Disclaimer: Glee isn't mine.

A/N: It's not the Slender Man.

Blaine can't wake up. And he doesn't know why.

He can feel everything that is happening around him, yet he can't pull himself out of his trance to come to his boyfriend's rescue. He's supposed to be sleeping soundly in Kurt's room at his house now that Burt had trusted them to sleep in the same room, but something had decided to change that. Something sinister.

He can feel Kurt's racing heart against his chest, almost as if it was in his own body. He can hear the screams that Kurt wants to emit, but is unable to. He can see the creature crossing the room, silently gliding. He wants to help, he needs to help, but he can't.

It feels like he's drowning, his body weighing him down farther into unconsciousness.

It's like the time he had fallen into the lake at his grandparent's summer home. He was only eight, and the murky brown water had always terrified him. He was only trying to stand on the dock, but somehow he found himself submerged in the water, fighting to make his way to the surface. The water was dark, and it filled his eyes with a stinging mix of algae and dirt. He struggled against the current, but something was holding him back. Almost like an invisible arm, pulling him deeper into the lake. He remembered trying to scream, but the water clogged his throat, bubbles being the only thing that surfaced. He'd fought against the thing holding him down, and he can remember seeing something.

Almost like a branch.

And the next thing he knew; he was being pulled to the side of the lake by his father, choking up brown water and crying his heart out. He remembers screaming about the branches that were drowning him. He remembers seeing them again, years later, trying to pull him down again.

His vision is hazy, morphed by the spell this thing has put over him. He tries to make a noise, but he can't seem to breathe. The only thing that he realizes he can do is moving his arms. So he does, pulling Kurt closer to himself. Trying to protect him.

His eyelids flutter, and he can feel himself breaking through the barrier. The creature has stopped moving, choosing instead to stare at Kurt with its empty, endless black eyes. It unnerves Blaine, which is to be expected. He fights harder, trying to wake. Trying to save Kurt, and himself.

The creature stops at the end of the bed, and the whole world slows down. Everything is in slow motion: the billowing curtains, his racing heart, and the hand of the creature that is slowly making its way towards Kurt. His arms tighten around Kurt even more, holding him there with him, wishing this was all just a dream, some horrible nightmare that cuddling and warm milk would rid him of.

And Blaine still can't wake up.

He tries, he really does, and when the arm of the thing reaches Kurt, he thinks he's broken through.

But he hasn't.

Kurt is screaming and all Blaine can think about is the murky lake water and the branches that had hold him down. Kurt is moving, and Blaine can't. He's still stuck, screaming at both himself and the creature that had made him useless.

Kurt isn't in bed anymore, instead choosing to run out of the room and into the hall, slamming the door behind him. His feet pad down the hallway, and Blaine realizes that he's running to Finn's room. He knows Finn could probably defend Kurt better than he ever could, but he still feels betrayed. Left out. Forgotten.

Why'd you leave me behind? Blaine thinks, feeling the creature next to him.

It doesn't breathe, but he can feel its presence. It feels cold, like a draft of air that had blown in through the open window. It feels evil. Like pure evil.

Kurt runs back into the room, Finn in tow, and the thing vanishes. Into thin air. Blaine hears Kurt scream again, but he can't seem to figure out why. He knows the thing is gone, and even if it came back, Finn would protect them. Kurt can't be scared anymore, there's nothing to be afraid of.

And the creature is gone. So why can't he wake up?

Kurt's crying and Finn is comforting him. Babe, don't cry, Blaine thinks, It's alright. It's all gone. You're alright.

"Blaine!" Kurt screams, and Blaine screams right back in his own head. He screams for Kurt to calm down, to relax, to just come back to bed so they can sleep because, Jesus Christ, he's so tired.

"Blaine, you need to wake up." Finn says urgently, and Blaine argues back in his own head. I'm trying, you stupid idiot. I can't!

"Blaine, please." Kurt pleads, and Blaine feels something cold on his chest. A hand. What he thinks is Kurt's hand. Pressing down, trying to shake Blaine out of his dreams.

And finally, Blaine can open his eyes. So he does, blinking in rapid succession and taking deep breaths into his lungs, trying to cough out the imaginary lake water that had filled them. He looks around, seeing Kurt and Finn standing, wide eyed and scared. And Kurt isn't the one pressing down on his chest, because he's on the other side of the room. He looks down at his chest, wondering why his mind is growing fuzzier and worrying what this pressure on his heart is.

It's funny; he thinks about Dementors. Those things from Harry Potter with the hooded cloaks and bony fingers. Because the thing that is touching his chest is very much like a Dementor. It digs its fingers, which he notices aren't really fingers, into his chest, squeezing with all its might. He feels like his heart is going to explode. The creature hadn't vanished, it'd moved.

He tries to scream, but all that comes out is a whimper of pain. His mouth stays open, forming an 'o'. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying to black out the shouts of Finn and the pull in his chest. He ignores the squeezing, instead choosing to tell himself that this is just a nightmare, that he'll wake up in a few seconds with Kurt curled up on his side, sleeping soundly. His chest rises, the creature pulling his heart out of his body. It's supporting him, making sure he doesn't fall back into the warm bed.

The creature squeezes harder and Blaine sees spots of color dance across his vision.

And then he's underwater, fighting against the branches that pull him down.

Kurt can't understand why this thing has targeted Blaine. Blaine never did anything, he wasn't the one who ran out for help. Blaine had just been sleeping, completely oblivious to the situation around him. Kurt can't understand why the creature had decided Blaine was a good victim. Blaine is innocent. Blaine doesn't deserve this.

He gets Finn. It's the only thing he thinks to do. Burt and Carole are out of town, deciding to go out this weekend. They trusted Kurt and Finn to take care of the house, and they trusted Kurt to have Blaine over and be responsible.

Looks like I've screwed that up. Kurt thinks bitterly as he flings Finn's bedroom door open. Finn had slept through his screams too, Kurt realizes. What if they weren't sleeping? What if they were trapped? Blaine wasn't waking, even when Kurt had ripped himself out of his tight grasp and screamed in his ear. Blaine hadn't even flinched. He wonders if Finn is the same way.

But Finn isn't, because Kurt is able to wake him. They race down the hall, throwing open the door Kurt had closed when he'd fled the room. And he wishes he hadn't left Blaine. Because this supernatural being was now standing over Blaine, letting its fingertips ghost over the front of his shirt.

Blaine's eyelids flutter lightly, his eyes darting back and forth under them. He's trying to open his eyes, Kurt realizes, but he can't. Kurt tries to move towards the bed, but he can't move. His feet are stuck solid to the ground. His eyes fly to Finn's, and the taller boy can't move either. They're both being held back. The only thing that can save them is waking Blaine up.

"Blaine!" He screams, trying to bring his boyfriend out of this trance.

"Blaine, you need to wake up." Finn repeats, softer than what Kurt had said. He didn't want to startle the creature, and get them into more trouble than they already were.

"Blaine, please." He whimpers as the creature digs its fingers into Blaine's chest.

Blaine's eyes fly open, blinking rapidly. He takes in deep breaths, not noticing the hand that had plunged itself into his body. He looks around, confused. He sees Kurt and Finn standing helpless in the corner and a new emotion crosses his face. Fear. He looks down at his own chest and sees the hand that was inside him.

He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out. Only a small whimper can be heard, and Kurt wishes he could save Blaine. But he can't.

Blaine's eyes flutter again, and Kurt knows he's almost gone.

Blaine's about to die, right in front of him. And all Kurt can think about are branches. Because that's what the fingers of this creature remind him of: branches. Long, twisting, dark branches.

The hand squeezes harder. Blaine tries to scream again. His chest rises as the creature pulls at his heart.

The light in his eyes slowly dulls, the caramel irises turning a dark brown.

They darken more, becoming almost black.

Kurt fights against his bonds, screaming at the creature.

It ignores him, twisting its hand.

Blaine's body grows slack, slumping back down onto the bed.

Finn shouts.

Kurt screams.

Blaine's eyes close.

The creature releases him, letting his dead weight flop down.

And Kurt can finally move.

A/N: *legasp* Intense. This was originally only the first part from Blaine's POV but when I uploaded it on Document Manager, I decided to add more to it. You're welcome?

I'm totally not sleeping tonight. Shit.

BTW: I totally wrote the first chapter of this really late at night, and I just realized that I screwed up the lyrics in the title the first time. Oops!

Tell me what you think! I may write one more chapter, to kind of wrap it all up, or I may leave it here and watch everyone freak out. What do you think?

lessthanthree,

Max