This is the last chapter, guys! I still haven't decided whether to make a sequel or not, and if I should post it here or as a separate story, but I'll figure it out I guess.
Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading and reviewing and putting me on story alert and everything. xxxx
Blaine didn't sleep at all that night, but he couldn't care less.
Kurt slept firmly throughout the night, and Blaine entertained himself by counting Kurt's heartbeats and listening to his even breathing. As usual, it calmed him.
But he couldn't help but think about what Kurt had told him. How Blaine's friends of three years had beaten up his boyfriend, and made him so terribly upset. Kurt didn't usually cry so it was certain he had been really scared.
Blaine was battling with himself all night. What would he do?
He knew he had to do something to put a stop to the harassment of Kurt.
Kurt was the strongest and most independent person he knew, and he had no doubt that he could handle all the hate he got, but Blaine still couldn't stand allowing him to take it by himself.
He wished he could get thrown into rosebushes and pinned up against walls instead. It would be so much easier if he could just handle it himself.
He was at a loss for what to do. He could try to talk to his friends and tell them to back off, but he doubted it would help. If they thought Kurt had hexed him, they would just disregard anything he had to say as though they were Kurt's words coming through Blaine's mouth.
But he couldn't do nothing and just watch Kurt be miserable forever.
He hated the thought of hiding again. He didn't want Kurt to think he was ashamed of him, because he really wasn't. He had grown out of the prejudices he had been raised with, at least that's what he liked to think, and he would go to his grave claiming his love for Kurt.
And Kurt didn't want to hide anymore either. He wanted them to be out and proud, and not let the bullies set the rules for them.
But still-
Kurt was being tormented by his friends, just because he had chosen to love Blaine.
Or maybe chosen wasn't the right word. He had been unfortunate to fall for him.
Blaine still couldn't understand what in the world Kurt saw in him. He had been terrible to him for years. He had his bright moments, but over all he was just awfully unworthy of Kurt.
But he saw no reason for pointing that out yet. Kurt would just have to realise it sooner or later.
Somewhere around 5am, Kurt stirred in his arms and slowly opened his eyes.
He turned around and almost rolled of the bed. With an inch to spare, Blaine managed to pull him back to safety.
Kurt turned again, a look of great surprise on his face.
"Oh, it's just you", he mumbled and seemed to relax.
"Who did you expect?", Blaine asked.
"I don't know", Kurt said. He was a little puzzled for a few moments. Then he shrugged. "Cheshire, perhaps."
"You thought I was a cat?", Blaine asked, trying to hold back a laugh.
"He usually sleeps in my bed", Kurt said sleepily. His eyes were slowly closing again.
Blaine didn't try to wake him up. He should sleep as much as possible.
Classes began at 8am, so he could sleep for at least another hour before they had to get up.
It would be suspicious if they came back to their respective common rooms dressed in the same clothes they'd worn yesterday, but he couldn't bother with that now.
He tried to relax and not think too much about his problems, but it was close to impossible.
They lay there for awhile, Blaine trying to make up his mind and Kurt being half-asleep.
When Kurt awoke the next time, he had been asleep for another hour and a half.
"What time is it?", he slurred.
It wasn't too often one got to hear Kurt speak so carelessly. Blaine found it hilarious.
"Half past six", he answered.
"We'll be late for class", Kurt mumbled and sat up straight.
He straightened out his legs, arms and back and then swung his legs off the bed and onto the ice-cold floor. His socks had mysteriously disappeared during the night. Or, rather, he had unconsciously kicked them off. Kurt didn't know that but Blaine did, because he had been watching as Kurt squirmed like crazy to get them off. He had been trying not to laugh out loud and wake him up.
Kurt gasped slightly and pulled his feet back up onto the bed.
He searched the floor for his socks and put them on.
Blaine couldn't bother to move. He just lay there and watched Kurt fix his hair in the mirror again.
He didn't look too pleased with what he saw. He kept twisting and turning his hair to get that usual shape, but it just wouldn't collaborate today.
He soon collapsed on the bed next to Blaine.
"I look horrible", he mumbled against the soft cover.
"No, you look great", Blaine said in an attempt to soothe him.
Kurt shot up and, instead of being thankful for getting a compliment, he looked really angry.
"Stop saying that! If you say it even when you don't mean it, how am I supposed to believe it when I actually do look great?", he asked.
"But I really think-", Blaine began but Kurt waved him off and stormed off to the mirror again.
He took a strand of his messy hair and showed it to Blaine.
"Look! It's a mess!", he exclaimed hysterically.
He moved on to his eyes, which were still carrying traces of the intense crying he had done yesterday.
"Awful!", he commented. "Not even all the make up in the world is going to cover this up."
"And how am I supposed to leave this room looking like this?", he asked and gestured to his torn clothes.
As soon as Blaine tried to say something comforting, Kurt found another thing to complain about.
After far too much of this, Blaine had finally had enough. He got up, picked up the cake from the nightstand and firmly shoved it into Kurt's hands.
"Do you want to make me fat, too?", Kurt snapped and put away the cake, although he did glance occasionally at it with longing.
Blaine sat down at the bed again with a deep sigh.
"Why are you in such a bad mood?", he asked, and watched as Kurt kept pulling his hair in different directions to make some sense of it.
"Because I'm hideous, that's why!", Kurt exclaimed.
"But you're not", Blaine argued.
Kurt ignored him. He tried to style his hair for another few minutes before he gave up.
"I will just have to stay here forever, then", he said, picked up the cake and began eating angrily.
"You can just ask the room to get you whatever you want", Blaine reminded him.
"What do you mean?", Kurt asked. He seemed to have calmed down slightly, so Blaine found it a good time to explain just how practical the Room of Requirement was.
When he had finished, Kurt looked absolutely puzzled.
"So, I can just close my eyes and wish for the latest item from Alexander McQueen's collection, and it will just appear here?", he asked, gazing around the room.
"Yeah. But it doesn't last for long, but long enough for you to get to your common room and change into your own clothes", Blaine said.
Kurt did as he had instructed, and sure enough, a new set of clothes had just appeared on a chair to his right. Kurt jumped with excitement as he picked it up and fondly stroked the fabric of a jacket.
"Isn't it gorgeous?", he asked affectionately.
"It is", Blaine agreed half-heartedly.
Kurt barely noticed his lack of enthusiasm as he was too busy trying on the clothes.
When he had admired the effect in the mirror for several minutes, he got back to the bed and gave Blaine a small kiss, which he interpreted as an apology.
"I'm just really stressed out about going to Potions class again, because- well, I'm just stressed", he said and laid down on his back.
Blaine glanced over at him, resisting the urge to lay down next to him.
But he knew what Kurt had not wanted to say out loud. He was afraid of facing Blaine's friends after what they had done to him. He was afraid of getting beaten up again. He was afraid of walking through the hallways, because at any moment a none-friendly spell could come his way. And it was Blaine's fault that he had to be afraid.
He still hadn't made up his mind of how he was going to put a stop to it. Because it wasn't just Kurt who was hurting. Blaine's heart was throbbing painfully by the mere thought of someone hurting Kurt, and he knew that it was for the both of them that he needed to stop his friends. It surprised him that he still considered them friends after all they had done. But, he figured, three years of friendship doesn't go away that fast. But he could never truly trust them again.
"Are you ready to go?", he asked, instead of voicing these concerns.
He went over to the door and picked up Kurt's school robe.
"I'll put the rest of the cake in your pocket", he said and gently put the box with the cake into the robe pocket.
Kurt probably didn't hear him, because he was too busy gathering his things and making sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He hauled his bag over his shoulder and went over to get his robe from Blaine.
He opened the door and Blaine followed him out. They automatically intertwined their fingers as they walked the short way to the spot where they usually parted.
Blaine felt a sting of intense sorrow as he leaned in for the usual kiss of goodbye, but Kurt took it a step further and wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck and pulled him into a head-spinning kiss.
He, too, seemed unusually unwilling to part.
Blaine tried to enjoy the kiss, but the only thing he could think of was how this would be the last time he would get to hold Kurt like this.
He had made up his mind, finally. He would do anything to keep Kurt safe.
"I'll see you soon, okay?", Kurt mumbled against his lips.
Blaine nodded, but didn't trust himself to speak.
And then, with a final promise of seeing him before the week was over, Kurt disappeared to the Gryffindor Tower.
Blaine watched as he disappeared from view, and then began the journey down to the dungeons.
[Kurt's POV]
Something felt wrong. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something was definitely wrong.
He was exceptionally cautious all day, just in case something would happen. He didn't even melt a cauldron in Potions by mistake because he was so entirely focused on nothing going wrong.
When he had gotten through the day without any severe incidents, he was both relieved and surprised. He had had this feeling of upcoming trouble before, and it had always ended in pain on his behalf. So why hadn't anything happened this time?
Puzzled, he followed his friends as they headed to the Great Hall for dinner. He still had the little box with cake in his dormitory but he had cast a spell on it so it wouldn't get bad. He wanted to save it for when he met Blaine again. Or, if he couldn't hold out that long, at least for later so he could find some comfort in it when he couldn't sleep because he missed Blaine too much.
It had become difficult to fall asleep without him.
"Kurt, are you coming?", Mercedes called from ahead.
He had trailed behind and they were now quite a bit ahead of him.
He sped up his pace so he were soon right next to them.
"What is up with you?", she asked and linked arms with him.
"I have this feeling something bad is going to happen", he mumbled to her.
She glanced nervously around them to see no one was listening. She knew Kurt's 'feelings' had been quite accurate in the past.
"What kind of feeling is it?", she asked.
"I don't know. But the day is nearly over, so maybe I was wrong after all", he said.
When she tried to question him further, he put an end to the conversation by saying they would talk about it later. He was hungry and needed to get some food quick.
They walked into the Great Hall and settled down at the far end of the Gryffindor table where there were some available seats. Kurt was careful while eating his dinner too, making sure no one spilled boiling water at him when they poured tea or stained his clothes with food.
When he and his friends were all finished, he felt slightly better. Perhaps he had been wrong after all.
He linked arms with Mercedes on the way out, too. She was happily talking about her most recent date with Sam. But then one of their friends, a Ravenclaw girl called Rachel Berry, joined them and interrupted their conversation. She was dating Finn Hudson, Keeper of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and also Kurt's stepbrother. His mother Carole had married Kurt's dad Burt when the two boys were in their second year.
Finn and Rachel had been on and off for a while now, and she had apparently done something to upset him and was hoping Kurt had heard something about it.
"I honestly don't know what I did! He just got really upset and he hasn't talked to me for a week. Can't you talk to him and find out why he's upset?", Rachel asked.
"Why can't you ask him yourself? I'm busy", Kurt said.
"Please?", Rachel pleaded.
"Alright, I'll talk to him. But he rarely tells me anything at all, so don't expect too much", Kurt said.
"Thank you!", Rachel chirped and kissed his cheek before running off.
Mercedes was just about to resume her rant about Sam, when she was interrupted by Blaine and his group of Slytherin friends coming towards them.
Kurt catched Blaine's eye and tried to smile but it got stuck in his throat. Blaine looked so cold.
He remembered that look all too well from their first two years when Blaine had tried so hard to fit in with his friends that he had been acting mean and cold, just like he was now. But why?
Kurt barely recognized him like this. His usual soft, gorgeous hazel eyes were now hard as steel and his jaws were clenched.
Somewhere in the distant he could feel Mercedes tighten her grip on his arm.
Sebastian came up next to Blaine and found Kurt's eye too. He smiled that vicious smile.
Loud enough for everyone to hear, he said, "He's breaking up with you."
Everything went blank. Kurt couldn't even hear the next couple of insults coming out of Sebastians mouth because he was too shocked. He couldn't move, speak or even breathe.
This couldn't be happening. He looked at Blaine for some sort of recognition that this wasn't true. It couldn't be. They had been fine just a few hours ago.
But Blaine didn't meet his eye.
Kurt turned to Sebastian instead, who was still talking.
"What are you talking about?", he asked.
"It was a prank, stupid. I slipped you both a love potion", Sebastian said.
Kurt's mouth fell open.
Was that true? But it couldn't be. He had been in love with Blaine since they first met. Sebastian couldn't have given him that love potion ever since then. It was impossible. Or was it?
"You didn't really think he was gay, did you?", Sebastian asked, grinning.
Kurt didn't know what to think.
Had his love for Blaine been just the effect of a stupid potion? Was he even gay, then?
It felt as though his entire existence had just crashed around him.
Sebastian's cold laughter shattered his little bubble of thoughts and pulled him back into reality.
And the reality was that whatever he and Blaine had shared for the last few months had been a lie.
It felt as though his knees would fail him any moment now.
There were plenty of students around them as they were standing right at the entrance to the Great Hall, and they were all watching the drama.
"Blaine's potion stopped working before I could slip him another so he found out what I did and threw it away. Yours is still working, I guess", Sebastian said.
Kurt wanted to run as far away as he possibly could. This was the worst thing that could have happened. He had been right; something awful would happen today.
He could feel Mercedes tugging at his sleeve to make him move.
It felt as though he was deep inside a cloud and nothing could reach him there. He felt numbed and empty.
"Kurt, are you okay?"
It was Mercedes. Without realising it, she had taken him all the way to the Gryffindor common room.
He blinked.
Blaine had broken up with him.
Sebastian had faked their love with a love potion.
Kurt had no idea who he was anymore, or who he loved.
Without another word he climbed the stair to his dormitory.
It was empty. The boys he shared it with were still down in the Great Hall.
He kicked off his shoes and climbed into his bed and pulled the curtains closed around him.
He laid down with his legs pulled up close to his body. He tried to swallow the tears but they came mercilessly. He lay there for quite a while, crying without any restraints until he could barely breathe.
He spent another few minutes breathing deeply in and out so he wouldn't pass out from lack of oxygen. When he had recovered enough, he sat up.
"Lumos", he mumbled to his wand so it lit up at the top.
He remembered he had some chocolate cake left, and he would probably never need it as much as he did now.
He had it hidden in a locked drawer beside his bed, so he pulled the curtains apart, unlocked the drawer and picked it up.
Then he settled down on his bed again and tugged the curtans closed.
The spell had been successful and it looked just as good as it had before.
Just as he had taken his first bite, he noticed a bit of parchment stuck in the frosting.
He picked it up and unfolded it. He almost threw it away when he saw that it was from Blaine.
But his curiosity won and he read it anyway.
Dear Kurt,
I'm so very, deeply, terribly sorry for what I did to you.
Sebastian didn't give either of us a love potion. I used the Confundus Charm on him so he would think that he did.
I know I hurt you and it was a terrible thing to do, and I could have told you what I was going to do before I did it, but I didn't think it would have looked believable if I did.
I'm really sorry, and I hope you can forgive me.
You are the love of my life and I am very proud to be your boyfriend, but being official is not good for either of us right now, so for now I think we should meet in secret like before.
I know you hate hiding and I do too, but I love you so much I can't stand for anyone to hurt you, and especially not just because of me.
I'll be in the Room of Requirement at midnight.
Meet me there if you love me even though I'm a horrible coward, and if you don't ever want to speak to me again, I understand.
Whatever words I say, I will always love you.
Forever yours,
Blaine
Kurt suddenly realised that he was crying again.
He took a few deep breaths and then read through the letter ten times more before he dared believe the words. It was all just a scam. Blaine still loved him, which meant that Kurt's love for him was real too. Sebastian had nothing to do with it.
Blaine had just wanted to protect him from his vicious friends.
He made a mental note to make sure he scolded Blaine about this later though, because he could have done it in a way that didn't scare Kurt half to death.
Then he fell asleep, comforted by the thought that he had not yet kissed Blaine for the last time.
A few minutes before midnight, Kurt entered the Room of Requirement.
There were no sources of light and the walls lacked windows. But as soon as Kurt closed the door, hundreds of small candles lit up all over the room.
Blaine was sitting on the usual four-poster bed, looking extremely guilty.
Kurt lost all thoughts of yelling at him. He was so overwhelmed with relief that he hadn't lost him after all that he just went straight up to him and wrapped his arms tightly around him.
"Don't ever scare me like that again", he mumbled against Blaine's shoulder.
"I'm really sorry", Blaine mumbled back.
Kurt refused to let go until about ten minutes had passed.
Then he reluctantly let his arms fall from Blaine's neck, but he didn't make it very far until Blaine pulled him back into a long, very tender kiss that seemed to last forever.
Kurt felt incredibly dizzy when Blaine finally let go of him.
When he had collected himself, he noticed the dozens of red roses spread out across the room for the first time. He smiled.
"Really? Roses?", he said.
Blaine shrugged.
"I was really horrible to you", he said. Then he nervously added, "Don't you like roses?"
"Of course I do. I was just a little surprised", Kurt said. He kissed him again.
He was still afraid it was all a dream and that Blaine would disappear as soon as Kurt let go of him.
"Don't you want to scream at me?", Blaine asked after a while.
"No. I did at first, but not anymore. Maybe this is for the best. But I won't hide forever", Kurt said.
"Of course not", Blaine said and smiled. Then his smiled faded away quickly. His hand gently stroke across Kurt's cheek and right beneath his eyes, which still carried traces of tears.
"Have you been crying?", he asked.
"Of course. I thought you broke up with me and that you never even loved me in the first place", Kurt said and looked down.
Blaine slowly caressed his cheek.
"I'm so sorry", he mumbled.
Kurt shook his head.
"Let's forget it ever happened", he said determinedly. "I need to sleep."
Blaine nodded, although he didn't look too convinced he had done enough to apologise.
"If you do anything more to say you're sorry, I will break up with you", Kurt threatened, though they both knew he would never go through with it.
But it made Blaine smile.
"Alright", he said. "You know that I love you, right?"
Kurt smiled back.
"Yes. I love you too."