Scars and Stones: Chapter 1 (Klaine)

Chapter 25

Night fell, and Rachel and Finn sat side by side, nervously watching the door. Kurt and Blaine should have been back by now. Rachel reasoned that they had made up and had gone for dinner, and just forgotten to call. But Finn wasn't so sure. He had tried to ring both of them several times, and neither had picked up. He knew it wasn't like Kurt not to call. Rachel and himself had rung all their friends, but they had also found no trace of the pair. However, neither Rachel nor himself had rung Quinn yet.

"I need to call Quinn. Maybe she's found them."

"Ok, go ahead." Rachel agreed quietly. Finn began to dial her number. Things had been surprisingly easy between himself and Quinn since Nationals - she seemed to have finally accepted his relationship with Rachel. Rachel held his hand as he held the phone to his ear, willing for Quinn to pick up. After a few rings, a voice answered.

"Hello? Finn?" Finn blinked in surprise at the sound of Mercedes' voice.

"Mercedes? Is Quinn with you?"

"No, but this is her phone. She left it here when we all went searching. I don't know why she left it, but it must have been because everyone was rushing to find Blaine." Finn was silent for a moment.

"So you haven't heard anything from her either?"

"No, and nothing from Kurt or Blaine. Do you think something's happened?" Again, Finn silently processed everything.

"I don't know. But now I'm really worried. I'm going to go look for them. Any ideas where they might have gone?" Mercedes paused before answering.

"Since this is Kurt we're talking about, they may be at the mall. It's open late tonight, so maybe they're there."

"Thanks Mercedes, I'll let you know if I find them."

"Thanks Finn. Just - be careful." They both hung up at the same time, as Finn looked anxiously at Rachel.

"We need to go and find them." He said determinedly. She nodded in agreement.

"Where are we headed?" She asked softly.

"The mall. Mercedes thinks they might be there."

"Ok then, let's go."

…

After searching the mall, and finding no trace of Kurt or Blaine anywhere, the couple exited miserably.

"I was so sure we would find them. There's no other place Kurt loves more." Finn walked in big strides back towards the car, but Rachel stopped. Realising Rachel wasn't in step with him any longer, he looked around at her, slightly confused.

"I want to call them again. This is getting ridiculous now." She whipped out her own phone and dialled Kurt's number. The dial rang and rang, but she gained no reply. Kurt always answered the phone to her. It hurt her slightly to think he may be ignoring her, and it scared her to think that he may not even be able to get to his phone. She sighed, as she dialled Blaine's number.

While it was ringing, Finn could've sworn he could hear music in the distance. It sounded distinctly like 'Blackbird'…

The dial stopped ringing, and so did the music. Rachel huffed in frustration.

"Why won't they -"

"Rachel, call Blaine again."

"Why? I tried -"

"Please Rach, just do it." Nervously, she redialled, letting it ring. Finn pricked up his ears, listening hard. Sure enough, he could hear the music again.

"That sounds like Blaine's phone!" Finn exclaimed. They looked at each other, before continuing to listen to the ring tone.

"Where's it coming from?" Finn pointed in the direction of the park.

"Over there!" Together, they rang to the park and opened the gate. There was no one there. The music stopped, leaving them stumped. Rachel dialled once more, and the music was louder than it had been before. It was coming from close to the swings. Finn trained his eyes on the swings in the darkness, and could make out a small, pearly light radiating from the ground.

"There it is!" He bounded into the park, followed by Rachel. He dropped to his knees beside the swings, and dug out the phone that had become half buried in the gravely flooring. He held it in his hands, studying it intently. The screen was cracked, but the image of Blaine kissing Kurt's cheek blared out at him, proving who the owner of the phone was. Finn held it in confusion.

"I don't understand, why would he leave it here?" He felt Rachel's gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned to her.

"Finn, look at the ground." Finn glanced at the floor next to him, and saw the evidence that a gathering had taken place. The gravel was missing from some areas, and was piled up in others, as if someone had been playing snow angels in it. The missing areas were shaped hauntingly like human bodies, as if they had been pushed down in a fight. Realisation hit the couple hard.

"Blaine was here. Blaine's phone is here. What about Kurt and Quinn? Maybe they weren't involved -"

"Finn, there are three markings. I think - I think all three may have been here at one point."

"So where did they go?" Rachel's eyes began to well up, as she tried to stifle sobs.

"I think the bullies have found them. It would explain why none of them have answered their phones. Why Quinn wouldn't answer you and why Kurt wouldn't answer me. Oh my god, Finn, we've got to do something!"

Finn looked up at her, still holding Blaine's phone in shock. His brother was missing! Kurt, his friend, his brother, his comrade, was just gone. And Quinn and Blaine! What was he going to do?