than one person writing the messages.”
“I told you, I still think it’s some paid lackey of Sebastian’s. He’s just trying to scare us.”
“And it’s working. Kurt, I found a note in my office today, written on a large post-it like the one Lauren said she found in your office.”
Kurt’s mouth dropped open wide. “Wait, what did it say? Do you still have it?”
“I gave it to Spencer so he could give it to Lauren. I took a picture of it on my phone, though.” Blaine scrolled through the photos on his camera roll until he found the message.
Dear Blaine,
Who are those guys that have been tailing your ass lately? Not that I blame them. It’s a nice ass. It’s not the same pasty-faced twink that’s usually glued to your hip. That’s a nice change. How about you make that change permanent? If you can’t, I can help with that.
Blaniac 2-16
Kurt’s cheeks felt as if they were on fire with rage. “I’m so tired of this coward calling me a pasty-faced twink.”
Blaine jerked away from Kurt and stood up, running his fingers through his hair so roughly that he pulled out a few strands. “That’s what is bothering you? This was in my office!” Blaine retorted angrily. “He wants to hurt you, Kurt. Do you get that at all? Does it matter to you that this is tearing me apart.”
Kurt reached for Blaine’s hand. “Calm down. It’s ok. Everything is ok!”
Blaine jerked back. “Everything is not ok. I am not ok, and if you don’t realize that, then maybe Lauren was right.” Blaine reached under the bed for his overnight bag and immediately began tossing some things into it.”
“Wait, what are you doing?” Kurt cried out.
“This is too much. All of it. I need a break. We need a break!” Blaine replied, zipping the bag shut and reaching for the doorknob.
“Blaine, please, let’s talk about this,” Kurt begged.
Blaine shook his head. "I can't. I can't talk about this right now. He stepped through the doorway, bag in tow.
“Where are you going?
“Sam’s,” he said shortly and walked right out the door, leaving Kurt sobbing into his pillow.
___________________________________________________________________________
Author’s Note: Thanks to Kellyb321 for looking over this. And if you dislike the angst, she’s the one that assured me that’s it’s time to take the plunge. And she’s right. Strap yourselves in, it’s going to be a rough ride.
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Author’s Notes: Sorry this took so long to publish. I rewrote it multiple times.Warning: violence and angst ahead.____________________________________________________________________________Domestic PartnersChapter 13-Night Terrors“Blaine! Please help me!” Kurt cried out in agony as fists pounded into Kurt’s torso. “Please!”“Kurt!” Blaine cried, tears raining from his eyes as he struggled against the man that had his arms pinned behind his back. “Leave him alone. It’s me you want!”The man behind him laughed sinisterly. “That’s only partially true. Yes, I want you, but it seems these days the only way anyone gets you is with this pathetic Twinkerbell at your side. Him, I could do without seeing ever again.”“Well, that’s tough because Kurt is my fiance, my one true love. And I wouldn’t ever leave him for anyone, especially not you,” Blaine spat.“So you’ve said before,” the man laughed again. “So I decided to reverse it, have him leave you. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t agree to go peacefully. And so it had to come to this,” he said as one of his friends landed another punch to Kurt’s stomach.“You think I’d ever want someone like you. Someone that tried to manipulate and hurt other people. You’re spineless. You couldn’t even do your own dirty work. And it took three of you. You are all just a bunch of cowards.” Blaine screamed at Kurt’s attackers, still struggling to break free from the man who had him pinned to the ground. “Cowards, huh? One of the other men laughed. “Wanna see how fearless I am?” he snarled, pulling a switchblade from his back pocket. “I told you before that I could snap him like a twig, but this might be a little more fun,” he laughed menacingly as he pressed the button so the blade sprung forward, his free hand grasping Kurt by the collar as the hand with the knife swung around his neck, the blade now right against his skin.“Stop!” Blaine screamed. “What do you want? Anything! Just don’t hurt him,” he cried as he thrashed, still trying to break free from the weight of the man on top of him.“You had your chance.” Blainiac sneered. “You were warned. You chose to ignore my warnings. Time’s up,” he said as he slid the knife across Kurt’s neck, slitting Kurt's throat.“KURT!” Blaine cried aloud, thrashing violently, as his fiance's blood painted the pavement red.“Blaine! Man, are you ok?” a familiar voice asked as the light flicked on and Blaine rubbed his eyes. “You were screaming and you’re shakin’, dude? What happened?” Sam asked as he wrapped his arm around Blaine’s shoulder.Blaine wiped the sweat from his brow. “They were hurting Kurt. I couldn’t protect him. Sam, I was right there, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”“It was just a nightmare, man. I’m sure Kurt is fine.”“How can you be sure. I can’t be. I’m terrified to leave him alone. I’ve barely been sleeping. And then I just walk out and left him alone,” Blaine sobbed, his head buried in his hands.“You didn’t leave him alone. He has Puck outside the apartment, and he’s one scary-ass dude. He’s not gonna let anything happen to Kurt while he’s on watch. Speaking of Puck, he called.”“Kurt’s bodyguard! He called? When?”“About an hour ago. He sounded a little strange. I think he was calling from the john, so I just I told him you were sleepin’ and he kinda laughed and said something like, sleepin’ my ass. I worry about that guy sometimes,” Sam laughed, as he handed Blaine’s phone over to him. “So, you ok?”Blaine nodded as he started scrolling through his missed calls. “Yeah,” he replied sadly. “Kurt called too, several times. Why didn’t you wake me?”“It’s midnight man. I’ll take you over there in the morning, but you need to get some rest.”“I just tried, and you saw the aftermath of that,” Blaine sighed. “I was doing that at home too. I think it terrified Kurt. Honestly, I was terrified as well. It just seemed so real. I need to talk to him.”Sam nodded and smiled. “Call him. I’m sure he can’t sleep either. I’m surprised he hasn’t barged through the door already with a bouquet of roses and a cheesecake.”Blane hit the send button and sighed again the phone rang a few times and then went to voicemail. “Kurt, it’s me. I’m sorry. Sorry I left. Sorry I missed your calls. I’m just sorry. I love you. Please call me back when you get this,” Blaine pleaded. Before he could end the call, another call started to beep in. “It's Puck again.” He hit the talk button. “Hey, man. I’m sorry, I was asleep earlier and Sam didn't wake me. What's going on?”“Is Kurt still there with you?” Puck asked worriedly. “Huh? Kurt’s not here. He's supposed to be there with you?" Blaine said, scratching his head in confusion.“He was, but he's not here now. He said he was going to take a nap. When I went to check on him, and the window was open and a note was on his computer desk,” Puck explained. “I called you as soon as I noticed he was gone, but Sam said you were sleepin’ and acted all hush-hush like there was some secret. I thought he must've snuck over there to see you."“No, he didn't. Wait. You said there was a note? What does it say? Puck? Snap a picture and send it to me,” Blaine demanded frantically. Sam squeezed Blaine’s hand as he waited for Puck’s reply.A photo of a large post-it popped up.
Needed a breather. Dont wait up.
Blaine immediately called Puck back. “Kurt didn’t write this. When did you notice he was gone?”“Wait, what do you mean Kurt didn’t write this. How do you know?” Puck sounded worried.“I know his writing. Kurt’s penmanship is incredibly neat. This is chicken scratch. And Kurt would never in a million years write don’t without an apostrophe. Typos are a major pet peeve of his. When was the last time you actually saw him?”“I don’t know. About an hour ago. I just thought he was tryin’ to sneak over there for some hot anger sex, ya know, and I was kinda havin' my own issues. I think I shat out everything I've ever ate.”“TMI, man. Call Kurt!” Blaine practically yelled into the phone. “He may not pick up if he thinks it’s me calling. He’s stubborn like that. Is it ringing?”“Yeah, it’s ringin’,” Puck replied, his voice panicked. “Wait! That’s his ring tone. I thought I heard it earlier as well,” Puck blurted. “Kurt never goes anywhere without his phone,” Blaine said, his voice shaking. “Puck, did you find it?”Puck groaned. “Hang on, Dude. It’s dark out here, and there are weeds and stuff. It’s gotta be close, dammit!”“Weeds. Kurt would never walk through weeds.” Sam remarked, shaking his head.“Of course he wouldn’t. You know Kurt. He’d be worried it would ruin his designer boots. Call Lauren. I’ll be there in a second.”"Blaine, I found it. Hurry!" Puck shouted as he stood over Kurt’s body, ripping off his shirt so he could apply pressure to the wound in Kurt’s head.____________________________________________________________________________Author’s Notes: Don’t hate me, guys. You know me and angst. It’s a love-hate relationship. I promise to fix this eventually.
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Domestic PartnersChapter 14- Slip Up It hadn’t been fifteen minutes since Blaine hung up on him when he came sprinting down the asphalt, hopping over the chain-link fence like it was nothing and rushing over to Puck, who was standing there wringing his hands, fear written all over his face. “The cops are on their way. So is Lauren. She’s going to kill me.”Blaine glared at him and grabbed Kurt’s phone out of Puck’s hands. “I’m going to kill you. How could you let this happen? You were supposed to be watching him. That’s the sole description of what a night guard does. They guard!”“I was watching him. But then, he got all weepy and he was crying, singing sappy show tunes, and there’s only so much of that crap I can take,” Puck sighed. “It’s not like I didn’t go check on him every two minutes. I was outside the door the entire time, well except when I had to drop a deuce, which was a little more than I usually do because I kinda had the runs man. It must’ve been that burrito I had for lunch.”“TMI, man. You never should have left,” Blaine fumed.“Maybe you shouldn’t have either,” Puck retorted.Blaine lunged forward at Puck and grabbed his tank at the neck when they were interrupted by a high-pitched voice. “Would you two shut up and stop fighting like I’m not right here?” Kurt huffed, holding an ice pack to the wound on his head in place of the blood-soaked silk shirt that was now discarded on the ground. “I’m fine,” he winced, as he rubbed his ankle, which was puffy and red.“You are not fine!” Blaine shouted, then he took a deep breath and sat down on the pavement beside his fiance. “How did this happen? Did someone attack you?”Kurt sighed. “No, I slipped. I was so angry. At you, at Blainiac, at everyone. I mean, you basically broke up with me and then ran out of here like a teenage girl having a temper tantrum, and then you wouldn’t pick up your phone so that we could talk this out like adults. What the hell, Blaine?” “I’m sorry. I fell asleep. Sam didn’t wake me, but I called back as soon as I realized, but- wait a second, this isn’t about me? What happened?” Blaine asked, taking Kurt’s other hand in his own. “Well, after I called you, like 5 times and you didn’t pick up, I figured that you actually meant what you said, that you were done with me, and you didn’t want to talk. I got pissed. I wasn’t going to let you get off that easily, without talking, without discussing things, so when I heard Puck go to the bathroom, I scrawled out a note and then I snuck out the window. I thought I cleared the fence, but I was caught. The fringe on my jacket got stuck in the fence, and I couldn’t get loose. So I jerked and pulled at the fabric, which was holding me in place, apparently, and my face and I had a close encounter with the ground. I think I hit a rock or something and passed out for a minute or two.”“An ambulance is on their way too,” Puck told Kurt. “I told them to send both because I didn’t know what we were dealing with if it was an attack or what. I’m sorry, dude. But you can’t do that. If you wanted to go see Short Stack, I would have gone with you. I would have even given you a lift on my hog, man, well once I got off the pot. You would have had to ride bitch, but I would’ve gotten you there. ” Kurt sighed. “I know. It was a stupid thing to do.”“Damn right, it was!” Puck replied. “I thought you were kidnapped or something. With the note and all, after Blaine said that wasn’t your handwriting on that post-it.“What note on a post-it? I didn’t write anything on a post-it. I used my notepad.” Kurt replied, giving Puck a what-the-hell glare. “Blaine, show it to him. The picture I sent you.”Blaine quickly pulled up the picture on his phone and showed it to Kurt. “I told him it wasn’t yours. That’s why he panicked, why I panicked too, I guess." Kurt blinked and rubbed his forehead as if he was a little puzzled. “No, it isn’t mine. But I know who wrote it.” He blinked again and passed out cold in Blaine’s arm as the siren wailed in the street. “What the hell happened, Puckerman? You knew you weren’t supposed to take your eyes off of him for a second,” Lauren berated the man, as they sat at a table in the now-empty cafeteria of the emergency room. “A dude’s gotta go, sometimes. I’m sorry. I told them both that I’m sorry,” Puckerman apologized, letting his head drop into his hands. “Don’t beat yourself up. That’s my job,” Lauren said, smacking him on the back of the head. “Have they updated you on his condition?”"He’s gonna be ok. He’s got a concussion and a broken ankle, but I’m more concerned with this post-it thing. He said he knows who wrote it, but then I haven’t been able to talk to him since. I need to go back in there, to see him so I can get to the bottom of this and find this little punk so I can give him the beatdown he deserves.”Lauren shook her head. “Not right now. He’s in there with Blaine, and they need to talk. And so do we,” Lauren sighed. “I found out a lot more about Blainiac and this Tumblr page. It turns out that it’s even more complicated than we thought. As I suspected, there is more than one Blainiac. Tina, Dottie, and I have been trying to weed out suspects, and there are quite a few. Two of them were easy because they use the same name to sign the emails as they use for their Tumblr names. I believe there is at least one more that’s been sending the threats, but this one was a lot more cautious. He doesn’t have an account of the fanfiction page like the other two, and the Tumblr page is not specific to just Blaine. Actually, I think he may be responsible for some of the anonymous comments on the main Blainiac page and on the other two Bloggers’ pages.”“Well, at least you’ve got some more information. Any chance there’s more than three?”“I was suspicious of a poster named Jigsaw Sue, but it turns out that she has her own page devoted to Kurt, something called “Sweet Porcelain” or something like that. She’s completely off her rocker, but I think she’s harmless,” Lauren said with a dry laugh. “There’s always a chance, but I think these three are our main culprits.”“Do you know anything about their real identities yet?” “No. I had to get a detective involved, someone that has a little more access and clearance than I do, and he doesn’t really have anything definitive yet, aside from tracing email accounts. You know that people create bogus email addresses all the time, so it didn’t really lead anywhere. However, I did have him trace IP addresses, and as I suspected, they are using multiple devices, one which includes an office PC from Vogue.com, Kurt’s office.”“But we already knew that someone was sneaking into Kurt’s office,” Puck replied, shrugging his shoulders.“Yes, but at that point, we thought that someone could’ve just snuck past security on that one occasion. We didn’t know if it was a delivery boy or someone on the cleaning crew, but now we know that this computer has been used multiple times, which means that one of the culprits has been in that building multiple times. I’m not sure if it’s someone that works directly with Kurt, or if it’s someone in one of the other departments.”“Wait, Kurt said that he recognized the handwriting on the post-it. The one left in his room. He said he’d know that handwriting anywhere,” Puck blurted, as he stood up from his seat in the hospital lounge. “I need to go talk to Kurt!” “What the Hell! Do you know how stupid it was to break into his room with the bodyguard there? You could’ve been caught. You were supposed to wait until they left.”“I thought he had left. I watched him sneak out of the window, and I thought it was all clear. I made sure the bodyguard was distracted. Replacing the chocolates in the box with laxatives earlier today seemed to do the trick,” the man laughed. “But I didn’t know that Kurt got caught on the fence. While I was in his room, I started the note, but then, I heard a thud. I looked out of the window, and I saw him on the ground with a pool of blood under his head. I panicked and high-tailed it out of there before anyone knew what happened,” Elijah replied.“Well, because of your sloppiness, they'll figure out that you’ve been in his home. And you better hope that Kurt doesn’t recognize your chicken scratch. Because if he does, we’re going to have to turn things up a notch, strike sooner than we planned,” Blainiac replied. “Those flowers are nice,” Blaine said with a smile. “Who sent them?”Kurt sniffed the bouquet of assorted flowers, carnations, daisies, and babies breath, and checked the card. “Oh, they’re from Elijah, my assistant. You’ve met him.”Blaine winced and walked over to the hand sanitizer and pumped some of the liquid into his hands and rubbed his hands vigorously. “Yeah. I remember. Beverage Boy,” Blaine said, with an eye roll. “He tried to visit earlier, but you were still unconscious. I told the receptionist to tell him to thank him for stopping by, but he could see you at work.”“Why does he bother you so much? He’s harmless. He’s a huge help around the office,” Kurt said.“I don’t like the way that he looks at you,” Blaine replied. “At me? He looked at you like he was undressing you with his eyes,” Kurt chuckled. "What? Was he looking at me the same way?”Blaine looked down. “No. It was like this brooding, envious look. Like a kid in a candy store when he doesn’t have a cent to his name.”“It’s no secret that he wants my job one of these days,” Kurt laughed. “But that’s the nature of the beast. Everyone wants their superiors to get struck by some mysterious debilitating illness or get hit by a bus or something so they can move into their role. He’s just tenacious.” Kurt raised up and waved to Puck and Lauren, who came barging through the door. “Hey, what's wrong?”“You said that you’ve seen the writing before. On the post-it. Where?” Lauren asked.Kurt nodded. “At work. My assistant? Elijah.”Puck cocked his head sideways. “Creep Show? The little weasel that follows you around like he’s tethered to your hip or something and glares at you as if he wanted to burn a hole in your forehead?” Puck asked.“He does not,” Kurt replied with an eye roll.“He definitely does,” Lauren agreed. “I told you he was a skeez.” Have you ever invited over to your house before?” Puck questioned.“Of course not. He’s just a colleague. Why?”“Because I think we found Blainiac,” Puck answered. Author’s Notes: Alright, so I kind of did it again. Another cliffhanger. Several of you predicted that Elijah was involved, but you’ll just have to keep coming back to find out to what extent. And see, Kurt’s ok. I told you I couldn’t be responsible for anything too bad to my precious Kurt. Alright, off to start another chapter. Thanks again to everyone still commenting an reviewing. Nothing motivates me quite like getting that email saying I’ve got a review.
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Chapter 15-Moving Up or Moving OutKurt squinted and turned his head from the window in the bleak hospital room, grabbing the blanket to try to block the sunlight so that he could go back to sleep, but it wouldn’t budge. He smiled when he realized that Blaine was the reason. His fiance was snuggled up against him, his head resting on Kurt’s chest, and the blanket wrapped securely around him. Kurt smiled and kissed his fiance’s forehead. “Blaine,” Kurt whispered. “Scooch a little.”Blaine blinked a little, smiling when he saw Kurt looking at him. “Hey, sorry,” he said, tugging the thin duvet out from under himself and smoothing it over the both of them. “There. You feeling any better?”“Yeah, I guess. My ankle started hurting a lot last night, so the nurse came in and gave me some pain medication. I slept great after that. I have a bit of a headache right now, but I guess that’s to be expected,” Kurt sighed, sitting up against the hospital bed railing. “I owe you an apology.”Blaine scooted next to Kurt, looking him solemnly in the eyes. “I’m the one that overreacted. I didn’t mean to run out on you like that. I was so scared, Kurt. I still am. Blainiac is still out there, and you were refusing to take it seriously. You’re my life, Kurt. If something happened to you, I don’t know what I’d do.”Kurt took Blaine’s hand in his. “You’re mine too, and I get it now. When I fell and hit the pavement, I knew I was hurt. I was terrified, and all I could think about was you, and how you left me, and that I deserved it,” Kurt said as a tear slid down his cheek. Blaine shook his head as a tear rolled down his cheek as well. “You didn’t deserve it. You don’t deserve any of this. I shouldn’t have left. I wasn’t done with you. I never will be. You’re it for me. You need to know that. I just-” Blaine sighed. “I got overwhelmed and frustrated. This is all my fault. Blainiac is after you because of me. I thought he had hurt you. I’ve even dreamed of it, vividly, and I just felt overcome with guilt because if something did happen to you, every bit of it would be my fault,” Blaine cried, tears dripping from his eyes.“This isn’t your fault either, Blaine. It’s not like you’re Blainiac. He’s the person or person responsible, not you. And I should have taken it seriously. It wasn’t that I was ignoring it or anything. I just thought it was a ploy. But to find out that my own assistant has something to do with this,” Kurt sighed. “I just didn’t think this Blainiac guy was actually going to act on anything. I assumed it was all part of Sebastian’s plan to rattle us before the trial.”Blaine nodded in understanding. “Yeah, but by shrugging this whole situation off like it was nothing scared the hell out of me. Blowing off your security and sneaking out of the window. How could you take such a risk?”Kurt dropped his head. “I shouldn't have. I just wanted to get to you, to talk, so that we could fix things between us. I’ve never seen you that upset.”Blaine put his arms around Kurt’s neck and rested his head on his fiance’s shoulder. “I know. I lost my cool. But, we’re ok now. More than ok, but all of this is getting out of hand. I’m afraid, that this guy or these guys are going to hurt you and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.” Blaine took Kurt’s hand in his own and started stroking it lightly. “I couldn’t bear it, if you get hurt because of me.” Another tear slid down his cheek.“Hey, no. Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m right here,” Kurt reassured his fiance, squeezing his hand back. “I’m not going anywhere.”Blaine shook his head and let it rest in his other hand, “Lauren’s right. This is too dangerous. I need to have a talk with Sidney. I’m quitting the show.”“You are doing no such thing,” Kurt responded, shaking his head. “We are not letting some little cretin determine our lives for us. This is your work, Blaine. Besides, the show would never survive without you. And you love it too much.”“I love you more. I love us. And nothing is worth losing us - nothing, Kurt; not the show, not money, not anything.” Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt and buried his head in Kurt’s neck. Kurt wrapped his arms fiercely around his fiance like a blanket. “You aren’t going to lose me. I told you before, I’m never saying goodbye to you. Not now. Not ever, and certainly not for some psycho that thinks he can intimidate me into stepping aside.Blaine pulled back from Kurt’s embrace and dropped his head so that his gaze rested on the white tiles. “Lauren said we should postpone the wedding. I know you don’t want to, but it might be the best thing, for now, until they catch him, or them. Ugh!” Blaine wrung his hands together in frustration. “This is crazy! I’m going crazy.”“You aren’t. The only one that’s crazy is the nutcase that’s doing this. But I trust Lauren and the guys. And I trust Wes and his team. They are going to figure this out,” Kurt said, scooting back to the head of the bed and lying down. He patted Blaine’s spot. “I think we both just need to rest. You haven’t been sleeping, and I haven ‘t really been either. It’s early. Big spoon or little?“Little,” Blaine replied quietly, allowing Kurt to engulf him in his warm embrace and drift back off to sleep. “Elijah, come take a seat,” Isabelle said calmly from her place at the conference table. “I’ve invited Phillip from security, and Denise from HR because we had some concerns we needed to address. Elijah sat down in the conference directly across from Isabelle. “Concerns? Involving me? It must be something quite serious if HR and legal is involved.”“It’s quite serious, Elijah, and I believe that you already know why we are all here,” Isabelle replied solemnly. There have been some allegations regarding some of the activities you have done at work. While performing routine maintenance on your pc, it’s been discovered that there were adult websites in your browser history.”Elijah breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, those. They were for research. Kurt was doing that article about butt enhancing underwear. Apparently, if you type male enhancement into a search engine, you get some very, um, interesting results.” Elijah laughed nervously. “Well, that makes sense, but we are actually referring to social media sites.”Elijah’s gaze shifted from Kurt to the clock on the wall to the floor, as if he was afraid of eye contact. “I check my Facebook and Tumblr sometimes, on my lunch break and stuff. I didn’t think that was against company policy. I’ve seen Lauren doing the same on her cell, and I’ve seen Kurt checking nonwork-related emails. Kurt said it was ok as long as I wasn’t on it when I was working on an assignment.”Isabelle nodded. “Yes, it would be permissible, if there weren’t illegal activities happening on the account. I think you are aware that Ms. Zizzes and Mr. Puckerman and the other guards have been with Kurt because of a security threat. We won’t go into details, but I know that you know that someone has been making threats toward him, some in the form of electronic mail and some actually handwritten.”“Yeah, Kurt told me about that maniac, and I’ve been trying to keep out for anyone creepy that stopped in at the office. I notice that that guy in the photography department, Chandler or something, is always stopping by for one reason or another. It’s kind of creepy. I’ve even seen him in his office just a few days when Kurt wasn’t in there, scrawling something on a post-it.”Isabelle frowned. “Well, thank you for informing of this. We assure you that Phillip will check the footage on the security cameras in Kurt’s office.”Elijah gulped. “Security cameras.”Phillip nodded. “Yes. Kurt’s security team had them installed, and I already checked the tapes. The funny thing is that there is no footage of Mr. Kheil entering Mr. Hummel’s office when Mr. Hummel was out, but the footage does show you, not only in his office but rummaging through his desk and even going through the contents in the drawers.”“I’m his office assistant. He sends me to fetch items for him from time to time, and sometimes, I have to search for them because they aren’t where he said they were. I feel like I’m being accused here,” Elijah said, wiping sweat from his brow. Phillip stared directly at Elijah. “We were informed by Ms. Zizes that someone in Kurt’s own office was accessing a website that not only encouraged the harassment of Mr. Hummel, but actually stated multiple times that someone needed to get rid of him using violent methods. And Mr. Clarington, we’ve traced those things back to your own laptop. Is there anything you have to say in regards to this.”“Yes. I’ve let Lauren and Puck use my laptop on numerous occasions, like when tech support was updating the system and they couldn’t use the office computer. And Lauren was looking at Tumblr several times. I think she forgot to log out on more than one occasion. I have to admit that I did snoop. I didn’t mean to. I knew that I shouldn’t have, but I care about Kurt. He’s my boss, and I like the guy. I’m sorry.” Isabelle nodded. “Well, thank you for being so honest, Elijah, but because of our company policy regarding adult websites during work time hours, we have decided that your assistance is no longer needed. Your belongings have been gathered, and you need to leave immediately.”“Wait, I’m being fired?” Elijah questioned, his voice rising. “I explained everything. You can’t fire me. I was just doing what I was asked to do by Kurt. THIS IS A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT!”“Mr. Clarington, I suggest that you leave politely,” Denise, the HR representative advised. “If you do so, you will be dismissed quietly, instead of us calling the police and the legal department.”Elijah rolled his eyes. “Fine,” he said bitterly. “I never liked working here anyway. I was a gopher, which is completely beneath me.” Phillip stood up and firmly grasped Elijah by the wrist. “Sir, you need to leave now.”Elijah jerked up his box of belongings from the conference table and exited the office, allowing the door to slam behind him.“We are pressing charges, correct?” Isabelle asked.Denise shook her head. “We don’t really have enough evidence. What he said regarding the photographer is not inaccurate. That kid was constantly visiting Mr. Hummel’s office. But although Ms. Zizes said he was annoying, she said she had no reason to suspect foul play from him. She also said that Kurt identified Elijah’s handwriting on the post-it found in his room and in his office. And Phillip reviewed the footage with Ms. Zizes. Although she can’t verify for certain that he is the only one involved, she’s quite certain that he was involved.”Isabelle sighed. “I can’t believe it. He seemed like such a good kid. And with Kurt out of the office for a few days, I don’t know if we can meet the print deadline. I’ll have to hire someone else immediately.”“Well, this time, let Kurt’s security company do a thorough background check before you officially hire anyone. And talk to Kurt. Maybe he has someone he can trust that he can recommend this time.” “What the Hell were you thinking, Kurt, slipping out of a window like you were Indiana Jones or something?” Burt yelled as Kurt sat up in his hospital bed. “More like Peter pan,” Kurt chuckled weakly. “Dad, I’m ok.”“To Hell you are. You have a broken ankle and a concussion. That’s some major injuries!”“Dad, calm down. They found the guy responsible for the threats, and he’s been fired. Puck hasn’t left the hospital since I was admitted over forty-eight hours ago, and Blaine hasn’t left my room for more than a few minutes at a time to get coffee or something. Everything is ok.”“Sneaking out of a window? Kurt, this could’ve been so much worse. I get that Puck is annoying, but what were you trying to do?”Kurt sighed. “Blaine and I had a fight. A pretty serious one. He wouldn’t return my calls. I was just going to see him, to talk to him. We talked, and we’ve decided that I’m coming back to Ohio.”“So you two are coming for Thanksgiving?” Burt asked.“Yeah, and a for a little longer. At least, I am. I’ve already booked my flight. I’ve got some things to do before February. Some cancellations and such to make.”“Wait, what? You two are canceling your wedding?” Burt almost yelled. “No, not canceling. Moving it up.” Kurt replied with a smile.“Moving it up? To when?” his father asked.“In two weeks.”
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Author’s Notes: Yes, I know it’s been three weeks since I updated. I’m sorry. Between a death in the family, summer craziness, and getting ready for a new school year, I’m drained.
Because of where the story left off, here’s a recap of previous events.
Elijah was fired because of inappropriate use of technology on company time. Not to mention that Kurt recognized his handwriting in the post-it left in his room the night of his accident. Elijah’s full name is Elijah (Eli C.) Clarington. If that name sounds familiar, I borrowed the name from Kellyb321’s fic, Crowded House. Some of you had questions about Eli’s last name, and more of that will be explained as we go.
Kurt told his dad he was coming home while he healed from his injuries (a concussion and a broken ankle) because he had some things to do for the wedding. But now, instead of waiting for February, the wedding is in two weeks.
Domestic Partners
Chapter 16
“Hey, man. Whatcha you doin’ here? I figured you’d be at the hospital with Kurt,” Elliott smiled as he took a seat next to Blaine on the couch in the studio.
“Oh, they released him. He’s in Ohio with Burt and Carol. His stepmother’s a nurse and all, and apparently, I was driving him crazy, fussing over him so much. The doctors told him to take it easy, but you know Kurt,” Blaine chuckled.
“Yes, I know Kurt,” Elliott laughed. “I bet having a boot is driving him nuts. Good thing he’ll be healed up by the time the wedding comes around. Kurt would die if he had to wear that hideous thing instead of the Oxfords he picked out. Actually, how would that even work because those babies had quite a heel?”
“I don’t know. I guess he’ll have to wear flats. Knowing him, he’ll attempt to hobble down the aisle without it, spouting somethin’ about how nothing would go with that dreadful thing.”
“But he’ll be out of it by February, right? I mean, it was just a hairline fracture right?” Elliott questioned.
Blaine nodded and then glanced around hesitantly. “Yeah, he will. But we aren’t getting married in February anymore.”
“Holy shit! You got him to agree to move the wedding back! How the Hell did you do that?”
Blaine shook his head. “Um, no. We moved it up. It’s in a couple of weeks.”
Elliott almost spit out his coffee. “Wait, what? Two weeks? How’d you talk him into that?”
“I didn’t. It was his suggestion,” Blaine explained. “I couldn’t talk him out of it, even though I brought up the boot and how it would make walking down the aisle and our first dance more challenging. He wouldn’t hear of it. I have to admit I was a little surprised. But then again, that’s Kurt. When he makes up his mind about something, there’s no talking him out of it. I quite admire that about him really,” Blaine smiled.
“So is he staying with his family through Thanksgiving?” Elliott asked.
“Yeah, I’m flying down there Tuesday night after filming, and he’ll come back with me Friday.”
“So the wedding is still in Ohio?”
Blaine shook his head. “No. The venue we reserved for the wedding wasn’t available for our new date. We decided to have it here, in New York.”
“Wait, where? Finding a venue that’s available in two weeks. How the Hell will you pull that off?” Elliott asked.
“That’s already taken care of, courtesy of Isabelle. She apparently called in a favor and secured us the Westchester Broadway Theater.”
“Oh my God! That’s amazing! I can’t believe Kurt didn’t call me to gloat about this!” Elliott exclaimed.
“Dammit. I probably wasn’t supposed to tell you about it yet. Although I’m actually surprised he didn’t tell you about it yet since you’re the best man and all,” Blaine sighed. “But then again, he’s been really busy, calling all the places in Lima and canceling everything.”
“Canceling? The wedding? You’re canceling the wedding?” Santana blurted causing most of the crew and cast on the set to stare at the two conversing men. “So now that he has a limp, you’re quittin’ that. I thought that was a given for most gay men anyhow,” Santana smirked.
Blaine shushed her. “I swear, decorum would be nice Santana, and maybe a little discretion.”
“Ha, those are two words I’m certain Santana doesn’t know,” Elliott chuckled.
“So, why are you two canceling the nuptials?” Santana questioned as she perched her hand on her hip.
“We aren’t.” Blaine sighed. “We’re changing the date. But now’s not a good time and place to discuss this, Santana.”
“Good as any,” Santana quipped. “So did Lady Hummel’s little head injury make him rethink his decision on marrying a hobbit?”
“I said not now, Santana. You’ll get a new invite soon, that is if I remember to give it to you.” Blaine said, rolling his eyes.
Santana tossed her hair and stalked off to find Brittany when suddenly, a hand landed firmly on Blaine’s shoulder. He jumped up and turned to now be standing face to face with Hunter
“So, Blaine, you’re getting married?” Hunter asked with a smile, removing his hand from Blaine’s shoulder. “That’s great! Is it to that Kirk kid?”
“Kurt. You’ve met him briefly,” Blaine replied. “We were going to wait until February, but we decided to move it up. We’re getting married in a couple of weeks.”
Hunter smiled. “That’s great, man. How are you going to swing that though? We have a pretty vigorous filming schedule. It’d suck to have to come to the studio when you’re supposed to be getting married. And what about the honeymoon?”
“We’ve already paid for the honeymoon and we couldn’t change the dates, so we’re just going to wait until February as we planned. We won’t be filming. And as for the actual wedding, I’m shooting all of my scenes early so that I can have the days before the wedding off to finish preparations.”
“And what about the wedding party. I’d assume that Sam and several of the other castmates were going to be in the wedding, as tight as you are with them.” Hunter said, staring directly into Blaine’s eyes.
“Yeah, of course. I mean, I’ve known Nick and Jeff and Sam since high school. And Santana and Brittany were my neighbors until recently. And Elliott’s Kurt’s best man. Artie’s going because he went to high school with Kurt.”
“So basically, everyone here is invited, then, except me,” Hunter replied, sounding offended.
Blaine’s gaze shifted to the ground. “Uh no. We didn’t invite everyone, because the wedding was going to be in Ohio, where Kurt and I are from, and we didn’t want to ask everyone to fly out there. Plus, it was going to be a simple affair.”
“A simple wedding! For tv star, Blaine Anderson and fashion writer, Kurt Hummel? ” Hunter questioned, scratching his chin. “From what I’ve heard, nothing about Kurt is simple,” Hunter chuckled. Blaine smiled. “Wait, you said it was going to be. Has he changed his mind?”
“His boss was able to pull some strings and get us an amazing venue. It’s quite a bit larger than where we were going to do the ceremony. And we were able to find a place in the city,” Blaine replied tentatively.
“Well, great. Then, I should expect to receive an invitation soon?” Hunter asked slyly.
“Um, I guess. I mean, sure. If you want,” Blaine smiled politely. “I’m sure we’ll have more than enough if you want to come. I just didn’t think you’d want to. I mean, we barely know each other.”
Hunter covered his heart with his hand and winced playfully. “Ouch! That hurt. And here I thought that we were becoming fast friends and everything.”
“We are. I just- I just didn’t think you’d be interested in coming to my wedding. I mean, I didn’t think that most men even liked going to them.”
“Are you kidding? Weddings are a guy’s best friend. Everyone knows that scoring with a hot piece of ass becomes ten times easier at a wedding. You said Elliott’s the best man, right?” Hunter asked, winking at the other man, who was now standing beside Blaine.
“Nope, uh uh. I told ya you can’t handle what’s inside my pants so I’m not letting you in them, wedding or not.” Elliott retorted.
“We’ll see what you say after you’ve had a couple of drinks in you. I happen to know from experience that you loosen up a lot when you party,” Hunter smirked, leaning in toward Elliott and straightening out the collar of his leather jacket. “Think about it, about us. Two crumpled suits lying on the hotel room floor as I have you bent over the bed, thrusting into that perky ass, while you beg for more,” Hunter whispered into Elliott’s ear as he squeezed his ass. He pulled away slyly and winked at Elliott again as he turned and sauntered away, leaving Blaine wide-eyed and mouth hanging wide open.
“What was all that about? Are you and Hunter boyfriends?”
Elliott avoided his friend’s gaze. “Uh, not exactly. We’re friends,” Elliott replied quickly, biting his bottom lip, “friends who hook up occasionally.”
“Wait! You and Hunter. I thought he said he was straight!”
“Hunter? Are you kidding? I mean you’ve seen the scenes he’s filmed, right?”
“Yeah, but he told me when he started here, he said that he wasn’t evenly remotely bi-curious,” Blaine replied.
“Yeah, because he’s one hundred percent gay,” Elliott laughed. “God, you’ve gotta get that gaydar fixed.”
Blaine shrugged. “I guess I just never really paid attention.”
“No, because if you did you would’ve noticed the way Hunter checked you out, like all the time. He doesn’t do it quite so much anymore. Why do you think Kurt coiled up like a rattlesnake anytime that he was here and saw Hunter nearby?”
Blaine blinked and scratched his head. “Wait, so Kurt is jealous of Hunter?”
Elliott shook his head in disbelief. “Maybe not so much now, but yeah, definitely when they first met. Hunter’s an attractive guy and he flirted pretty heavily with you, especially in front of Kurt.
Blaine rested his head in his hand for a moment and sighed. “Well, shoot. I didn’t realize that Hunter was gay. No wonder Kurt didn’t want to invite Hunter to the wedding. It wasn’t an issue then because the wedding was in Ohio. But now? Do I invite the guy? I mean, it would be rude if I didn’t, especially after I told him that he could come.”
Elliott shook his head. “Man, you’re too nice. You need to talk to Kurt, reassure him that he has no reason to feel threatened by Hunter. And then, and only then should you bring up inviting him.”
“You just want me to invite him so you two can hook up again.”
Elliott chuckled. “Guilty. Alright man. I think they’ve got the lighting set. Let’s get this scene done.”
“Blaine, I got everything canceled down here. The flowers, the cake. The baker was quite miffed. Did you get in contact with a florist there?” Kurt asked.
“Yeah. It’s all taken care of. They have another wedding that day, but they have a large staff, so it should be fine,” Blaine replied over Skype. “Are you staying off your ankle? You are supposed to be taking it easy.”
Kurt rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. “Do you not see the way I’m laid up in here,” Kurt huffed playfully. “Carol’s like Nurse Ratchet over here, not letting me get out of bed or do anything for myself. I’m about to go INSANE!”
“Wow! It must be pretty bad if that’s coming from Rachel Berry’s former roommate,” Blaine chuckled. “So, have you guys contacted everyone on your half of the guest list.”
“Yeah, I told them that you were sending new invites with all the updated information, but I gave them the date, time and location so they could make arrangements. A few people said they couldn’t make it because they had plans or they weren’t sure if they could make travel plans so soon,” Kurt sighed. “But, I think most people will be able to be there.”
Blaine bit his lip. “Um, since some people canceled and we have a larger venue, I wanted to invite some people from the crew. People that we weren’t initially going to invite.”
Kurt took in a deep breath. “The whole crew?”
“Um, no. Just a few of them. Eddy, Nathan, Hunter, Anthony, Leo”
“Hunter! Hunter Clarington?” Kurt interrupted. “The vulture that won’t quit staring at your ass?”
“It’s fine, Kurt. He’s a nice guy. And I think Elliott would appreciate it.”
“Him staring at you like he’s a hawk and you’re his prey is not fine, especially not at our wedding.” Kurt cocked his head sideways and scratched his head. “And what does Elliott have to do with this?”
“Um, they’re kinda seeing each other, or at least hooking up or something. I think Elliott really likes him.”
“Wait, huh? Elliott hasn’t really said anything to me about it,” Kurt replied, still clearly confused.
“Well, it sounds like it’s new. Elliott didn’t seem to know what he thought about it all either. But they’d be cute together.” Blaine smiled.
“Depends on your definition of cute,” Kurt quipped. “But, it’s ok, I guess. Go ahead and invite him. Blaine, I kinda invited someone as well. Someone that wasn’t originally on our guest list.”
“Who?”
“Um, Dave. Dave Karofsky. The friend I told you about that I tried to commit suicide in high school.”
“Your former bully?” Blaine asked.
“We resolved those issues years ago. He stopped by this morning. He and Finn still talk from time to time and he told him about my accident, but he apparently didn’t explain it very well, because Dave got the impression that I jumped from our apartment window. He thought it was a suicide attempt, and he came to talk to me. We had coffee and caught up with each other, and I invited him. Is that ok?” Kurt asked.
“Wait, you went for coffee with him?”
Kurt tossed his hands up in the air in frustration. “Of course not. Not with Nurse Ratchet and John Mccane constantly makin’ such a fuss over me.”
“It’s John Mcclane, Kurt. McCane was a presidential candidate, and I don’t care how badass Puck thinks he is, he’s no Bruce Willis,” Blaine laughed. “I guess it was nice of your friend to stop by, and if you want him at the wedding, I guess that’s fine. Puck and Lauren will be on him like a rabid skunk if he even looks at you cross-eyed. You know that, right?” Blaine chuckled. “So what else do we still need to do?”
“Isabelle gave me a list of a few bakers and there’s one that can do it for us if you can meet with him tomorrow. Do you have time?”
“I can fit it in, I think, if I can sneak out of the studio,” Blaine said with a tentative smile. Do you think we’re doing the right thing, moving the wedding up?”
Kurt sat up straight, clearly worried. “Why? Are you having second thoughts? Do you not want to marry me still?”
Blaine smiled reassuringly. “No, no. Of course, I want to marry you. It’s just, did we give ourselves enough time to get this all together?”
“Are you doubting my expertise?” Kurt teased. “I told you I put my dad’s wedding together in two weeks.”
“I know. But you didn’t have as much going on then, and you weren’t injured. I just want this day to be all that you dreamed it would be. I don’t want you to regret this,” Blaine sighed.
“There’s no way I could regret it because I’m still marrying you. I love you Blaine, and as long as I’m Kurt Elizabeth Hummel-Anderson at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters. Well, that and that we both look perfect. Oh, did I tell you I got a photographer lined up?”
“No. who did you get?” Blaine smiled.
“Chandler, silly. The photographer at my office. He said he’d be happy to do it. He said he wouldn’t even charge us as long as we fed him. Isn’t that great?”
Blaine smiled. “Yeah. That’s great. And the music? Did you get a hold of the rest of the New Directions?”
“Yeah, most of them. Actually, now that it’s in New York, a few of them said it would be better for them because they won’t have to travel to Ohio. See, it’s all going to work out perfectly. And since they fired Elijah, I don’t have to worry about all of that Blainiac stuff any longer,” Kurt grinned.
“You still have Puck and Lauren with you there, though, right?” Blaine questioned, looking worried.
“Yes, Blaine, between Lauren, Carol, and Puck, I haven’t been alone for even a second except just now because I told them if I didn’t get a moment to myself, I was going to lose it and shave off Puck’s hair. Lauren just begged me to do it and Carol thought I was kidding,” Kurt pouted.
Blaine chuckled. “It’s because you have such an adorable face. Well, that and you turned into a fugitive last week, sneaking out of a window like a ninja.”
“See, I told you I was secret badass,” Kurt joked.
“Kurt, honey,” Carol called, poking her head in through the doorway. “I have your Juicy Juice and your Jello.”
“A badass indeed!” Blaine laughed.”
“Shut up!”
“What do you mean you were fired?” Hunter asked over the phone.
“Kurt recognized my handwriting on the post-it,” Eli sighed. “But I think it was a big misunderstanding. I tried to tell them about that photographer guy, Chauncey, or whatever, but they didn’t want to hear it,” he huffed. “Oh well, I didn’t really like being there. I was a glorified fetch boy, anyway. But I’m not invited to the wedding anymore, I’m certain. I heard they are canceling it.”
“Actually, it’s quite the opposite. They moved it up,” Hunter said. “It’s in two weeks, and it’s going to right here in the city. And I’m pretty sure I just got myself invited,” Hunter replied smugly.
“Two weeks! Eli shrieked. “That’s not a lot of time. This just got so much more complicated.”
“No,” Hunter said calmly to his cousin. “Don’t you see? This all became so much easier now. They fired you. That means it worked. They think that you are the threat. And now, they’ve let their guard down. Hell, Blaine was talking about the wedding out in the open, pretty much telling me every single detail. They think it’s over,” Hunter smiled. “But really, it’s only just begun.”
Author’s Notes: Updates may be slow for a while since I’m officially back at work. If you haven’t subscribed, you may want to do that. But hey, who knows, the writing bug could bite, and I could publish another chapter in just a few days. Ha haha! Wishful thinking. I love hearing from you guys. Until next time.
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Domestic PartnersChapter 17- Cat and Mouse “YES! So good, Cam!” Shane cried out as he climaxed, his cum shooting his and his lover’s chest. Emmett panted, dropping down behind Shane on the bed, placing a kiss on his sweat-dampened neck. “What was that babe?”Shane took a deep breath, slightly panicked when he realized his mistake. “I said damn. So good. Always so good,” Shane replied quickly, relieved when Emmett’s arms wrapped around from behind him in a sweet embrace. “I love you,” Emmett whispered and kissed him right beneath his ear. “I love you too,” Shane replied.“Do you?” Emmett asked pulling free from Shane. Shane jerked up like he had been slapped. “Of course I do, babe.”Emmett sat up on the bed and wiped his chest off with a tissue. “Are you sure? Because I’m not Cam.” Emmett was on the verge of tears as he cleaned off the mess on his chest.“I know you aren’t him. And I want to be with you,” Shane said, head dropping down to avoid looking at Emmett’s pained face. “Please don’t lie to me,” Emmett sighed. “I heard you. What you called me. And I feel it when we’re intimate. I see it in your eyes when he’s in the theater. When I’m staring at you, you’re focused on him.”“I’m trying,” Shane explained. “I am. I’m trying so hard to get over him.Emmett nodded. “I know. But maybe the reason you have to try so hard is that you aren’t supposed to,” Shane stared at Emmett in confusion. “Aren’t supposed to what?”“Get over him,” Emmett replied, taking Shane’s hand in his own trembling hand. Shane shook his head. “Wait, what do you mean?”“Look, I believe that you love me. I know you do, but you don’t love me the way that you love Cameron. And you never will.” A tear slipped down Emmett’s cheek. Shane’s eyes pooled with tears. “I want to. Because you are amazing, And you’d be the perfect partner for me.” “If it weren’t for Cam,” Emmett finished. “I’ve known about it for a while, since that night that we all went to Acoustics. You said his name in your sleep. You’ve done it several times since then as well. And I tried to overlook it, I did. But I can’t anymore, because honestly, it’s not fair to me.”Shane nodded. “I don’t want to hurt you," he said, his voice and body trembling.“I know, but you already have because all I ever wanted is your heart. But you never even had it to offer because you gave it to Cam years ago. I never stood a chance.” Emmett said, heartbroken.“I wanted to,” Shane sobbed. “I want to be over him, but-.”“But you’re not,” Emmett said, nodding and caressing Shane’s hand with his thumb. He let go of Shane’s hand and leaned over and pulled something from under the bed. It was his suitcase. “I’m going to take a shower, get cleaned up, and then I’m going to go to my brother’s and crash on his couch. I’ll call you before I stop by to get my things.”Shane dropped his head and frowned. “You don’t need to do that. You are always welcome here.”“I understand that your heart wants Cameron, but I can’t handle seeing you two together, not yet. Don’t get me wrong. I hope we can all be friends down the road, but right now, it’ll hurt like hell. Shane nodded and leaned in for a soft kiss. “I'm so sorry."Emmett swiped a tear from his cheek. “I know. So am I. But I’m not angry. I’m sad about what could’ve been, but I don’t regret trying. And I hope you get him back, for your sake,” Emmett said with a sad smile. “But if he hurts you, I’ll be first in line to kick his ass. And if you hut him, I’ll kick yours. Got it?”Shane nodded and kissed Emmett’s cheek. “Thank you,” he said softly as a tear slid down his cheek.“Don’t thank me. Go get him.”Tina swiped at a tear that was threatening to escape her eyelid as she sat in a kitchen chair in the small guest room she and Lauren were using as an office of the Hummel household. "Your current boy toy finally admit that he's gay too?" Lauren teased as she walked into the room. Tina quickly shut the laptop closed. "Oh please. Like Kurt's last chapter didn't make you cut onions either?" Tina replied sarcastically."Oh, is that the new chapter? I didn't know he was givin' them to you too?" Lauren asked, puzzled."Well, yeah! Don't you subscribe? I got the email about half an hour ago that he updated. It wasn't just one chapter but two," she said excitedly. Lauren did a double-take. "Wait, he updated on the Fanfiction site? I thought I specifically told him not to- Well, son of a""Hummel, what the Hell? You posted?” Lauren asked, barging into Kurt's room, barreling past Puck as if he wasn't even there. “Dammit, Hummel! Do you not remember us warning you not to post until all of this was over?" Lauren huffed and blew her bangs out of her eyes as she plopped into a chair right in front of Kurt's desk. “I remember that, but I thought Elijah was the main aggressor? Didn’t you say he was Blainiac?”“Do I look like a Jewish dude with stupid hair and a massive ego?” Lauren replied with an eye roll. “That was Puck who said that. He thinks Elijah was the brains of the operation, but I believe that he’s wrong, like that’s a freakin’ newsflash.""Hey, I take defense to that," Puck muttered."It's offense, and we both know I'm right about Blainiac being multiple perps." Lauren said, matter-of-factly. "Guard the door, Scmuckerman. Hummel and I have got to talk.""Yes sir," he responded sarcastically and shut the door behind him. "So, wait. You know for a fact now that it's not just Elijah?" Kurt blurted. "I'm pretty certain," Lauren replied. "Eli was the one that left the notes in your office, but what about the initial emails? Those were sent before Eli started in your office. And the notes that were left in Blaine’s dressing room as well? Although I guess Elijah could have followed you to the studio and left the notes, they didn’t read the same way. I think we have at least two other Blainiacs out there.”Kurt sighed. “Lauren, I know the reason you told me not to post, but my dad’s right. I’m a Hummel, and we don’t let people push us around.”“Hey, I admire that spirit. Remember, my dad had to sue the school so that I could join the wrestling team. My family’s the same way. But that doesn’t mean that you go out lookin’ for fights,” she paused, and then turned and looked Kut square in the eye. “Wait! That’s what this is, isn’t it? It’s an invite or a challenge, so to speak.”Kurt cocked his head sideways, his cheeks flushing. “What are you trying to say?”“That you’re not forgetful or negligent. This is intentional.”Kurt rolled his eyes. “What’s intentional?”“Moving up the wedding. You posting your chapters. Blaine inviting the rest of the crew. Either you are naive and think this is over, or you want it to be. You’re tired of this game of cat-and-mouse game that Blainiac is waging, so you’re dangling yourself in front of him right now, hoping he’ll get impatient and go ahead and strike.” Lauren speculated.Kurt sighed. “That’s not all of it. Blaine and I decided this together. To move up the wedding and have the ceremony that we want, for us, because we’re tired of people dictating what we should and shouldn’t do. Hell, the laws could change again at the drop of a hat, making gay marriage illegal again, and this Blainiac stuff just makes it even worse. This obsessed fan is trying to tell Blaine that he can’t be with me and trying to tell me that I can marry the person I love. We just want to be able to do things on our own terms.” Kurt ranted, absentmindedly running his fingers through his hair. “I know you advised against me posting my story, but I also know that you are a rulebreaker, a real badass, and it was you in my shoes, you’d do the exact same thing.”Lauren smiled. “Well, granted I could find a guy that can handle all this jelly, yeah, I guess you’re right. But you two have got to smarter about this. Let us in on it, so that we can come up with a plan.”“So wait, you aren’t going to make me take the chapter down or delay the wedding?” Kurt asked, surprised. “No, although I’m kinda offended that you’re trying to rush this along and shorten our time working together. But I get it. You want it over with. You need to understand though, that when you tempt the cat by dangling the mouse right in front of its nose, sometimes the cat wins,” Lauren replied. “So let’s reduce the odds of letting that happen. Here’s what Blaine and I are going to do.”
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Chapter 18“Hey Anderson,” Burt said, giving Blaine a tight hug immediately as Blaine stepped into The Hummel’s living room. “Dinner will be ready in a little while. Carole already took the turkey out of the oven, and Kurt’s just finishing some fancy truffle thing.”“It’s a trifle, dad. It’s a sponge cake with fruit that has all of these layers of custard and preserves. It’s delicious, but don’t worry. It’s a low fat, low sodium recipe.” Kurt called from the kitchen.“He’s supposed to be resting. What’s he doing in the kitchen?” Blaine asked, making his way swiftly into the kitchen to see Kurt sitting at the table, his injured foot propped up on a chair, as he and Carole topped the dessert with berries.“I am resting, Captain McWorryPants. I’m fine.” Kurt smiled. “Carole won’t even let me out of the chair unless I have to pee. She wouldn’t even let me baste the turkey,” he said with a playful pout, “Good thing I know that she won’t let it go dry. How was your flight?”Blaine leaned down to give Kurt a quick kiss. “It was long. You know how I hate to fly, and there was this screaming baby a few seats behind me, but I had my audiobook to drown everything out. All in all, it wasn’t so bad. Plus, my favorite author updated, so I got to catch up on a few chapters,” Blaine said with a wink.“How did it go with the rest of the vendors and businesses? Were you able to find someone to make the cake so close to the date?” Kurt questioned as he continued layering the dessert he was making. “Surprisingly, yes, thanks to Isabelle. That woman is extremely connected and highly respected. She called in some favors. The bakery even said to not worry about the cost. He said it was on the house. Apparently, he’s a fan of the show and he owes Isabelle a favor,” Blaine smiled widely. “Actually, it was the same way with the florist. And you already lined up a photographer. It’s all falling into place.”“That’s amazing, babe,” Kurt replied as he topped the dessert off with whipped cream. “Now, we just need to get a minister.”Burt cleared his throat. “Um, son. That’s a pretty big piece missing from the puzzle. Do you have anyone in mind?”Kurt nodded. “I have the perfect person in mind. Dad, I’d like you to do it?”“Like me to do what?” Burt asked, slightly raising his cap off of his bald head so he could scratch it. “The ceremony. Marry us,” Kurt answered matter of factly.“Wait, me? But wouldn’t you prefer someone who’s actually experienced with this kind of thing? You’ve been planning this day since you were five. And you know how I am with words. I’m not sure that anything I would have to say would be special enough for what you two have planned. Besides, don’t you have to be ordained or something?”Kurt shook his head. “Anyone can get ordained on the internet. I checked it out. You can do it in fifteen minutes. And as for not being special, no one has supported me like you have. Actually, if it weren’t for you and the time you served in congress, I may not even have the right to get married. And you’ve been so supportive of Blaine, accepting him into our family and making him feel even more welcome than he does even in his own home. They don’t even know that he’s in Ohio right now.” Blaine nodded in agreement. “There’s no one better to do this than you, dad.Burt’s eyes started to water. He swiped his hand at the bottom of his eyelid in an attempt to hide the tears that were threatening to fall. “Ok. If you’d really like me to, of course, I’ll do it. But when’s the rehearsal dinner? I’ll need to see if I can get a flight. Burt sighed. “That’ll be a nightmare, this close to the wedding date.”“No it won’t,” Kurt grinned at his father. “Blaine, you got them, right?”Blaine nodded. “We already got you and Carole tickets. We booked you a hotel room as well but you are more than welcome to stay with us if you’d prefer.”“We’d hate to impose on you two,” Carole began. “Actually, Lauren would prefer that you two stay with us so that they can be on your detail too, even though I think all this security stuff is a little silly now that they caught Eli.” Kurt said.“I thought there was more than one guy,” Burt interrupted.“There might be,” Blaine replied. “Lauren says that the evidence points to two or three culprits.”“Is it safe for you guys to be doing this in New York, in such an unsecured place?” Burt questioned, the worry evident in his expression.“The theater is secure, dad. Lauren hired their ushers and guards for the ceremony, and all of her crew will be working on the night of the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. There’s no reason to be concerned. However, we do need to talk to you about the rehearsal dinner.”“Sure, what do you want me to say?”“More like, what do we want you to do?” Kurt said with a small smile. “Blaine, honey, are you alright?” Kurt asked, squeezing his hand as Blaine’s knee finally stopped shaking. “Is it the flight?”“No,” Blaine said as he laid his head back on the tiny pillow. “It’s everything else. The wedding, the depositions, the trial. Everything’s coming down to the wire. I’m kinda terrified.”“The wedding is ready, Blaine. Between you, me, and Isabelle, there won’t be a thing out of place. Our tuxes are ready. The cake will be perfect. The roses will be beautiful, as will the Lilies. Blaine, everything will be perfect.”“But what if Blainiac gets in and-?”“I knew this was about him,” Kurt sighed. “Or them, whoever they are or however many of them there are. Listen.” Kurt took Blaine’s other hand in his. “We decided that this was the best way to fight back, to show him, or them, that they can’t touch us, or what we have.”“I know. And I want that to be true. But Kurt, you have a broken ankle. And these people haven’t stopped. Lauren and Puck still don’t know who they are. And you matter too much to me for me to allow something to happen to you.”“You matter to me too, Blaine. More than anything. But I trust Lauren, Puck, and the rest of their team. And I trust us. And I know that we’re meant to be together, so I’ll fight for us, whatever it takes so that I can call myself Kurt Anderson-Hummel for the rest of eternity, ok.”“I thought we decided on Hummel-Anderson,” Blaine said with a small smile.“We did no such thing. Anderson comes first in the alphabet, and it sounds more professional. Plus, you’re a celebrity. I want you to keep your name.”“You have almost as many followers on Twitter and Tumblr as I do,” Blaine chuckled.“True,” Kurt laughed. “But I like Anderson-Hummel, and I already applied for the documents for the name change, so there’s no changing it now,” Kurt teased. “So it’s gonna be ok?”“It’ll be better than ok.” Kurt assured him. “Now, get some sleep. We have a long day of wedding planning tomorrow and then back-to-back depositions this week with none other than the weasel himself.” Kurt said with a smile as he watched his soon-to-be-husband tug his blanket into place and adjust his pillow slightly before allowing his eyes to close.“I love you, Kurt.”“I love you too, Blaine. Don’t worry. It’ll be perfect,” he said lovingly, even though his own stomach felt like it was tied in knots. “So is your dad on board?” Nick questioned as his eyes skirted around the vast theater, his eyes wide in amazement as he checked out the venue where everything would take place in less than a week’s time. “Yep,” Kurt smiled. He’ll do it. We’ve already booked his flight. He’ll be here a few hours before the rehearsal dinner next Friday. “That’s amazing. With everything that you guys have told us about him, he’ll be the perfect officiant. He’s an icon for gay rights.” Jeff said, looking around with the same sense of wonderment that his boyfriend had. “I can’t believe you guys secured this place. It’s gorgeous.”“Don’t look at me,” Blaine said. “It was this guy right here,” he said, giving Kurt a quick peck on the lips.Kurt accepted the kiss, but then shook his head to disagree. “Actually, it was Isabelle Wright. When that woman calls for a favor, people don’t tend to say no. Isabelle is a big patron of the arts, and I guess they don’t want to lose her support,” the brunette explained. “So, what do you think about my idea about having the curtain closed and then opening them like they would for a show.”“I think it’s genius,” Jeff replied, grinning at his two friends. “And entering from opposite sides of the stage and meeting in the middle. I like the symbolism of it all,” the blonde said, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. “Was that your original plan for the theater in Ohio?”“No. Actually, Lauren suggested the plan. She said it would be a lot safer. It’d keep some distance between the guests and us, you know, in case Blainiac decides to strike,” Kurt explained, sighing heavily. “You think he’s gonna strike at the wedding?” Nick asked, staring intently at the two fiances.“It’s a possibility,” Blaine sighed. “Lauren and Puck just want us to be safe, but I really hate this. I don’t like the idea of some crazy lunatic dictating our wedding. What about you guys? Don’t think that I didn’t notice the rings.”“You didn’t, Kurt teased. “At least, not until I pointed them out. Who asked who?”Jeff grinned wildly. “That would be me, at Thanksgiving, when we were at my family’s house. It seemed to be the perfect moment. Everyone was going around the table discussing what and who they were thankful for. I couldn’t think of anything or anyone that I was more thankful for than this guy here,” he said, leaning in and stealing a kiss. “He beat me to it. I’ve been carrying the ring around for two weeks, but the right moment just didn’t come together. I was going to ask him as soon as they got to me, but his turn came up first,” Nick playfully pouted, ruffling Jeff’s hair and kissing his nose. “Well, then I lost that bet. I was sure that it'd be you who'd pop the question first” Blaine laughed. “I told Kurt that I was with you when you bought the ring. So, when’s the big day?” Blaine asked, turning his head to face his two best friends. “Not soon enough,” Jeff blurted, taking his finance’s hand in his and interlinking their fingers together.“Wish it was yesterday,” Nick said at the same time. “But weddings take a lot of planning. You guys know what I mean. I don’t know how you’re gonna get everything put together in a week and a half.”“It helps that we have friends that want to help. Artie’s gonna film it. Chandler volunteered to take the pictures. Isabelle hired the same caterers she uses for big events. And of course, Rachel and Cooper both volunteered to entertain the crowd,” Blaine explained.“Cooper,” Nick laughed. “You know, I kinda miss him, now that he’s not holdin’ up production. When does he arrive back in town?”Blaine sighed and shook his head. “Tomorrow. He’s got the deposition for the trial and he’s got to get his tux fitted and all of that.”“Maybe we can all have lunch,” Nick suggested.“Sure. I need to run it by Lauren first,” Kurt replied. “Jake,” he called out to his normal bodyguard’s brother. “Can you check with Lauren if they can get us into Roberta’s?”“Oh God, yes! I love their Normcore,” Jeff exclaimed. "But they’re a little pricey.”Blaine smiled. “Our treat. We have an engagement to celebrate, and I want to hear all of the details.” “So your dad's up to speed with everything,” Lauren questioned as she sat down at the beautiful mahogany table in Wes’ office across from Kurt and Blaine.Kurt nodded as Quinn and Tina took a seat at the large table as well. “Yeah, he finally let us talk him into it. He got ordained before we left. And he and Carole will arrive at the airport next Friday morning. I already got his suit tailored, so we’re all set.”“Did he agree to stay at your place or did he decide to book a hotel room?” Quinn questioned, giggling.“He and Carole decided that the room would be best, even though I insisted that he stay with us.”Lauren laughed. “Poor guy. Can’t really say that I blame him after he walked in on you guys the other day. Doin’ the dirty in your dad’s own house.”Kurt blushed bright red. “It was Blaine’s fault. He said he always dreamed of having sex in his childhood bed. Since that isn’t possible because his parent’s converted his room into a home office, we had to settle for mine.”Wes cleared his throat as he and David walked through the door. “Although I do want to catch up on the festivities, there is a reason I asked everyone to come in early today. I had some concerns about the wedding and the upcoming trial. You all know that we filed multiple motions to speed up this trial so that we can get it all behind us. Unfortunately, Mr. Smythe Sr. is pretty masterful in burying us in paperwork to the point that there was no way that we’d be ready for the trial before the wedding. On top of that, tracking down potential witnesses has been a nightmare.”“But wait! You disposed of pretty much everyone in the cast, including Cooper and Santana,” Blaine stated nervously, his leg bouncing under the table. Kurt gently squeezed his thigh to help calm his nerves and laced their fingers together, their hands coming to rest on top of Blaine’s wide armrest of the chair. “How did that go?”David chuckled. “It was interesting, but I think it’ll be fine. Cooper didn’t really know a lot. He was just a victim of Sebastian’s manipulation. I think that we can keep his testimony relatively painless.”“Well, mostly, if he would refrain from trying to jab me in the retina,” Wes chuckled. “He still hasn’t changed his stance on pointing.”Kurt and Blaine both chuckled as Blaine took a sip from his coffee. “So, who does that leave, besides Sebastian himself?”Wes smiled. “Sue Slyvester.”“Oh, did she agree to testify on Blaine’s behalf,” Kurt asked. Wes’ gaze dropped to the table. “Unfortunately, no. We were unable to track her down for a while. We just got word while you were in Ohio that we would be deposing her. We were quite surprised. She’s actually a key witness on the plaintiff's side.”Kurt’s mouth gaped open in shock. “Oh God, are you serious? This is a disaster! Do you have any clue how insane that woman is? And now she’s partnered with Sebastian!” Wes, Thad, and David all stared at each other in surprise. “Wait, you know Sue Slyvester?” David remarked. “Of course. He took my spot on Cheerios our sophomore year. He was quite good, actually.” Quinn replied, “although I didn’t like that you took my spot.”“You were a cheerleader?” Wes exclaimed.“Yes. I even helped us win Nationals that year. I sang a Celine Dion medley in perfect French.”“Blaine, were you aware of this?’ David asked. Blaine blushed. “I might’ve stumbled upon the video once or twice, or a couple of dozen times. Although, I prefer the live show since Kurt brought his old uniform home and gave me a private performance.”“If Santana were here right now, she’d totally be saying “wanky.” Lauren quipped.“Lauren, we told you that you didn’t have to be here for all of the depositions, just the ones where the person being interviewed is suspected of being one of the Blainiacs,” Wes said with a smile.“Hence, the reason I’m here,” Lauren deadpanned. “Wait, Sue Slyvester is a suspect for Blainiac?” Kurt blurted, and then his face grew wildly calm. “Actually, I’m not surprised that you’d suspect her. She’s the definition of batshit crazy.”Blaine nodded his head in agreement. “She was a little unhinged. Especially when she was fired. The rest of the cast said she went on a rampage and destroyed half of the set before they were able to escort her off the premises.”“I’m afraid that she’s a little more than unhinged,” Quinn added. “She would put Visine in our protein shakes to make us vomit when she thought we were looking a little portly. And she tripped a rival show choir’s teacher down the stairs, more than on one occasion. Not to mention, that she was fired for endangering the lives of her cheerleaders on more than one occasion.”Kurt nodded. “I remember. But what does all of this have to do with Blaine and me.”Tina sighed. “We confiscated her hard drive from the computer at the studio. We were trying to find evidence that she stole your story, Kurt, but most of those files were erased. However, we were able to recover a journal, and the contents were disturbing to say in the least.”“Disturbing in what sense?” Blaine questioned, turning his eyes to Lauren. “Is she one of the people threatening Kurt? Is she Blainiac?”“At first, we thought it was a possibility. We found entries that detail Mr. Remington giving her Kurt’s stories and an admission that she used them in the mid-season finale.”“That’s great!” Blaine exclaimed. “We can use that right?”“No,” Wes said, shaking his head. “Because the journal is not admissible right now. It’s also anything but reliable. Actually, it’s the most disturbing thing I’ve ever read, and I had to read American Psycho in college. This lady is absolutely insane. And she’s quite enamored by Kurt, or as she calls him, her fair Porcelain.”“Wait, I’m really confused,” Blaine said, rubbing his forehead. “What do you mean that she enamored by Kurt?”“Apparently, she’s been following you for a long time, Kurt,” Lauren explained. “She’s subscribed to your stories on the Fanfiction website shortly after you began publishing. She’s Jigsaw Sue. Kurt’s mouth dropped open in shock. “Oh my God! I had to block her on the Fanfiction site and Tumblr because she kept sending me weird reviews and messages, asking for more smut. I think that she started writing her own. They were pretty disturbing. Although knowing that it’s Sue Slyvester, it all makes sense.” Lauren continued. “Well, anyway, once Kurt blocked her on the fanfiction site, she must’ve started searching for him on other sites. It seems as though she stumbled upon your Tumblr page, Kurt, and she’s been following you on there for quite some time.”“Oh God! I didn’t even notice. I started getting so many followers that I didn’t really pay attention to what their names were,” Kurt explained. “But I don’t think I had to report anyone by that name on Tumblr.” “No, that’s because she kept a low profile. She basically just reblogs a lot of your posts, especially your story. “Wait, it sounds like she’s a fan. Why is she a suspect?” Blaine questioned as he fiddled with a loose curl. “Because she loathes you, Blaine,” Lauren replied. “We found tons of reblogs and comments on other pages, namely anti-Blaine pages, including the main Blainiac Page. We think that she posted on the Blainiac and other anti-Blaine pages on more than one occasion, with an alias”“Wait! Anti-Blaine! I thought the Blainiacs were a fan group,” Blaine asked, his eyebrows knitting in confusion.“A very twisted fan group. Yes, most of them are your fans or fans of Shane and their twisted fusion of you and the character that you play. Unfortunately, You know how some fans are. And you know how Tumblr is as well. People visit fan pages so that they can troll them because Tumblr isn’t really regulated and they can pretty much post anything without having proof or consequences for doing so. It’s a hell site.” Lauren explained. “I was kinda shocked by the whole thing,” Tina added. “I mean, who could hate Blaine, with his adorable butt and his angelic smile.”Kurt gave Tina his bitch glare and wrapped his arm protectively around Blaine’s shoulder. “Um, thank you,” Blaine said, glancing awkwardly at Tina and shaking his head. Lauren sighed. “Unfortunately, Blaine, you do have some haters on the site because some people hate that you aren’t in a real relationship with Sam. Some people think that you cheated on Sam with Kurt, and some people believe that your relationship with Kurt is staged to hide your real relationship with Sam.”“That’s nuts,” Blaine blurted. “Why the hell would I stage a relationship with Kurt? Sam and I have both said repeatedly that Sam is straight and that we’re just really good friends.”Wes cleared his throat. “Um, I hate to admit this, but there were some Warblers that thought you and Sam were a couple when we were at Dalton, as close as you two were.”“We were roommates. Of course, we were close.” Blaine countered. “Sam helped me pick up the pieces after everything that Sebastian did. I do admit that I did have a crush on him for a little while after he first started at Dalton, but I got over it pretty quickly once I saw what a slob he was.” David nodded. “Yeah we stopped speculating for a while, but then, you two moved to New York together, shared an apartment, and played lovers on a tv series. Some of your scenes are pretty intimate,” David added. “I’ve seen the show. You two have amazing chemistry. I hate to admit that I was a little heartbroken when Cam and Shane split.”Wes chuckled. “Admit it. You bawled like a baby. I wish Celeste had recorded it. She said it was adorable. She said you didn’t even sob like that when your dog, Buddy, died.”“Shut up,” David muttered. “They’re soulmates.”“Before I met you, I thought it was a possibility that you and Sam were a couple. You even called him your BF in your messages.” Kurt added. “You two are freakishly close. And I’ve seen the posts on Tumblr. I followed Sam’s page, and some of his followers were hardcore Blam shippers. Remember when JBI even posted pictures of you two canoodling in your Prius. I was sure it was real.”“Saps,” Lauren said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, back on topic. This Slyvester lady is bat-shit crazy, and she’s a suspect, even though the profile doesn’t really fit her.”“What do you mean that the profile doesn’t fit her?” Kurt asked, cocking his head sideways. Lauren sighed. “As I said, she has a fixation with you, Kurt. Our main suspect clearly feels threatened by you because of his or her obsession with Blaine, and because of that, he or she wants to bring you harm. However, this Sue character seems to be protective toward you. Don’t get me wrong, she doesn’t like the thought of you two together,” she said, pointing blatantly at Blaine, “and she has talked about all these crazy scenarios to get you out of the picture, but that’s because she doesn’t think that you’re good enough for her sweet Porcelain. The Blainiacs, on the other hand, want to bring physical harm to Kurt. He or she loathes you so much that there are clear threats posted on this page."Blaine gulped. “So Sue isn’t Blainiac. But I don’t understand why she’s on Sebastian’s side if she loves Kurt so much. “Like I said, she hates you, Blaine. Especially after you got her fired. She went from being a head-writer on a top-rated show to a scorned writer accused of plagiarism. She couldn’t get a writing job now if she tried. You should see some of her rants about you in her journal. I hope you wore a cup today,” Lauren deadpanned. “She’s out for blood, hence the reason I’m here.”Wes nodded. “I concur. However, Sebastian’s legal team and Ms. Slyvester will be here shortly, so let’s go over some things before the deposition begins. Blaine, Kurt. You two are allowed to be for the depositions, as you have been for the others, but it’s not required. Do you want to be here?” Wes asked. Both men nodded, but Kurt cleared his throat, his hesitance obvious. Quinn handed him a bottle of water and Blaine squeezed his hand and smiled softly. Wes continued. “Ok, so basic ground rules. Once the questioning starts, the counselors and I should be the only ones that address the witness. If anything is said that causes you concern, you can tell me, and I can question the witness. That should help things go smoother, especially if this witness is as unhinged as you say she is.”“Unhinged?” The door burst open as Sue stood in front of them with her hands perched on her hips. “Why, Porcelain, I thought we were allies, and here you are, listening as this BTS boyband look-a-like sullies my good name.”Kurt's head jerked around in surprise, first to Sue and then to Blaine, his eyebrows arching in confusion and his mouth slightly agape as if to say, what the hell.“Mrs. Sylvester, I’m Mr. Anderson’s and Mr. Hummel’s attorney, Mr. Montgomery. I’d like to remind you that any questions or comments should be addressed to me or my co-counsel and not to my clients.” “And why the hell not? How can I not address your clients, when that one,” she said, pointing to Kurt, “Insists on sitting there wearing what I can describe as some mix between a clown costume that had been upchucked on by truckload of clowns and some sad persian rug that Goodwill couldn’t even give away. Why, I’d be doing a disservice to the people of New York if I didn’t even try to question his sanity after he intentionally walked out of whatever dumpster he’s been fishing himself out of these days. How have you been, Porcelain?” Kurt just shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes as Sue and her counsel, including Sebastian, entered the room. Wes, Quinn, and David shook their hands as the legal team, Sebastian, and their witness shook hands and found seats. It was going to be a hell of a day.As Kurt had feared, yesterday’s deposition was hell, and today’s was going to be worse because they were deposing Sebastian Smythe, aka Satan himself. Blaine’s hands were shaking and his breathing was quick and shallow, as if he were one breath away from a panic attack, and Kurt could tell that wasn’t too far from occurring. Kurt took Blaine’s hands in his and his eyes met his fiance’s, trying to give him reassurance through just his gaze and touch. It wasn’t working. “Blaine, it’s going to be ok, '' he said softly. Blaine shook his head no, his eyes dropping down to the floor. “No, it won’t. Not If Sue spews all of those lies on the stand and pairs it with all those documents she has, we’re going to lose. Not to mention the way that Sebastian will twist all of this.”Wes shook his head and touched Blaine’s hand in reassurance. Blaine lifted his head and his eyes met his friend’s. “Have some faith in me and the justice system. She’s lying through her teeth, and those documents are falsified and we all know it. Not to mention, we’re deep in this. We’ve put a lot of time and energy into this case. We’re not just going to allow it to crash and burn.”David sighed. “We do have a monumental battle in front of us. But Blaine, you have to know that Wes and I won’t just go down with a fight. You know us.”Blaine smiled weakly at his friends. “Yes, I do, and it’s not you that I’m worried about. I know how hard everyone is working. But I also know how corrupt Sebastian plays. Bringing in Sue Sylvester is just step one. If that doesn’t work, he’ll try fifteen other dirty tactics. He won’t stop.”Wes chewed his bottom lip. “Hey, neither will we. And we don’t need to resort to unscrupulous tactics to do it. We may have to incorporate some creative and inventive strategies to combat his schemes, but I know that we’re up for this battle. We’ve already got Trent and Thad strategizing on a way to get Sue’s journal entries into evidence, and if we can do that, we can discredit her quite easily, especially if we can prove she’s the Jigsaw Sue character that’s been writing threats and disturbing posts on Tumblr.”“And can you say with complete certainty that Lauren can do that,” Blaine questioned, his eyes finding Lauren and searching her face.“I won’t stop until I do,” she said assuredly with a nod. “It’s my job to protect you two, and finding that evidence is part of that. You two have become like brothers to me. I’m not letting that SOB win. Wes smiled softly. “I think we have enough to discredit her, even without the journal. She’s been fired for being reckless and dishonest on more than one occasion. Without the journal, we don’t have a smoking gun, but I could put Kurt and you on the stand and both of you could give accounts on the unstable things she’s done around you. We still have a chance. And remember. This trial is not about Sue Sylvester. This is about you and your character, and Sebastian’s lack of it. He’s grasping at straws, and he’s trying to use Ms. Slyvester to intimidate you both. It’s a scare tactic.”“So you think we still have a shot to win this thing? Kurt asked. “We have a chance. We’re up to our necks in paperwork. We had to hire extra paralegals to handle the extra paperwork and research this case has caused. We can barely afford to keep the lights on, and we’ve been so busy with this case that we’ve had little time to focus on our other cases. But we aren’t throwing in the towel. However,” Wes sighed and shrugged his shoulders, “I do want you to understand that our main goal right now is to get an offer to settle.”“A settlement. We can’t do that. Wouldn’t that be an admission of guilt?” Blaine questioned. David shook his head. “Not necessarily. And I told you before that most cases that are filed never actually make it to court. Besides, Wes and I think that Sebastian won’t really have a case in court. Not unless there’s some evidence that we don’t know about, some merit to Sebastian’s claims.”Kurt shook his head. “We told you. Blaine wasn’t involved in the leak. He had no knowledge of what was going on,”Blaine shook his head in disagreement. “Actually, that’s not necessarily accurate.”Kurt glared at Blaine. “What’s not accurate about it, Blaine? You didn’t know about the leaks, right?”Blaine’s eyes shifted to the ground. “I knew.”“You knew what?” Kurt asked. “Blaine?”“I knew that Sebastian was the one leaking the scripts.”Wes shrugged. “You already told us that. You said that you and Santana figured it out together, and then once you had it all pieced together, you went to the rest of the cast.”“I knew before that. I knew that it was Sebastian all along, but I didn’t go to the executives.”“Wait, you knew the whole time? What’s going on, Blaine?” Wes questioned, leaning in towards Blaine across the table. “And tell me everything this time.”Blaine bit his lip. “I didn’t know for certain. I just suspected. But I didn’t have any evidence. And I was honestly afraid that he was blackmailing someone else from the cast.”Blaine turned toward Kurt and looked him in the eyes. “Do you remember in our messages when I told you that things went really bad my senior year with the Warblers. David, Wes, I told you before about the reason that I quit the Warblers. Sam, Trent, and I all quit for the same reason.”“Sebastian started Dalton right after you and David graduated,” Blaine explained directly to Wes. He joined the Warblers, and was quickly voted onto the council. I may have had something to do with it. I convinced the other guys. We had already started dating, well, I thought that we were dating, but he was also sleeping with several other guys too.” Blaine shook his head and his eyes dropped to the table. After he got on the council, things started to change. He started changing things. It was good at first, like making us all practice our dancing. He was actually right about that. And then, he held a vote that said there would no longer be a lead soloist. I’m a team player, and I knew how much Jeff, Nick, and Sebastian wanted solos. So, I supported that as well. But then, he started trying to change things that were Warbler tradition, like adding music and not doing all acapella numbers and doing some risque numbers for regionals.”“Blaine, must I remind you of the Gap Attack?” Wes chuckled.“Yes, Wes. You must. What was the Gap attack, pray tell?” Kurt smiled. “No time for that now, Kurt.” Wes said, shaking his head. “Sebastian’s probably in the lobby right now. Besides, you already know.”“Yes, but I want to hear you and David tell it,” Kurt said with a grin. “Please tell me that someone got it on video.”“Kurt, I got you covered,” David assured him with a light chuckle, and then he turned toward Blaine. “Go ahead. How does this link to how you knew that Sebastian was the leak?”“Because after we broke up because I caught him cheating, he changed, a lot. Not that he wasn’t doing some shady things beforehand. But his attitude toward me and about me shifted. And so did the Warblers. We didn’t win our Regionals that year, so our season ended early, and Sebastian suggested that we scale back our meetings. It turns out that they were meeting without me. And he turned quite a few of them against me. Quite a few of them were convinced that Sam and I were dating because he told them that we were. By the end of the year, things were bad. I didn’t get voted on the council. I ended up quitting. Senior year was horrible for me and the Warblers. There was so much infighting and distrust that Sam, Nick, and Jeff often told me that they dreaded practice. Then, Sebastian started talking people into taking Human Growth Hormone. That’s when Trent, Sam, Jeff, Nick all decided to quit as well.”“Wait, I thought that Nick and Jeff stayed on. I saw them on video at Regionals.” Wes interjected.“Not initially. They came back. Because Sebastian was blackmailing them.”“I always knew he was a slimy rodent,” Kurt sighed. “What was he blackmailing them for?“They were dating, but Nick wasn’t out. His dad was strict and homophobic. He still is. Nick was terrified that if his dad found out, his dad would take him out of Dalton and send him to military school. That’s the reason that they went back.” Blaine explained. “And did he blackmail you?” Wes asked.Blaine nodded. “He tried. There was a video.” Blaine’s voice lowered, as did his head. “A sex video, from when we were still dating. He threatened to post it online and send it to my dad.” “But you dad knew that you were gay, right?” David asked. Blaine nodded, “he knew, but he wasn’t accepting of it, and he warned me that he’d take me out of Dalton if I ever flaunted my gayness around him. He would’ve done it.”Kurt squeezed his hand. “What stopped him?”“Sam. We snuck into his dorm and took Sebastian’s laptop. One of the guys from the Tech team formatted his hard drive and erased the whole thing, but not before Sam went to the dean. Sebastian was almost expelled.”“Oh my God. I bet he was pissed.” David said. “He was. He warned me that it wasn’t over.”“Oh my God, Blaine. Why didn’t you tell us this?” Wes questioned, now out of his seat and pacing. “Cooper and Santana. I knew that Sebastian was getting the scripts from Cooper and I had a suspicion that he was getting Santana’s after Cooper was demoted, but I didn’t know how much that they were involved. And I told you that it was me that gave Kurt’s story to Rod. But I was terrified to tell the producers about Sebastian because I was afraid that I didn’t have any proof and then he’d lash out at Santana or Cooper.” “Oh my God, Blaine. This isn’t over the tv show. This is so much deeper. We need to cancel the rest of the depositions and reconvene later. There’s no way that we’ll be ready for him tomorrow.”Lauren, who had been sitting quietly in the corner the whole time, just taking in the information bolted out of her seat. “No, Let him in. We send him away, and he’s going to think he got to you. He’s going to know that he has the upper hand. Let him in. Do the deposing. Don’t take any deals, but listen to what he has to say.”David shrugged his shoulders. “Why?”“Because I need proof.”“Proof of what?” Wes asked. “That he’s a Blainiac. With the information that you just shared paired with some posts on the Blainiac page, I’m almost certain that he’s one of them. I just need to hear him admit some things, spill a detail or two, and I think I can link him to the page. And if I can, we’ve got him.”Just then, there was a knock on the door and the door cracked open. “Mr. Montgomery,” the small brunette said quietly. “Mr. Smythe and his team are here.”Wes nodded. “Have him sit in the lobby, Marley. We’re almost ready. Quinn has to set up the recording equipment, but then you can send him in.” Marley nodded and shut the door behind her as Quinn finished setting up the recorder. Wes looked at his clients. “Are you guys ready for this?”Blaine nodded. “As ready as we’ll ever be,” he said with a nod. “Hello, Blaine,” a very familiar voice said.“Weasel Face,” Blaine replied without even turning his head to look at his ex. “Awww, Blaine. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were unhappy to see me,” Sebastian smirked. “But obviously you don’t know any better because Blaine has a notorious hatred for pretentious wannabes,” Kurt smirked. “And yet, he seems to have no problem walking around with you on his arm. Imagine that,” Sebastian quipped back, his nose high in the air. “So, Blaine, are you ready for this? You and your team seemed ridiculously underprepared for yesterday.”“My team is thoroughly prepared for this preposterous suit so let’s just get this over with, shall we,” Blaine sighed. “The only preposterous suit is the sorry excuse for an outfit that your so-called fiance is wearing right now.” Sebastian scoffed as he eyed Kurt up and down. “ Is that a roach broach? Hmmm, I guess you gotta get poked by a cock one way or another,” he laughed as he offered his hand to Wes to shake. “Where should I sit?”“Here, let me,” Kurt said, quickly rising to grab the waste can. “This is where all the other trash goes.”Sebastian rolled his eyes in disgust. “No wonder he has to plagiarize from real writers since that’s all the wit he can muster on his own. ”“I’ll have you know that I have a lot more followers than you on Twitter, and my column is now the most read column on Vogue.com. Not to mention, my story has over a thousand subscribers and it’s one of the most popular fics in the Partners’ fandom. Your most famous scene from Partners, though I have to admit it’s an amazing one, sees you meet head-on with a bus. And you’ve done nothing of merit since. I heard you couldn’t even land a commercial for Mr. Peanuts, even though you had more experience gathering nuts than all the other squirrels cast.” Kurt quipped.“And you only have the credentials you have because you’re linked to Blaine. Before he begged all his followers to read your pathetic piece of garbage, nobody was interested. And nobody will be interested once Blaine realizes the inevitable, that he’s too good for you, and you’re a nobody. I bet your so-called insult you just pathetically spat out has been stewing in your brain for ages.” Sebastian smirked. “It’s fresh, just like all the shit you’ve been talkin’ since you walked in here. You’ve given me so much to work with that I could just pick a few steamy nuggets of crap and hurl them right back at your smirky meerkat face,” Kurt retorted through gritted teeth. “Look at you,” Sebastian smiled menacingly, “throwing back witty comebacks, dressed to what you think is the nines, even though I think you look like the epitome of Pinocchio, although I think the true tell is the cockroach brooch. It sums you up perfectly.”“Actually, the brooch was to symbolize our meeting with you, the disease-ridden pest that keeps popping up where you’re not wanted, spreading waste and shit everywhere you go.” Kurt practically yelled. “You’re going to lose, so you might as well drop the suit, kinda like you did with that Armani knock-off that you’re trying to pull off right now, which is just as wrinkled and smudged as your career and your reputation.”“Listen, you little bitch!” Sebastian hissed as he grabbed Kurt’s collar. “You think those words mean something to me, like you’ve put me in my place? Well, they’re meaningless, much like you. You act like you’re this righteous, worthy guy, but we all know where you came from.” Sebastian sniffed the air in mock disgust. “Trash. And you know it. You moved your wedding up in the hope that Blaine doesn’t realize that he’s too good for you and he’s about to make the biggest mistake of his life.”“No, the biggest mistake of my life was not doing this sooner,” and before Sebastian knew what hit him, a fist was in his face as he heard a sickening crack. Blaine landed another blow before Wes and Lauren pulled Blaine off of the now panting man on the floor. “That’s assault,” Sebastian whined, as he pinched the bridge of his nose to try to stop the bleeding, only to wince in pain.“Nope, it’s self-defense,” Wes asserted. “You had his fiancé by the collar. He was only defending his partner. At least, that is what we all saw, right Ms. Zizes?”Lauren cracked a smile. “That's precisely what I saw. You threatened him and made a move to hurt Mr. Hummel. I was ready to take you out right then and there, but Short Stack stepped in and did a fine job of that, if I do say so myself, Lauren smirked. “If you ever decide to give up acting, give me a call. You’ve got skills, Reynolds.”“Thanks. Boxing and fight club,” Blaine grinned. Lauren snorted as Wes cleared his throat. “Alright, alright. In the interest of getting through this with the least amount of bloodshed, let’s get started, shall we.”“I was under the impression that it would just be Blaine and his counsel here today,” Sebastian sighed. “And I was under the impression that you’d have an attorney present,” Quinn replied.“My attorney will be present shortly,” Sebastian replied. “My father was unable to attend since his responsibilities as a state’s attorney keeps him quite busy, but not to worry. I have one of my other attorneys with me today. One moment. Sebastian picked up his cell and typed a quick text as Blaine looked at Wes and David in confusion. A knock at the door caused Kurt to arch his neck to try to see who was at the door. Three older men walked in and then a sharply dressed man, roughly Blaine’s age, walked into the room and sat beside Sebastian.“Thad?” Blaine said in surprise. “Mr. Anderson, Mr. Montgomery” the former Warbler councilman nodded in affirmation.“Wait. I thought you worked with Wes’s firm?” Blaine scratched his forehead in confusion.“I did, until I got a better offer and an opportunity to actually handle important cases, instead of being stuck doing grunt work. But I’m sure that we can keep things civil, right Mr. Montgomery,” Thad stated, at Wes.“Yes, of course, but I need a moment to confer with my client. A moment, please.”“Of course, Thad replied, motioning for Sebastian and the rest of the attorneys to come with him so that Wes could have the room with his team and clients. When the door was shut behind the two men, Blaine’s head dropped into his hands. “What the hell, Wes? When did that happen? And why didn’t you tell me?”“Because as of yesterday evening, he was with us. I’m just as shocked as you are.”“Oh my god! What are we going to do,” Kurt squeaked.The Asian man took a drink from his water glass and set the glass back on the coaster. “We reschedule this deposition, we regroup over the next forty-eight hours, and we kick their asses. That, and schedule interviews for a new lawyer or two. Besides, I’m sure that you two need to work on things for the wedding with it being a little over a week away. We’ve got this.” Wes reassured his two clients. “Go. We’ll figure this out.”“Are you sure?” Blaine asked his friend. “Because you don’t look ok.”“I’m pissed, but you know what it does to me when someone stabs me in the back. People may think that I’m mild-mannered and reserved, but I don’t let people push me and my clients around,” Wes said with a sly smile. Kurt looked in puzzlement at his attorneys and then at Blaine. “I’m a little confused. What just happened?”Blaine grinned. “Just watch. When Wes was in fight club with me, and he could totally kick as-”David cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Blaine, but you remember the first rule of fight club, right?”Blaine nodded. “Yep. We don’t talk about fight club.”And rule number four?” Wes asked.“Don’t panic. Instead, do the unexpected.”“Which is?” Kurt asked, his brow furrowed.“Obviously, he thinks that he’s thrown us off our game, that he’s got the upper hand. I intend to show him that he doesn’t.”“By doing what?”“You’ll see.” Wes picked up his phone and punched in his secretary’s extension. “Tell Mr. Smythe and Mr. Harwood that something came up and we need to reschedule and we’ll see them at 9 A.M. sharp in two days.”“Mr. Harwood is saying that he won’t be available due to prior commitments. However, he said that since he’s already here as is his entire team, they can do it right now as planned.”“Well, please inform him that since I’m completely aware that prior commitments no longer have any merit to him, that excuse is not really valid. You can also inform him that since Mr. Smythe’s other attorneys have delayed and rescheduled this deposition multiple times, we have run out of days to do it. If he is unable to rearrange his schedule, inform him that I can notify the judge, and I will not hesitate to file a motion of misconduct ” Wes said with a smile into the receiver, answering yes to a quick question and then thanking Marley for her work. He put down the receiver and smiled.“Do you think two days will be enough time?” David asked.“It’s going to have to be. Lauren, we need you and your team to assist us.” David replied, his grin just as wide as his partner’s.“With what?” the bodyguard questioned. “You’ll see. I have an idea.”Lauren’s face erupted in a smile. “Hell yes. I like this version of you. Tell me what you need me to do.”Kurt stood in front of Blaine and his legal team, his mouth agape. “I’m not really sure what just happened.”“Wes just opened a can of whoop ass,” Blaine replied with a grin.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Chapter 19
His head was throbbing. Shane rubbed his temples. He was soaking wet because he hadn’t grabbed an umbrella before he had left that morning. His ankle was sore from missing a step when walking up the stage stairs. It had been a long day at the theater, full of complaints with directors whining about what wasn’t working. But none of those reasons explained why he was currently shaking, although he would have blamed them all had anyone asked. None of those things was the defining factor that made him hastily pack his sheet music in his briefcase and haul ass out of the theater.It could all be explained in one word. All of it. Not just today, but all the frustration and sadness that filled his world lately. All the loneliness in spite of the people that were around him daily.Cam.The conductor and director had called and asked him to come into the theater to rearrange some of the music. And of course, the part that needed to be rearranged was Cam’s. It was as if the director and the universe were taunting him. Someone could have warned him, although if they had, he wouldn’t have showed up at the theater today. Regardless, there the gorgeous blonde stood, singing flawlessly each and every time that the music started in spite of the fact that the melody or the words had changed each time. Shane had tried to be nonchalant about it and ignore him as much as he could, but it was impossible. Cam was a beautiful man, and even though he wasn’t trying to, he pulled focus from the other performers on stage. There were several times that the conductor or the director had tried to ask him questions, and Shane had to ask them to repeat themselves because he hadn’t been paying attention. It all led to where he was now, waiting in line at the deli of the supermarket with hours of revisions that he promised he’d make after he got home. It wasn’t feasible, trying to tweak the music without the orchestra, without the actor to help him hear the slight adjustments he needed to make, but he just couldn’t stand it any longer. His whole body shivered as he stood in line, not even sure what he’d order when he reached the front. He felt a tear form in the corner of his eye. He swiped at it quickly because it certainly wasn’t the place to break down. He could drown his sorrows in cheesecake and whiskey when he got home to his lonely apartment. He didn’t even notice that he was now first in line. “Ahem!” A loud but familiar voice interrupted his derailed train of thoughts. “Hey there, Mr. I have all day, but if you aren’t ready to order, then how ‘bout you step aside and let someone who actually knows what she wants to ord- Shane?”“Savannah?” Shane looked up at the girl who he once saw daily, and though she still looked the same, it felt like he hardly knew her anymore. “Sorry, you can order if you’d like. I’m here for a pickup. I’ll give them my name and get out of your way.”“Ooh, romantic dinner for two at home with the new boytoy? The guy that wears all the guyliner and wears more stuff in his hair than you do?” She smirked as she gestured from the person behind her to go in front of them as if to say, ‘we are going to be here a minute.’“Um, no. We broke up. I’m single now,” Blaine said, biting his lip. “How’s the baby?”“Lily? She’s good. Growing, talking, crawling everywhere. She’s like Whitney 2.0. Energy for days. But back to you. What happened to your guy? He was pretty hawt. Was he too kinky in bed or somethin’?” she asked sincerely, although she had a knowing smirk, her elbow perched on her waist.“No. That was- Savannah, that’s not what it was. He was great. He just wasn’t-,” Shane bit his lip.“Blondie,” she finished, patting his shoulder sympathetically. “I gets it. You two had somethin’ special. You just got each other. Kinda like Whit and me.”Shane rested his hand on his chin. “Is he, Cam, is he, you know, seeing anyone, dating or anything?” he inquired, chewing his lip almost furiously.She shook her head. “Nah, he’s had a few dates, nothin’ serious. He’s still wrapped up in you, for some strange reason.”Shane raised his head and brushed a tear from the corner of his eye. “Do you know where I can find him?”“Our place. He’s been staying there. He helps us with Lily when we’re both working. He should be there now, but Shane, I-”Shane hadn’t even heard half the sentence. He bolted toward the door, determined to go after the man he’d lost.“Oh god, I bet he has no clue,” Savannah said to herself as she took her place back in line.
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“God, I can’t wait to know what happens next. The story is so damn good,” Tina blurted, shuffling in her seat as she clicked comment. “Hey, is Kurt ok? I talked to Blaine on the phone earlier and he said that Sebastian attempted to grab Kurt at the deposition.”Lauren smiled. “He’s fine. Sebastian barely wrinkled Kurt’s collar before Blaine had him begging for mercy. I don’t know why they hired me. I’m pretty sure Tiny Tim broke his nose. You should’ve seen it.”“I wish that I had. Blaine going all animalistic like he did in the Partner’s scene with that homophobe. It sounds hot. Blaine used to box,” Tina said, her cheeks reddening a little as she settled back into her desk chair. “Yeah, he told me that once because of bullying or something. The Boy’s a beast. Meerkat dropped like a stone," Lauren replied simply as she sat in her desk chair.“Did Sebastian say anything that you could use to link him to Blainiac? We were so sure early on, with the words the threats used. Anything?”‘Actually, I’m not convinced that he’s Blainiac anymore. Yeah, he’s a smug SOB with an ego the size of Texas, but the more I dig, the more the signs don’t point to him. Although, he mentioned the new wedding date. How would he know?” Lauren questioned, picking up her eggroll and taking a large bite. “I’m pretty sure it was the baker in Lima. Chick got on Tumblr the day they canceled the original date. From there, the rumor mill started turning. Gossip started with people saying they had broken up, but that was corrected when someone who works with Blaine at Partners said that he blurted out that they just moved the date up. In fact, I’ve read two posts about it just today although nobody seems to know where and when it's happening. Hell, I don’t even know where it’s being held for sure. I was sent that text to save the date, but it said the location was nondisclosed,” Tina sighed in frustration as she stretched her arms above her head. “A girl’s gotta know. I get anxious when I don’t know where I’m going ahead of time.”“Sorry, but that was my suggestion. It’s a security thing. If nobody knows where the wedding is, nobody can tamper with things ahead of time,” the bodyguard explained. “It’s a nice idea, but you do know that people still know. It’s just like the new date was spilled online, and it came from someone that works with Blaine. But besides that, anyone that’s a vendor for this wedding knows, right? The photographer. The DJ. The bakery. I mean, they had to know a place and a time, right? To make sure that they had the date available and all.”“We didn’t give them the right names. We never told them that it was Kurt and Blaine getting married.”Tina stared at the bodyguard in surprise. “Oh my God! That’s brilliant! Whose names did you give them?” Tina inquired, shrugging her shoulders in confusion.“Sterling and Duval,” Lauren answered matter-of-factly, taking another bite of her eggroll.“As a ruse? OR…Wait, are they finally engaged?” Tina almost shrieked.“Yeah. It happened at Thanksgiving.”“It’s about freakin’ time. Who asked who?” Tina asked, clasping her hands together in excitement.“Blondie, although ‘ol shaggy-head said he had his ring in his pocket, ready to ask first, but you know how Jeff is,” she laughed. “I had no idea, but that’s amazing! I never really see anyone from the show anymore. Not since you recruited me to stare at blogs all day. I can’t believe I missed it,” Tina pouted as she shifted once more in her seat.“Hopefully, you won’t have to do this too much longer and we can get you back to the PR business. I’m sorry I’ve monopolized so much of your time and taken you away from the office.”Tina sighed. “It’s fine. They have Dottie handling the day to day, and she’s not screwing it up too badly. And I still get to see Blaineydays,” she smiled. “But it would be nice to see this end.”“I know, and I’d like to say I know who it is, but now I just feel even more confused. I mean, after we caught Eli, it seemed like we were on the right track.”“Why are you so sure that it’s not Sebastian? I agree that some of the messages don’t sound like him, but I thought we agreed that they didn’t because Eli and maybe another accomplice wrote them.”“I don’t know. It just doesn’t feel right in my gut. It’s almost like it’s too easy. It just feels off,” Lauren shrugged.“So if you don’t believe it’s Sebastian, do you have any other leads? Lauren shook her head. “No, but we need to find out pronto, Tina. The trial is in full swing now, the wedding is this weekend, and I still kinda think all this might be related. God, this is all so complicated.”“We’ll figure it out, Lauren,” Tina assured the bodyguard.“We’ll have to, or our boys are in trouble. The wedding is it. The Blainiacs are going to strike then.”“How do you know that?” Tina questioned, twirling a lock of hair on her finger.“Because it’s when I would do it. Our perps have been airing all of this out publicly. If they would blurt all of this out online, they would most likely be the types to make a scene. And the wedding is about as public as it could get. Think about it. If this person is doing this to get Blaine’s attention, lashing out at the wedding would certainly be a way to do that.”“But Kurt hasn’t even received a message in awhile?” Tina argued.“Sometimes silence speaks louder than threats,” Lauren responded, slumping into a chair beside Tina. “You know what, you’ve worked a full day. I’ll take over. Puck is with Klaine tonight, and you’ve been working a lot of overtime. Call the girls or the cast and get a couple of drinks.”“But the wedding is this weekend. We need to be ready in case the Blainiacs strike.”“Oh don’t worry. We will be,” Lauren nods. “We will be.”
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“Thank you, Mr. Hummel. The witness is excused,” Quinn said with a confident nod. “Kurt, that was perfect. You’re ready.”“What if it’s not enough?”“It’s the truth, right?” the blonde asked.“One hundred percent.” “Then, it’s enough. He’s got no case against you, Kurt.”“Does he have one against Blaine?” Kurt worried, biting his lip.“No, not really. You two aren’t guilty of what he’s accusing you of, and we have enough evidence to prove it. As for the libel, he doesn’t have any admissible evidence. Your messages with Blaine don’t count because one, you two never posted anything public about Sebastian, and you never even said his name. You didn’t even know who Blaine or who his ex was. I think Sebastian filed this suit to get evidence for his real case, the one against the show. I just don’t think he has anything of merit against either of you.”Kurt sighed deeply. “I’m just tired and scared, Quinn. Between the threats, the wedding, and this trial, I just- I want it all to be over.”“The trial will be over soon, Kurt. A day, two tops. And you’ll be married come Saturday. I also think Lauren is close to catching Blainiac. I know it’s a lot, but you’re Kurt freakin’ Hummel. If anyone could walk through hell and come out radiant on the other side, it’s you,” Quinn smiled. “Well, you and me.”Kurt laughed. “You really think it’ll be ok?”Quinn nodded again. “I know it will. You’ve got this. You and Blaine together can make it through anything together. You believe that, right?”“I do,” Kurt smiled softly. “I really do.”“Then go in there and project that. You go in there and show Sebastian and Blainiac and anyone else who has ever come at you. Show them that they can’t touch you. They can’t touch you and Blaine or what you have,” Quinn said.“Damn, lady. If you say it like that, I have to,” he laughed. *****************************Lauren’s eyes darted between the split screens. On the left, were the last messages Blainiac had sent. On the right were the first messages he or she had sent Kurt, the ones that the writer had deleted and ignored. She had retrieved them and studied them multiple times, but she had failed to connect them to anyone. She read the first message once more.
Private message from Blainiac
Hi Kurt. It’s Kurt, right? Blaine talks about you, and I don’t see him as the type to use an alias for you. I type that as if I haven’t seen pictures of the two of you together or read every article you’ve written at Vogue.com. I don’t see it. I don’t see what Blaine sees. I see a pathetic boy who is taking advantage of Blaine’s celebrity. I see someone riding his coattails. I see Blaine becoming blindsided by you, so much so that he doesn’t see what’s right in front of him. Who is right in front of him. ME! While you’ve been writing this indulgent story, I’ve watched. I’ve watched you gain notoriety over a second-rate story that you don’t even get paid to write, and I’ve watched him get swept up in you instead of him paying attention to the people that really care about him. He deserves better than you. He deserves ME, someone who’s not just after the glory and the fame. Someone who can pick him up when he’s down. Someone who will let him be himself rather than someone from a tv show. He’s not Shane. He’s Blaine. You don’t see him for who he is. You see who he is on screen.
If you know what is good for you, you’ll end this paltry, ridiculous excuse for a story and you’ll set him free. This is your warning. You’ll end this or you’ll regret it.
Lauren read the message again. It was the one that caused them to start looking into Sebastian as a subject, specifically the wording, who is right in front of him. Lauren looked back at the date it was sent. Sebastian had recently been fired, but at the time, there were still events that both Blaine and Sebastian attended. Not many, but there were parties and award shows that both men attended around that time. Eventually those joint events tapered off because Blaine was still getting invited and Sebastian wasn’t. They had speculated that was possibly the reason that the messages got more hostile. But what if the person that crafted the messages wasn’t Sebastian. What if she had missed a suspect who knew Blaine but was a little more subtle. She read the second message.
Private message from BLAINIAC:
You were warned, and yet, you must not have taken me seriously. No one ever does. You should though. You have no clue what I’m capable of. But you’ll find out if you don’t stop publishing this. Blaine deserves better than you. He deserves to be treated like the prince that he is, not used for fodder for your stupid gossip column or your sappy fanfic that you write for free because no one would actually pay you to write something so unrealistic.
Love doesn’t work like that. It shouldn't. It hasn’t for me, so why should you receive everything you want when the man I love doesn’t even seem to notice that I’m alive.
But after I eliminate you, maybe he’ll see me, the person who will be there to listen to him grieve. Maybe it won’t have to come to that. If you would just fade out of the picture and away from Blaine, it won’t have to come to that. You’ve been warned.
Lauren read the message again. She thought back to the times she had heard Sebastian speak. He didn’t really talk like that. He had called Kurt pathetic, but she’d never heard him say paltry or sappy. In addition, this person spoke as if he were jealous or resentful of Kurt. He or she also spoke as if he or she knew Blaine personally. Lauren scratched her head. Could it be someone else at Partners? They had also suspected Hunter, and she was certain that he was involved, but this message didn’t sound like Hunter. She needed to dig even further. Hunter joined the show in season 2. Could it be someone that had known Blaine when he was a Warbler or when the show started? She read message number three.Private message from BlainiacPartnersFan
Listen bitch,
I’m done being nice. I saw that ring on your ghostly pale finger. Look at you parading around on that red carpet event like you belong there. Please, that vintage Alexander Mcqueen suit just made you look like the imposter that you are. We all know about your roots and your working-class father. Did you steal it from the Vogue vault because everyone knows that you’ll never have the means to own something that beautiful? Then again, somehow, you snagged Blaine, the most beautiful man in existence. I don't see what he sees in you. Nobody does. And nobody ever will ever see you again. Your story is over or you will be.
Lauren did a double-take. Vintage Alexander McQueen? How had she not noticed that before. Technically, she had. Sebastian did know about high end designers because of his mother, a fashionista and former model from Paris. But he hardly cared. Kurt had even accused him of wearing knock-off Armani the last time they had seen each other. He had money and prestige, but he didn’t care. The person writing this envied that. It didn’t sound like a spoiled rich kid. It sounded like someone who was close to that life but didn’t have it. Maybe someone who worked in the wardrobe department or hair and makeup. Maybe it was someone from the props department or someone that knew Blaine from Dalton or even before then. She opened up Blainiac’s Tumblr and just started scrolling down, past all the recent posts, back until the earliest post. A screenshot of Blaine Anderson in the red speedo. Lauren scrolled back up, and it was mostly more of the same, reblogged gifs of Blaine, mostly by himself although sometimes there was a photo of him and Sam or Cooper, although both of the other men were scribbled out. Lauren thought back of the reblogged photos of Blaine and Kurt at red carpet events. It was one of the things that they found disturbing. Blainiac had always scribbled Kurt out, but it looks like Blainiac did this with anyone else that was pictured with Blaine. Photo after photo had the other person scribbled out so that Blaine was the only one who was clear. It appeared that most of them were Blaine with other castmates. Except one.Lauren’s eyes studied the photograph in front of her. It was different from all of the other photos because no one was scratched out. Blainiac probably figured there was no reason to do so because it was a large group photo of the cast of Partners with the crew as well. There had to be fifty or so people in this picture. Her eyes dropped to the caption below the picture. It read: I finally got a picture with my favorite guy. Maybe next time, it’ll just be us, you know like in the song you performed in the show, “When I Get You Alone.”Lauren sighed as she collapsed into her chair. She was back at square one.But was she? Here was an admission that one of these people was Blainiac. There were a lot of people in the photo, but there were millions of people on Tumblr. This photo narrowed it down a lot. She just needed to use the process of elimination. On fifty people. She sighed again. There had to be more to this. She was missing something. Listed under the photo caption was a list of all of the cast and crew. She read through the list of names. Blaine Anderson, Sam Evans, Nicolas Duval, Jeff Sterling, Sebastian Smythe, Brittany S. Pierce, Santana Lopez, Tina Cohen Chang, Cooper Anderson, Artie Abrams, Rod Remington, Sue Slyvester, Sunshine Corazon, Sugar Motta, Brody Weston, Bryan Ryan, Dustin Goolsby, Jean Baptiste. The list went on. Lauren shook her head. She had never met some of these people. Some of them had guest starred in a few episodes in the first season and hadn’t been back on the show. Some were recurring characters who showed up once or twice a season. Some were writers, assistants, or crew. She’d have to research all of the people pictured, and even though it narrowed down the list considerably, fifty people was still quite a few people to rule out and the wedding was Saturday.Lauren rubbed her eyes. Her time was running short. Maybe she needed to go to the source and ask the cast and crew if anyone was behaving suspiciously that day. Or maybe she could ask the photographer, if the photographer was even credited. Whereas the cast and crew wouldn’t reveal many details because they were bound by contracts, the photographer might not have agreed to those same terms.She searched the post, and there was no mention of anyone who took the photo. It looked like a high-quality, professional grade shot, though. But no one was credited. Wait. This was posted on Tumblr. People didn’t need to credit photographers here. But in official media, they would, and this was a formal shot. She would just need to find where this picture was originally posted. She opened up the google search bar and typed in Partners cast photo. Tons of images popped up. Lauren sighed. This was going to take forever.Or…She just needed to narrow it down. She changed her wording in the search bar. Partners full cast and crew photo season 1. The photo was from season 1 because Sebastian and Cooper were still there as were Rod and Sue, and Hunter and Elliott were not in the picture. This post was made over a year and a half ago, which would’ve been in season 1. The same photo popped up quickly. There was an article associated with it written by none other than Jacob Ben Israel for the Celebrity Paparazzi magazine Celebrity Hearsay. The article had all kinds of possible spoilers for the first season’s finale. At the time, it had been a big deal. Lauren remembered that Blaine said people, including Sebastian, Rod, and Sue were fired over that scandal, and Cooper, Santana, and Brittany almost lost their jobs over the leak. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? They had been searching for a fan, but why? This scandal had gotten people fired. And Blaine was the person who had uncovered the whole thing. Maybe this was all connected. Jacob Ben Israel had written the article. Lauren slammed her fist on the desk. They had already tried to track him down because Blaine had brought him up when she had first been hired. He was the one who was responsible for leaking storylines. He had tricked Brittany, tricked Cooper, and paid off Sebastian, as it was revealed in the trial. Wes and David had tried to talk him into testifying against Sebastian, but JBI had refused to testify for either side. Not that it would matter. He was a sleazy gossip columnist. They couldn’t trust him. She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration, her hand stinging from the impact of the desk moments earlier. “Think Zizes,” she said to herself. Jacob Ben Israel was a dead end. But she remembered that this had started with a photograph. She searched under the picture for a name. Courtesy of Chandler Kiehl. She squeezed her eyes shut, and tried to think. That name sounded familiar. She slapped her forehead. She knew the name, but couldn’t remember why. She opened another browser window and started searching for his photo. Maybe if she saw his face, it’d spark her memory. A photograph popped up. She had met this kid, but she couldn’t remember where. “Chandler, Chandler Khiel,” she mumbled aloud. “I know that face. Where have I-?” Of course! She almost leaped out of her seat. Eli had said his name the day he was fired from Kurt’s office. Kurt’s office? Lauren scratched her head. The photographer currently worked for Vogue, but apparently, he worked for Partners or Celebrity Hearsay in the past. Lauren searched the article for more information, but that was the only mention of the photographer. She sighed. It was another dead end. Or in the least, it could be a coincidence. It was normal for a photographer to be freelance in New York and have photos in multiple publications, but it was a start. Chandler knew both Kurt and Blaine. Actually, Kurt had hired him to be the photographer for the wedding. It made sense. Kurt trusted him. They had worked together for a while now. Chandler also knew Blaine. But Chandler also knew Blainiac, if the photo was anything to go off of. Could Chandler be Blainiac?She thought of the young man she had met in Kurt’s office. Did he seem the type? Obsessive of Blaine? Jealous of Kurt? Knowledgeable about fashion? The last one fit, but Chandler didn’t seem like he was ever interested in Blaine. Actually, she always seemed to think he was mighty flirty toward Kurt, not Blaine. Actually, Eli had accused Chandler of sneaking around Kurt’s office when the writer wasn’t in there. Eli wasn’t reliable though. But maybe Eli wasn’t exactly lying either. Lauren scrolled back up. If Blainiac was the photographer, she’d need more than a photo. The fact that he took a promotional photo meant nothing. Photographers took the jobs they could snag. Chandler was in his mid twenties, meaning he was probably just starting out when he took this picture. He was probably hired by the show’s PR rep and didn’t know any of the casts at all. She kept scrolling. There were no more photo credits by Chandler. It was probably just a coincidence, most likely, but just to be certain, she scribbled a list.
Find out when Chandler was hired at Vogue and get his basic info
Talk to Kurt and Blaine about Chandler
Ask the other main cast and crew if they remembered anything weird or funny about this photoshoot or the photographer.
Run a background check on Chandler Khiel
Ask Tina to see if Chandler had a Tumblr page, and if he did, research backward and forward
Lauren sighed. It was going to be a long night. She picked up her cell and called Tina. It rang a few times and then went to voicemail. Tina had probably taken her advice. It was the first night off she had taken in a long time because there were so many things to search for in this case. She’d have to reach out to Tina again in the morning. She typed Chandler’s name into the tumbler search. The first few photos were of the Friend’s character, Chandler Bing. She changed the search to tags and the same photo she had studied earlier popped up along with some others the photographer had taken. She clicked on one of those and, Bingo! It was filled with photographs taken by Chandler. Every one she scrolled past had his name on it. This had to be his page. That had been easy to find. His name was even on it. The headline went on and on about how he was a celebrity photographer in New York City and even name dropped quite a few of them, including Blaine, Cooper, and Kurt. Lauren shook her head. This could be a useless rabbit hole she was hopping down. She found this page so easily. It was probably a dead end. However, she could feel it in her gut. All of this meant something. She was close. She had to be. She needed to be. The wedding was Saturday. For Kurt’s and Blaine’s sake, she needed to make a break through, and she needed to do it now. ****************************Today was huge. It was Friday, two days before the wedding, and the final day of the trial. Only Sebastian was left to testify. Blaine’s testimony was relatively painless, since he did as Wes suggested and just told the truth. Kurt got through his testimony easily as well. As Wes had advised, Blaine hadn’t actually revealed anything too shocking to Kurt in their messages, so they were hardly even mentioned. Wes had told them he was shocked that the case went to trial at all, since the only person who had committed real criminal offenses was Sebastian. He was the one who had filed the suit in the first place, and Wes had revealed in Santana’s testimony that Sebastian was the one who had paid JBI to get the scripts from Brittany, and Santana had only handed over her scripts to protect Brittany from being fired. Cooper hadn’t even realized that Sebastian was taking his scripts. Wes speculated that the only reason that the trial was still in progress was that Sebastian wanted to go on the stand and try to make claims to excuse his actions. However, any hope of that was eradicated when Sue Slyvester testified. She was supposed to be the smoking gun in Sebastian’s case. In the deposition, she had made accusations that Blaine was the one that gave her Kurt’s story. However, her story flipped when she was on the stand. Wes called Sue’s assistant, Becky Jackson, and Becky revealed all kinds of damning evidence including a storage locker that was filled with all kinds of shameful secrets, including a sort of shrine to Kurt and Blaine. The locker was also filled with journals and flash drives that held threats toward the network and the school where she had previously worked. She had been taken off in handcuffs, which looked even worse for Sebastian’s case. Their star witness had proven to be an unhinged nutcase. They had just dismissed for lunch when Wes, David, Kurt, and Blaine were called into the judge’s chambers. He was greeted by Thad and a dejected-looking Sebastian, who sat off in the corner with his head down and his shoulders slumped. Thad shook hands with all four men and asked them to take a seat.“I’ll make this brief. My client would like to offer a settlement.”“Of course he would, since every claim he has made was disproven on the stand, not to mention, his own star witness was just discredited in the worst way. He has nothing to gain by getting up on the stand and he knows it,” Wes said, a satisfied smile on his face. “What’s the offer?”“Mr. Smythe will drop all the slander and libel charges against you. In return, he asks you to not bring your own charges against him for anything that came up about him in this trial.”“So basically, he knows he’s going to lose and can be sued by us for all this bull sh- crap that he’s put us through,” Kurt retorted. “And we have every right to do so. This trial has caused damage to both of our reputations, especially Blaine, as a respectable actor, and to me as a writer, not to mention, I’ve had to deal with threats against my life.”“Mr. Hummel has a valid point. With the trouble this case has given my clients, just dropping the case is not going to cut it. Your client is going to lose. He has nothing to gain from pressing on, and we all know it. However, my clients have enough evidence to build a case against him for all the trouble he’s caused. Actually, the fact that he hasn’t offered to settle this with a monetary amount is an abomination. I’ll have to advise my clients not to-”“My client is prepared to offer a quite hefty monetary settlement if your client agrees not to pursue legal action against him,” Thad explained.Kurt rolled his eyes. “You’re trying to pay us off? You threatened to kill me, you monster!” Kurt screamed. Blaine squeezed his partner’s hand.“I've told you time and again, that wasn’t me. Look, I know you believe you’re this extraordinary fashion icon and a famous columnist, but like it or not, you are a nobody. The only reason I or anyone else knows who you are is because of Blaine. He’s the celebrity. Not you. And I have not once threatened physical harm on you. It’s not my style. In fact, your fiance assaulted me,” Sebastain replied, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. “Self-defense. You had his fiance by the collar. You screamed profanity at him. He felt threatened. He had the right to protect Kurt,” David replied. “You’re lucky they didn’t press charges. Anyway, you said you had financial compensation, or at least, that’s what it should be called because my clients have acquired quite a bit of debt because of this lawsuit and obtaining a security team, due to the threats.”“God, for the last time, I’m not the psycho stalker or whatever. You should know by now that I’m not the type who’ll cower behind a computer. If I have something to say, I’ll say it to your face, and I think that I have. I’m sorry someone threatened you, but it ain’t me.”“What’s the offer?” Wes asked. “Because if you come back with a pathetic number, not only will we refuse to settle so your client will have to testify, but we’ll retaliate with multiple suits that will make your hea-”Thad pushed a slip of paper into Wes’ hand, causing the Asian man’s mouth to gape open. “That should cover the new staff you’ve had to hire, the expenses, and retribution for any damage my client has caused. Go talk to your client and let us know your decision before court resumes.”“You can’t just buy our silence, and the fact that you think you can is-”“Kurt,” Blaine interrupted. He held the slip of paper up to his fiance’s face and then braced his other other arm around Kurt’s waist so that he didn’t faint. “Let’s discuss this in private with our council. Ok.”Kurt nodded, too shocked to speak. Thad and Sebastian quickly and quietly exited the room, as Lauren barged right past them. “Well, what’s the deal? Did they want to settle?”“Twenty million,” David almost whispered.“Dollars. Holy shit!” Lauren blurted. “Are you gonna take it?”Blaine shrugged. “I don’t know. Will that cover the expenses?”Wes nodded. “For this part of the case, yes. Remember that Sebastian brought charges against the show, and they are paying for the cases because it all relates to the show. He’ll have to settle the other suits separately, and I’ll expect a much larger number for that one. Honestly, I waved most of my fee for this one because, well, it’s you guys. I just ask for enough to pay my staff and cover our expenses, but other than that, the majority of it will go to you. But you have to agree to it and the terms fully. Kurt. What do you want to do?”“I can’t take it. If this bastard is Blainiac-”“He’s not,” Lauren blurted.“Wait, you’re sure?” Wes gasped in disbelief.“Positive,” Lauren said. After the deposition that wasn’t, I still thought it might be him, but after we confiscated his electronics and dug through all his files, all the searches revealed nothing in regards to Blainiac. He did follow a lot of Blaine fan pages, and some rather disturbing fanart pages of him and Cooper’s characters, but there’s no trace of him posting on Blainiac’s page.”Kurt sighed. “So we’re back to square one.”“Nope,” Lauren said. “Not at all. I need to ask you guys some questions, but I stumbled upon some things last night, and I think I’m pretty close.”“That’s great!” Blaine nearly shouted, but then took a breath when Kurt squeezed his hand, reminding him that Sebastian was just outside the door. “Should we delay the wedding? It’s this weekend, and I just don’t like that Blainiac is right under our nose.”“No, we need to stick to the plan. We’re close. We’ll catch them, and there’s no way we’re going to let them ruin your big day. We have it covered.”Blaine nodded as he made eye contact with Kurt, who nodded as well. “So, Wes, should we take the settlement?”“I can’t tell you to take it, but it would put an end to this entire thing. Sebastian has no case. Besides, you two could focus on your wedding, which is more important than this. And you could use the money to buy a nice place or pay off the expenses from the wedding. I know that moving things up and changing the ceremony to New York city made everything much more expensive. This would help cover all that and give you both a nice nest egg,” Wes explained.“Kurt?” Blaine asked, eyeing his fiance nervously.“Ok,” the brunette nodded.“Ok, what.” Blaine said.“Let’s take it. With a few stipulations. Sebastian needs to issue a public apology to both Blaine and I, and he’s prohibited from bringing up any other charges against us or any other member of the cast. I want a restraining order, so that he stays away from Blaine and I, and if he ever accuses us of even looking at him funny, they throw his slimy ass in jail,” Kurt ranted.“Damn, Kurt. That’s so hot,” he said, planting a quick but passion-filled kiss to Kurt’s mouth. "I love it when you go into bad-ass mode,” he said, staring into his lover’s eyes as the others stood around waiting for him to give his opinion on the situation.“What do you want to do, Blaine?” Kurt questioned, squeezing Blaine’s hand for reassurance to let him know that whatever he said would be fine. “I’m ok with it if you are, and if he can agree to those stipulations.”“I’m just ready for this to be over, so that we can focus on our lives, as husbands. I don’t care about the money or the lawsuit or my reputation. I want this Blainiac guy or girl or whoever this is to be caught so that we can focus on what’s important. Us. Because all I want to do, all I’ve ever wanted to do, is to spend my life lovin’ you,” Blaine said earnestly, staring into his fiance’s now watery, blue eyes.“Blaine,” Kurt gasped, kissing his fiance softly. “That’s what I want too. Just us. God, I love you,” he said, cupping Blaine’s cheek and kissing him passionately. Blaine wrapped his arms tightly around Kurt’s trim waist.“Um, guys,” David said, biting his lip and looking anywhere but at the two men who had seemed to have forgotten there were other people in the room. “Is that a yes on the settlement?”“Uh huh,” Blaine grunted as Kurt continued to kiss him senseless. “Do we leave the room?” Wes whispered.“If they’re going to put on a show in front of me, I’m gonna watch,” Lauren replied matter-of-factly as David cleared his throat.“Gentlemen, if I may,” Wes grinned as the two boys broke apart, blushing profusely. “I’m going to call Mr. Smythe and his council back in here. You may want to reign that in. You’ll be able to celebrate tonight. The trial is over, and you won’t have to worry about Sebastian anymore.”“Yeah, just these crazy people that keep stalking me because they want my fiance.”“One step at a time, guys. You haven’t even heard from Blainiac in a while. Maybe he or she has gotten bored and this will all blow over,” David said as he and Wes stepped out to find the plaintiff. “No, I don’t think it’s over, boys,” Lauren said, shaking her head. “But rest assured, my team and I won’t sleep until we catch these psychos. Ok?”“Ok,” Blaine nodded. “So we stick to the plan?”Lauren smiled. “We stick to the plan. Tina and I are really close. We’re going to catch them, and you two will be able to go places again without me and stupidhair on your tail,” she laughed.*********Meanwhile, downtown in her office, Tina stared at her laptop screen. Lauren had showed her everything she found this morning. She had been scrolling through Chandler’s page for hours but she hadn’t really had to. She had seen it all before. She needed a break. She switched to a different window on her laptop screen. Immediately, a message written by Blainiac was in front of her face. She examined the words.
Hello again.
You think that you have fooled anyone? You haven’t fooled me in the least. I know what you have planned. I have plans too, and I guarantee mine are more explosive than yours.
See you soon.
Blainiac 2:16
The message was clear as glass. She took a deep breath, but nearly screamed when she got a text on her phone. It was from Lauren.To Tina: The trial's over.
To Lauren: Just like that?
To Tina: The meercat offered a mutli-million dollar settlement and they took it.” To Lauren: So it's over?To Tina: Only the trial. The Blainiacs are still out there. They are striking soon.To Lauren: Indeed. There's a new message. You need to see it.“Blainiac is, indeed, still out there,” Tina laughed to herself as she clicked send in the PM box of the Fanfiction page. Then, she scrolled through her contacts in her shortcuts and clicked on Blainiac and started a new text.
I hope you're ready for this because it's all about to explode.
..
The reply was immediate.
Bring it on
Tina smiled. Everything was going just as they had planned.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Shane’s feet pounded the pavement as he ran down the street, eyes focused straight ahead as he prayed to a God that he didn’t believe in that Cam was home. His mind raced as the rain pelted his skin. He shivered subconsciously, and brushed his messy curls so he could see where he was going. He passed some kids playing in the yard, a dog barking and growling as he ran, and a punk possibly breaking into a car that wasn’t his. None of that mattered. He saw nothing but that atrocious burgundy door that he was about to knock down if he needed to do so. “Cam!” He pounded his fists against the door. “Cam! Please!”“Shane?” Cam rushed to the door and pulled it open in shock. “What are you doing? Mrs. Hernandez won’t hesitate to call the Calvary in. Probably already has,” Cam said, pushing his blonde bangs out of his face. “We should come inside before- are you wet? Hey, Are you ok?” Cam asked as Shane grabbed his wrists and pulled him through the open door. Shane didn’t know if he was trembling from the cold, Cam’s touch, his nerves or a combination, but he knew he needed to lay it all out on the line. “No, I’m not ok, and I won’t be ok. I haven’t been close to ok since you left. Well, since I left. I fucked up, thoroughly. You’re right. I should’ve fought for us. I should’ve done whatever it took to keep you by my side,” Shane blurted, staring Cam thoroughly in the eye. “You did what you felt was right,” Cam said, biting his lip as his eyes darted around to find something, anything to look at besides his former lover.”You always do.” He handed Blaine a towel that he had grabbed from the back of a chair that was close by. Shane chuckled a little, noticing that Cam had reverted back to his previous messy habits. The room was in disarray, but Shane didn’t care. That was the least of his concerns. “No,” Shane said softly as he realized that he was still gripping one of Cam’s wrists tightly and released it. Cam rubbed his wrist but he didn’t move from the place he had been pulled to. “I did what I thought was safest for my heart. We talked about this. You shattered my heart, as I did with yours when you came back for me and I was with Emmett.”“Where is Emmett?” Cam asked, looking around as if the man would pop up somewhere in his own apartment. “He’s at his place. We broke up because he knew," Shane explained as he attempted to towel his soaking body dry. A puddle had accumulated under him, but Cam didn’t seem to care. Cam shrugged his shoulders in confusion. “He knew what?” His eyes finally met Shane’s as he awaited his response to the question.“He knew that even though I cared about him, that I didn’t feel for him what I felt for you. I tried so hard to move on and get over you, but he knew,” Shane responded softly, peering steadily into Cam’s eyes as his own became watery. “He said that it wasn’t fair to him, nor was I being fair to us. He said that he could tell that what you and I had was real, and he didn’t want to stand in the way,” Shane explained. Cam nodded as he raked his teeth against his bottom lip. “He seems like a good guy.” “He is. And he and I would be great together, if- if it weren’t for you,” Shane grabbed Cam’s hand again, intertwining their fingers together as they had often done throughout their relationship. “I love you, Cam, and I don’t care what happens from here on out. Whatever comes our way, I’m all in. I need you in my life. I promise to run through hell and back for you, with you, whatever happens. Come what may. I’m never leaving again, unless-” Shane’s eyes darted around the room and he saw the full state of the living room. Amongst the mess he had noticed, there were boxes, and they seemed to be packed full of things. “Are you going somewhere?”“Savanna, Whit, and Lily are moving to California,” Cam replied. “LA. Savannah got a role in this hot new musical, as did Whitney. She’s going to be in the ensemble, dancing and singing. It’s going to be great.”“So you’re helping them pack?” Shane said, scratching his head.“Um, no. I’ve been staying here. I watch Lily sometimes, while they are working. And it gives me quality time with her. Since I'm her biological dad, they wanted me to be involved in her life, and I did too, you know.”“Oh, that’s great,” Shane smiled, then immediately frowned. “Not that they are moving her half away across the country. I’m sorry. Do they have family in LA?”“No. But Lily would. If I moved up there with them. Whit got me a job with the show too, with the music department. I’m going to help write some of the music. It’s not a full time gig, but it gets my foot in the door, and then I can watch Lily while they are performing,” Cam explained, his eyes darting away from Shane’s gaze. “So, you’re moving?” Shane asked, as he squeezed Cam’s hand that was still interlaced with his own in an attempt to get Cam to look up at him again. “To Los Angeles?” Shane dropped Cam’s hands and looked as if he could no longer fight the tears off.Cam bit his bottom lip again and raked his teeth against it. “That’s the plan. Well it was, before you showed up. But,” he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Now, I,..I don’t know what to do. I thought that I had lost you for good, and that we had no chance of reconciling or ever starting a family of our own. Everyone said that I needed to move on. And I wanted to be there for them, for Lily and Savannah and Whitney. They are the only reason I made it, you know, through the breakup. They said that they couldn’t do this without a support system, and I wanted to be there for them the way they were for me. And Lil, she’s my child too, and I didn’t want to miss out on her growing up. You know how much it destroyed me when my dad left. I don’t want that for my own daughter,” Sam explained, a tear sliding down his cheek.Shane nodded. “I understand.” He dropped his head down, his eyes studying the floor. “They are your family, and I- I left. You gave me a chance, and I blew it.” Shane’s voice quivered as did his hands.“Hey, no. We blew it. We never talked about how me becoming a father would change everything, and most of that is on me because I developed feelings for Whitney. None of that was your fault,” Cam replied earnestly as he put a comforting hand on Shane’s shoulder and squeezed. “You left because you were trying to do the right thing.”“And the right thing now is to let you go with Lily. They are your family, and they need you,” Shane replied, the tears falling freely now. “They do, and I need them,” Cam nodded as he reached out to grab Shane’s hands, which were still trembling. “But, I need you too, and you just said that you need me,” he said softly as he squeezed both of Shane’s hands firmly. When Shane did, Cam's eyes darted around the room briefly as he cleared his throat; a gesture he had done many times in the past when he was nervous. “So come with me. Please, Shane. You and Lily and me. Dylan’s already there, and we could all be a family together, with Savannah and Whitney.”Shane swifted shook his head. “I ran into Savannah earlier and she did not seem pleased to see me.”“And yet, you’re here,” Cam smiled. “She must’ve said something to persuade you.”“She said that you weren’t seeing anyone. That you were still hung up on me for some strange reason.”Cam nodded. “You know Savannah. She tells the truth.”“She hates me. I could see it written all over her face,” Shane said matter-of-factly. “She loves you. They both love you. Whitney begs me to call you practically every day and Savannah threatens to castrate me regularly because I let you get away.“She used to call me Hobbit and Bilbo, ” Shane said, shrugging his shoulders in confusion. “So, she calls me Lisa Renna and Trouty mouth and every other name under the sun. That’s how she shows affection. I know she can be scary. You should’ve seen how pissed she was about Whitney and I, but ultimately, she was the one that checked on me after you left. Actually, Whit and I had to hold her back from going after you. She said it hurt her seeing me broken like that, even though she was furious at me,” Cam said.“I’m sorry, Cam. I really-” He was cut off with a searing kiss. “I know. I am too. Just please. Come with me. I know I’m asking you to rearrange your life, move across the country, change everything you know, but-”“Ok,” Shane blurted.“Wait? OK. Just like that?”Shane nodded. “Not just like that. Being without you was Hell. I don’t care if you asked me to move to Jupiter. It doesn’t matter where I’d be going. As long as we’d be going together. All that matters is that I’m with you. But I have a condition.”Cam pulled away, his mouth dropped open wide like a trout.” Ok? But what is the condition?”“Well, two conditions, really,” Shane replied. “One, we need to talk about it. Like truly, deeply discuss everything that happened between us. That’s what got us into everything. We didn’t talk out the details. I left without talking to you, and then when you came back, I avoided the conversation, and I don’t want to do that again. I found that my place is by your side, whether that be in New York, L.A., Timbuktu, or the moon. I don’t care. I just don’t ever want to be without you again. I love you, Cam.”“I love you too, Shane.” Cam said, wiping a tear from his eye. “And the second thing.”“No more domestic partnership. I want us forever, not some common law marriage. I want permanency. You. Forever and always.” Shane knelt down and pulled a ring from his pocket. “I want to share a mortgage, a bank account, and a last name. Make this official. Marry me.” Note from the author: It may take me a little longer to update or respond to comments since I’m getting married soon myself, and we’re going to be as busy as Shane and Cam were in the episode after Dylan moved out in season 1. I’ll be back with a new chapter after things calm down a little. Thanks for reading, and I’d love to hear your positive thoughts on the chapter. ********Lauren sighed as she stretched in her chair. It had been a long day. She had been back and forth from the theater to the courthouse and back to the office as she tried to figure out the Blainiac puzzle. She had to head back to the theater in a few minutes, but she needed to check out Kurt’s newest update. Lauren grinned from ear to ear as she read his author’s note. She quickly typed out a text to Kurt.
To Kurt: Damn, Kurt. You and your damn cliffhangers! I’m one step from throwing my tablet out of the window.
To Lauren: Oh puh-lease. The latest chapter has only been up for seven minutes. 😀 Don’t act like you don’t rush to read every new post.
To Kurt: Yeah, yeah. You know I have to read it to make sure that you don’t attract another stalker or trigger the one you already have, right? Saying you and Blaine will be busy. Subtle Kurt. Really?
To Lauren: … This from the lady who said subtlety is overrated. Just following orders, ma’am 😀
To Kurt: Cheeky bastard!
To Lauren: I wear that badge with honor. 😛
To Lauren: OMG, YOU NEED TO GET TO THE OFFICE NOW! I KNOW WHO THE BLAINIACS ARE!
Lauren did a double take. The message wasn’t from Kurt. It was from Tina.
To Tina: Wait? For real?
To Lauren: 100%. How soon can you get here?
To Tina: Be right there
To Puck: Hey. I’m gonna be late. Let Klaine know I’ll be there soon, but if I’m late, to carry on as we planned. The Accelerator was to the floor. Lauren didn’t even know her old Sedan could hit 110. She couldn’t risk being arrested, so she allowed her foot to slip off the pedal and hit the break. This was not the time to be reckless. Kurt and Blaine needed her to be careful so that she could keep them safe. She couldn’t do her job if she was arrested or dead. Her mind raced. Tina knew who Blainiac was. Her instincts had been correct. The Blainiacs were going to strike at the wedding. She had to stop them. She pulled into the parking garage, her phone in her hand. “Puckerman,”“Where are you? You should’ve been here half an hour ago,” Puck nearly yelled but then realized that would have attracted attention. “Your text was sketchy and you said there was no way in hell you’d ditch this.” “I’m not ditching’, you imbecile. I’m on my way, but I needed to check something out first. I need you to see to it that things go as planned.”“Me? You barely told me the plan. Hell, you hardly told me the venue,” he chuckled nervously. “I’m not exactly sure what I’m supposed to do.”“Watch Klaine like a hawk at the rehearsal dinner, you got me? Don’t leave either of them outta your sight for one second. You got me? There’s another message and it’s clear they are going to strike at the wedding. If anything happens to them, I’ll give you another haircut…this time with my weedwacker… Dammit.” the bodyguard swore as she drove into the dark parking garage near the office. “Lauren? Slow down. I’ve got this. Jake and Ryder are both here as well. I’m in the next room because they won’t quit suckin’ face, and I’m pretty sure that’s not all they’ve been suckin’. I’ve been trying to peek but they won’t let me back in there. I owe you fifty bucks because Anderson is, in fact, the wide receiver and a screamer. I would’ve put a million bucks down that he was the top.”“They switch, halfwit,” I’ve told you I’ve witnessed them doin’ the dirty with my own eyes more than once,” she said as she put her Toyota in park and stepped out into the darkness. “But I need you to focus. Blainiac sent a new message and we were right. There’s more than one Blainiac, but the main culprit is-” Lauren never got to finish her revelation as her body hit the cold pavement of the parking garage.“LAUREN! LAUREN! YOU OK? WHAT WAS THAT?” Puck almost screamed into the phone. “DAMMIT!” Tina swore as she scrambled to pick up the phone where Lauren had dropped it. She signaled to Hunter to remain still. He nodded. Tina made eye contact with Lauren, who was barely conscious, and motioned a knife across her own throat. She pointed to Hunter, who lowered his body down to hers and placed duct tape over her mouth. Eli stood behind her, a crowbar in his hand. Tina spoke into the cell phone. She had to wait a moment for Puck to stop shouting. “HEY!” she shouted. “Chill. It’s Tina,” she said as calmly as she could, although her heart was racing. “Lauren’s here and she’ll be ok. She tripped over a damn stray in the parking lot. She arrived at our office and fell in the garage.”“Garage? Which one? This is New York. There is no parking. Are you at one of the ones by the theater?“No, at the office. You know how dark it is out here since they refuse to fix the street lights,” Tina lied as she hurried over to where Hunter was starting to struggle with the bodyguard. Eli was trying to help as well, but Lauren had nailed him in the groin and he was on the ground trying not to scream, tears rolling down his face as he writhed in pain. “She was telling me she figured out who Blainiac is,” Puck blurted carelessly. You figured him out?”“Not he. It’s a she.”“NO shit!” Puck blurted. “Who is the crazy bitch?” Puck scratched his head. His brother, Jake, gave him a dirty look. “It’s Sue Slyvester,” Tina answered calmly, although she was biting her lip. She could do this. Puck wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box. “That psycho? But there were three of them,” Puck replied.“She has multiple accounts on Fanfiction page. Multiple Tumblr blogs. It confused us a little. She also has her daughter, Becky, or whoever she is, the one that ratted her out on the witness stand. She’s in on it too,” she explained quickly, trying to end the conversation because Lauren had no intention of going quietly. “ Look, I have to go. I need to make sure she doesn’t have a concussion. I'm sure she’ll be sore. You might need to let her rest. I think her ankle is probably sprained and she has a bump on the head.”“Do I need to call an ambulance?” Puck questioned, obviously worried. “Do I need to come get her?”“NO!” Tina shouted, but she took a breath to regain her composure. She had to keep it together because if Puck got suspicious, the place would be crawling with police. “No,” Tina replied, regaining her composure. She shook her head as if Puck could see them. It was a good thing that he couldn’t because even though the bodyguard was groggy she was still trying to fight. She landed a kick to Hunter’s shin and went for his groin, but missed. It really was dark and Hunter was quick. Eli was on the ground still, but he was beginning to settle down. Hunter tried to secure a piece of tape on Lauren’s wrist but she was still trying to fight back. Tina continued. “She’ll be fine, but she’s insisting that I come by the theater and assist you and the crew though. It’s the Gershwin right?”“No. The Hudson. Like Finn’s last name. She didn’t tell you?”“No, but I think she may have hit her head. Look, I can’t administer first aid appropriately while I’m on the phone with you. I need to go,” She said as she abruptly hung up the phone and grabbed a syringe from her pocket. “I suggest you calm down or we’ll have to do the same thing to you that we have planned for Twinkerbell,” she said, as she jammed the needle into the bodyguard’s neck. “Grab the tape and help me. We need to wrap her in this so she can’t get out,” Tina said, as Lauren’s body once again went slack.“Nuh uh. Duct tape is too easy to escape. I brought these,” Eli smirked, as he secured heavy duty zip ties around Lauren’s wrist. “Grab her phone, Hunt,” he ordered. “We don’t need it tracked. Actually, we need to drop it off at her apartment so no one gets suspicious.” “I already have it covered,” Tina said, shrugging her shoulders. “I bought a dummy phone and switched the sims card. I also hacked into her socials so that I can post as her and no one gets suspicious. We need to get her out of here. We’re in a parking garage. Anyone could see or hear us. Idiots.”Hunter said, shrugging his shoulders as he reached for the bodyguard and tried to prop her upright against the black vehicle, but her body was too relaxed. “Help me, you imbecile,” he spat, motioning to Eli. “Where are we going to keep her? In the van?” “Keep her? Uh uh. Too risky. She’s too smart. Do you know how hard it was to keep her off our trail? It was nearly impossible to mislead her these past few weeks. If she wakes up, she’ll ruin everything. I’ve worked too hard for everything to fall apart this late in the game. You’ll need to finish her.”“Hell no. Murder wasn’t part of the deal. I told you that if anything messy went down, we aren’t going to do it. You want her dead, you do it.”“She’s twice my size. There’s no way I can do any damage and I’m not using any means that creates a mess. I’ll never get blood out of this dress, and I’m expected at the rehearsal dinner in an hour.”“She’s incapacitated currently. Couldn’t you just overdose her with whatever is in the syringe?”“It’s a tranquilizer. Eli grabbed it for us from that veterinary clinic he used to work at,” Tina explained.“A vet? You grabbed a tranquilizer used on small pets.”“It’s ketamine. It’s used to sedate horses,” Tina replied, rolling her eyes.“She’s the size of a horse. Are you sure you used enough?” Eli queried as he opened up the two back doors of the van. He pulled a rusty aluminum ramp down on the cold concrete ground. “How about I try it on you and see if you wake up in the next few days,” Tina threatened. “And if you would’ve done your job right, we wouldn’t have had to resort to this,” she huffed as she attempted to help the two men roll the bodyguard up the ramp and into the vehicle. They only rolled her a few inches before Eli lost his grip and Lauren went rolling back down the ramp. Tina huffed and swore as Hunter let go of the bodyguard and went into the back of the van. Hunter returned with an old carpet and dropped it beside the duct tape on the ground. “Hang on. If we wrap her in this, it’ll be easy to roll her up,” He suggested as he laid the carpet below the ramp. Eli nodded and helped his cousin roll Lauren onto the carpet and wrap the tape around her. “God, Tina, could you have not convinced her to eat a damn salad. I’m going to need a forklift to get her in the damn van,” the actor panted as he tried to catch his breath.“I barely convinced her of anything. She’s pretty damn stuck in her ways. Something about self acceptance and how a real man could handle all her jelly or something. She said it also made her a better bodyguard. Except it was super easy to distract her with anything that was deep fried or contained sugar. I’m regretting it now,” Tina huffed as she rested a moment while the two men finished securing the carpet loosely with tape. She checked her watch. “Alright, you two, roll her up. You did secure a unit in the correct place, right? For this to work, it’s got to be in the same storage facility as the “hurt locker,” or whatever the hell her bitchy little daughter called it, or nobody will believe that Sue is responsible.”“Becky’s not her daughter, but yes. It’s amazing what that girl would do for a box of Twinkys,” Eli answered, his eyes closing briefly. “She offered to do things that I might’ve had to take her up on if she had a dick,” he huffed.“God, you really are a skeaze. Quit being a perv and do what you’ve been paid to do,” Tina ordered as they finally got the woman into the back of the vehicle. “I need to get to the theater pronto and you two need to get her into that locker tonight without being spotted. Do you think you two can figure out how to do that without fucking that up as well.”Eli pretended to cough. “Em hmm. Bitch,” he grumbled. “Once again, we’ll take care of your dirty work.”“See to it that you do.”“Another review?” Elliott asked as he sat down his tablet on the small tablet in the fancy dressing room. “No. It was Lauren, although she was commenting on the chapter. She called me a cheeky bastard,” Kurt replied casually as he tried to smooth the wrinkles in his shirt. “That about sums it up,” Elliott chuckled. “Ending on a cliffhanger when you aren’t going to be able to update for a while, and then your saucy little note at the end. How long do you think it’ll be before you update?”“I’m going to try to update on the same schedule. The next chapter is mostly written,” Kurt said, shrugging his shoulders. “I just need to get Blaine to beta it one more time.”“But the note said it’d be a while. And the wedding is…”“Is tomorrow, but the honeymoon isn’t until February so we’ll be going back to work and life as usual,” Kurt shrugged as he checked himself in the mirror. He smoothed a piece of hair that had fallen out of place, but it flopped back down into his eyesElliott smiled as he stood up and grabbed Kurt’s hairspray. “Let me.” He grabbed a comb and started teasing the piece of hair. “Yeah, but your and Blaine’s usual schedule is crazy busy, and you’ll have things you’ll have to take care of on top of your job. Not to mention, you’ll be newlyweds that have sex all the time.”Kurt chuckled.“God, El, It’s Blaine and I. We have sex all the time now.”Elliott shook his head as he sprayed the rebellious lock of hair into place. Now, Kurt’s coif was back to perfection. “Duh, hence the reason you look like you’ve been mauled. God, Kurt, you couldn’t wait until after the wedding?” Elliott smirked. “Or at least, lock the effin’ door.”“If you barge into our space without knocking, it’s your own damn fault, Gilbert,” Kurt laughed. “I think Puckerman was traumatized, and slightly fascinated. Although he claims to be straight, he gives off some serious bicurious vibes,” Elliott laughed. “And I got confirmation that there is, in fact, a large mushroom-shaped mole on Blaine’s left asscheek.Kurt laughed. “And why were you staring at my fiance’s ass, Gilbert? You’re supposed to be my best man.”“First, I don’t know why I’m your best man. Both Rachel and Finn were giving me death glares because they aren’t, and second, you told me to come get you in five minutes, and it had, in fact, been seven. How was I to know your future husband’s pants were going to be around his ankles?” Elliott laughed. Kurt rolled his eyes.“In response to inquiry number one, Rachel was swamped and Finn is a blabbermouth. And for inquiry number two, we were in my dressing room, it was supposed to be private, and he was in that fitted suit, and, shut it, El. You know how gorgeous Blaine is.”Elliott laughed. “Yes, I do, and I also know that you’re rubbing it in. You already know that I’m super jealous of what you two have. But I’m happy for you both,” Elliott smiled genuinely as he patted his friend’s shoulder. “Thank you. But I’m happy for you too. Blaine said that you and Hunter have a thing now?” Kurt teased, cocking an eyebrow at his best man. “It’s not a thing. Not really. He’s not looking for anything serious,” Elliott said, shrugging his shoulders as he leaned against the counter in the small dressing room.“But do you? Want something serious?” Kurt questioned, cocking his head sideways. “With Hunter?”“Eventually, yes, with someone. But not with Hunter. He’s attractive and great in bed, but he’s really distant. Secretive almost. We never go to his place, and he’s not very reliable. Like tonight. He was supposed to be my plus one, but he sent a text that said he might not make it. Said it was an emergency,” Elliott sighed.“What kind of emergency? It’s not on the set. Practically all of the crew and cast will be at the rehearsal dinner tonight,” Kurt scratched his chin.“He didn’t say. But he said he’ll be there tomorrow. But enough about me. Are you ready for this? I know this is not the wedding that you wanted.” “I’m ready for Blaine to completely belong to me, to share his name, a family, a new home. We decided to get a new place with the settlement money, since that stalker knows our address. I still can’t believe Eli was involved. Isabelle did an extensive background check on him, and he came up clean. Nothing on his record. Actually, the Claringtons are a very prominent family in Manhattan.”“The Claringtons? He’s related to Hunter?” Elliott did a double take. “Hunter’s last name is Clarington? That’s not what it says on the credits,” Kurt blurted as he stopped spraying his hair. “They list it as Nolan.”“Yeah, that’s his middle name and what he uses as a stage name. I only know it because he said Clarington at a hotel desk to get a room upgrade. I thought it was weird and asked him about it, but he never really wanted to talk about it, and since we aren’t official or anything, I didn’t press the topic. I thought maybe he was just name-dropping to impress me or something.”“Why would he give you a false name?” Kurt asked. “To be fair, I never asked. Like you said, his name is on the credits. Everyone calls him Nolen. Not to mention, we’re just hookin’ up. Do you get the last name of every booty call? I know for a fact that you barely knew anything about the sketchy Santa who robbed you all blind,” Elliott teased.“Fair point,” Kurt replied tentatively. “How does Hunter behave around Blaine? I’ve only been on the set once or twice when he was around, and I honestly didn’t like how he had his massive paws all over him. Is he flirty with all the guys or did I just happen to see him the one time he thought he’d manhandle Blaine.”“He was handsy at first with most of us men, myself included, but then, so is his character. Holden is a man-slut and that’s part of his appeal, and you know it. Hunter’s very method. Blaine didn’t notice at first, but he saw the way you glared at Hunter when you stopped in. He put Hunter in his place after that.”“He did?”Elliott nodded. “He told him that he was flattered but not interested and that he was engaged. Then, he proceeded to talk about you like you invented Roxy music. God, Blaine loves you, Kurt. He’s a good guy. Take care of him.”“I fully intend to,” Kurt smiled as Puckerman entered the room. “Hey, you and Shortie done? Your dad wanted to go over some things and we all need to go over some final details about tonight.Kurt nodded as he looked at his bodyguard. “Where’s Lauren? I thought there would be no way in Hell she’d miss tonight.”“Hey, I’m here, and so is Jake and Shaggy. We got this. Lauren’s resting. She tripped over a dog and her ankle may be sprained,” Puck said, his voice wavering a little. He began fidgeting with a pen in his hand, clicking it several times. He cleared his throat nervously.“Puck, you have a terrible poker face. What’s going on?”“It’s fine. Lauren just threatened to remove my nutsack if everything doesn’t go as planned, and you know she’ll do it. It’s fine though. Lauren checked on everything this morning, and Tina assured me that she’ll take care of whatever needs to be done. Don’t worry. Everything’s ready. Are you?" Puck asked. “Yeah. I am. I really am,” Kurt nodded and followed the bodyguard through the door. This was it. Soon he would be Kurt Anderson-Hummel. Lauren groaned, blinking furiously as her eyes tried to see something, anything in the darkness. Her head was throbbing. “That’s gonna smart later,” She could feel a rough material wrapped loosely around her body, the putrid smell told her she was probably in someone’s moldy basement, but she wasn’t really certain. “Where the hell am I?” she blurted as she tried to stretch her right hand, but couldn’t. She tried to jerk her hands free but they were bound behind her with zip ties. If she was upright and not hurting everywhere, she could easily escape, but it wasn’t possible in the position she was in. She groaned as thrashed around on the course material and realized it was an old carpet that had been wrapped around her body. It was also secured with duct tape. She inhaled a deep breath and tried to think of a way around this. She needed to get out of bondage, and then figure out where she was and she needed to do it fast. Friction. She started to roll, side to side, thrashing violently, but it was in vain. She was trapped, everything hurt, and she had no idea where she was. All she knew was that her instincts were correct. The very person who was helping her this whole time was Blainiac. It all made sense. It was the reason that they were never able to find hard evidence. It was genius really, but she should’ve known. It was always a rule of hers to keep her friends close and her enemies closer. And now, Tina was heading to the theater, and there was no way to warn anyone of the impending danger. She had to get out of here and she needed to do it now. She thrashed around again to no avail. She didn’t even have a clue as to where she was. Use your senses, Zizzes. You’re a freakin’ ninja, and Klaine needs me to get out of here and stop that evil bitch, she thought as rolled around again, thrashing against the carpet even though her whole body was overcome with pain. Thrashing wasn’t going to work although it did loosen the carpet somewhat. She just had to think. She had endured training for this, in a sense. She and her crew trained the recruits in all kinds of escape tactics just in case they had a client that needed to escape or if they found themselves in trouble. She had never had to escape this particular situation, but she was ingenuitive. She just had to use her brain. The carpet wasn’t wrapped that tightly. Maybe she could shimmy out. She started to rock, shifting her bottom downward, and then scooting her body just an inch or so, the course material scratching her skin. She took a deep breath and did it once again. Her head was screaming in pain, where one of the thugs had hit her with something, and she felt groggy from whatever was in the syringe. This was going to be more complicated than she thought. Her muscles ached as she swore to herself that she’d never mock anyone again when they complained of rug burn. It was real, and it hurt like Hell. She kept inching downward, although her body was fatigued and the progress slowed. She struggled against the material until all of her strength withered and she felt herself slip out of consciousness. Her last thought was of Puckerman figuring out that she had been kidnapped. She was screwed and so were the men she had sworn to protect.