AN: I believe this is what you might have been waiting for...

Chapter 10: … and the Bad Days.

"I didn't lie to you," Kurt quickly protested before his father's fist could connect with his jaw and his dad paused briefly. "Glee meets during lunch so it won't conflict with the schedules of the football players and cheerleaders," Kurt lied again, because what else was there to do?

"You can call Mr. Schuester and ask him about it." He prayed to a god that he didn't believe in that his dad didn't suddenly decide he wanted to get involved with any of Kurt's teachers. "And you never told me I wasn't allowed to have extra curriculars. They look good on college applications. You just told me I had to come home after school and I do that every day."

"Fine," his dad growled "but you quit that sissy club first thing Monday morning. No son of mine will prance around on a stage. You're pretty much a girl already; don't need to add that as well. You are disappointment enough as it is."

Before his dad could change his mind and hit him anyway, Kurt quickly fled to his room and threw himself face first on the bed. Tears were running down his face when he suddenly grabbed one of his books and threw it against the wall.

Why couldn't he just have something good happen in life without it getting taken away soon after? Was it too much to ask that he got to be happy as well? What had he ever done to deserve all that? He hated his life, hated his parents and hated Blaine for showing him what happiness could feel like.

He wanted to kick and scream and punch a hole in the wall but what would it change in the end? Nothing. Things were never going to change for him and maybe it was time to accept that instead of dreaming of this fantasy future that would probably never happen. As much as he hoped that everything would get better as soon as he graduated high school, it was just not realistic.

Without extra curriculars he would have a hard time getting into a good college and without any money of his own, he would probably not even be able to go anywhere other than the Lima community college.

And who outside of Glee club would be interested in hearing him sing? They lived in Ohio after all, and people like him, too girly to be taken seriously, had no place there. It was days like that where he just wanted to die, so he would never have to be in pain or heart broken again. So he wouldn't have to see what a failure he would turn out to be. But he was even too much of a coward for that. And maybe subconsciously he still wanted to see what could happen, because it had to get better at some point, right? Because otherwise, what would be the point of living?

He didn't just want to become part of statistic, he wanted to be visible. He wanted people to give a crap. He wanted teachers who cared and made sure he could go to school without having to fear assault and most of all he wanted a home, he wanted to come home to. He wanted what Blaine had. The wanted the supportive father and the acceptance at school.

He threw himself back on the bed, sobbing hysterically by now. He knew he must look like a mess and the worst thing was that Blaine would pick him up soon. The last thing he wanted right now was spend the evening at Blaine's house, pretending everything was alright, when his world came crumbling down again. But he knew that if he just cancelled at the last minute, Blaine would want to know why and Kurt didn't have a good excuse other than the truth.

And Blaine would find out about him quitting Glee soon enough, because he had to do it first thing Monday morning. He would just have to avoid Blaine afterward, because he was sure Blaine wouldn't let it go until he got his answers.

A glance at the clock at the wall told him he only had twenty minutes left until Blaine would pick him up so they could go grocery shopping again. He went into his small bathroom and splashed water on his face, trying to get his emotions under control because Blaine couldn't know he'd been crying for the past hour and a half. Wiping the water off his face, he put on his biggest show smile, hoping he was more convincing that he felt.

Because the show had to go on.

Blaine

Something was wrong with Kurt. It was like he had done a one-eighty since Blaine had dropped him off after school and Blaine wanted to know what had happened to make Kurt sad, because the smile on his face wasn't fooling anyone.

He tried to cheer him up by doing even more ridiculous things at the grocery store but Kurt's heart didn't seem to be in it and as soon as he thought Blaine wasn't looking, his smile disappeared. He looked like the boy he had met his first week at school all over again.

"You okay?" he finally asked when they were driving over to his house. Kurt nodded. "You know you can talk to me, right? About anything." Blaine tried again.

"I'm okay. Just tired. I didn't sleep too well last night and it seems to be catching up with me now. I'm sorry I'm not better company," Kurt excused himself, but Blaine shook his head.

"Hey, you are never bad company, okay. But if you're tired, why don't we order in tonight. You really don't have to cook for us every Friday night."

In the end, that was exactly what they did. They ate Chinese food in the living room while an old movie was on, and Blaine helped Kurt use his chopsticks. He and his dad shared worried glances, while Kurt was picking at his food. This alone made alarm bells go off, because usually Kurt ate like a typical boy, but he also didn't even say anything when Blaine accidentally put a movie on they had already seen.

Kurt managed to stay awake during 'Rent', but Blaine saw he was in his own world and was barely paying attention to what was happening on the screen. He wished Kurt would just tell him, because he hated seeing Kurt like that. He didn't even cry when Angel cried, and how could someone not.

The drive back to Kurt's house was silent, Kurt still refusing to open up to Blaine, and so Blaine just reminded him what time he would pick him up Monday morning.

"I'm really worried, dad," he told his dad when he came back to his house. "He looked happy when I drove him home after school, and three hours later it was like he was a completely different person."

Blaine sat down next to his dad and let himself be hugged. "I'm worried too. Is everything okay at home, did he say something?" Blaine shook his head. "He never talks much about his home. I just know that his parents are really strict and I don't think his mom likes me a lot, but that's it."

His dad looked pensive but didn't share his thoughts. Maybe Kurt had gotten into a fight with his parents about something? Whatever it was, he hoped it wasn't something too serious and that Kurt would feel better when they saw each other again Monday morning.

Kurt

Kurt snuck out of the house an hour earlier than usual on Monday morning to avoid Blaine. It wasn't the most mature thing to do, but in that case it seemed like the easy way out.

The school doors were still locked when Kurt arrived and he waited patiently until a janitor unlocked the front door. He walked over to Mr. Schuester's office, hoping the choir teacher wouldn't be too mad with him when Kurt told him he couldn't be part of the group anymore.

"If it's nerves, Kurt, I can assure you everyone gets nervous before they go on stage, but you'll be fine. Just focus on the performance and ignore the audience," Mr. Schuester told him half an hour later after Kurt had told him he had to quit Glee.

"It's not that, Mr. Schuester. It's just that my dad and I had a deal. He said I could join Glee if I got on the football team, but that's never going to happen for obvious reasons and so when you called he told me I had to quit because I wasn't on the team," Kurt decided to go with a half truth so Mr. Schuester would stop trying to convince him to change his mind.

"Maybe I could talk to your father again," Mr. Schuester offered and Kurt frantically shook his head. "No. He doesn't like other people telling him what to do," he mumbled. "And I'm really sorry for letting you down like this just before the competition." He was not going to cry now, Kurt told himself as he felt tears in his eyes.

"Hey, it's okay. Last year we had to change our set list half an hour before we went on stage because ours got stolen. We'll make it work if we have to. But maybe you can ask your dad if you can at least do the performance with us. If he likes football so much, he might understand that quitting right now would let down the team."

Kurt nodded, though he knew his dad couldn't care less about a Glee competition. "Please let the others know I'm sorry and could you please tell them it's personal if they ask?" he asked the teacher before he left his office. Mr. Schuester nodded and Kurt ducked out into the hallway.

Phase one of make his life miserable again was complete, now he just had to avoid Blaine at all costs.

Blaine

Kurt wasn't in front of the house when Blaine pulled up like he usually was and when he finally rang the bell after waiting for fifteen minutes, Kurt's grumpy looking mother told him Kurt had already left for school. He didn't know what to make of that, so he had to ask Kurt when he saw him at school.

Unfortunately, Monday they didn't share all of their classes either, and though he thought he spotted Kurt's shaggy brown hair walking down a hallway on his way to homeroom, Kurt kept walking when he called his name.

He didn't manage to catch him between his next two classes and when he walked into the French classroom, Kurt wasn't there either. Like he had done the first week of school, Kurt came in just as the second bell rang and he kept his eyes on his book throughout the lesson, ignoring the piece of paper, Blaine had discreetly dropped on his table. Before he could react, Kurt had fled the classroom after the bell had rung and by the time Blaine started moving as well, Kurt was gone.

When lunch break came around Blaine headed to the library, hoping to finally talk to Kurt but the other boy wasn't there and a quick trip to the bleachers didn't produce Kurt either. Blaine was at a loss at what to do. Kurt was definitely avoiding him, but Blaine didn't understand why. Had something else happened over the weekend that made Kurt stay away from him? He just hoped Karofsky hadn't managed to get to him somehow.

He got his answer when he went to Glee after school, where Mr. Schuester informed them that Kurt had quit Glee. The group erupted with questions and curses, but all their teacher told them was that it was personal and that Kurt might still join them for Sectionals, otherwise Artie would take over Kurt's part in the song.

Blaine dodged Rachel's questions because he had no clue what was going on either, and he left the choir room as soon as practice was over to drive to Kurt's house. The driveway was empty when he got there and Blaine got out of the car and started ringing the bell every few seconds. He started knocking on the door next.

"Kurt, I know you're home. Come on, we need to talk about this," he yelled, ignoring the neighbor that glared at him. "Please, Kurt. Did I do something or did something happen?" he tried again, but nothing happened.

When it became clear that Kurt really wasn't going to talk to him, he walked back to his car, shoulders slumped.

The next morning was a repeat of the previous one. Even though he got to Kurt's house early, Kurt was already gone and the parking lot was empty as well when he got there.

"You look like you need some help cooling off, fag!" he suddenly heard Karofsky yell when he was on his way to homeroom and Blaine sped up. By the time he rounded the corner, Kurt had already disappeared into a girls' bathroom, Blaine only catching the back of his head before the door closed.

He knew this might be the only chance he would get to talk to Kurt, so he followed him into the bathroom.

The moment he was inside and spotted Kurt he froze in shock. Kurt had pulled of his t-shirt and was trying to get the slushie out of his hair with it, but Blaine's eyes were glued to Kurt's back, which was littered in bruises. Some looked old and were already fading, but some looked brand new.

He gasped and brought his hand to his mouth because just looking at the rainbow of colors on Kurt's back made him sick to his stomach. Kurt whirled around, the moment Blaine made a noise and froze as well. Unfortunately, Kurt's chest didn't look much better. There were bruises and scars as well, and he could count every rip on Kurt's body, his stomach curved in, and Blaine didn't even want to know what Kurt had looked like before he started to make sure Kurt had lunch every day.

"Kurt," he choked out, taking a step toward the other boy who immediately stepped back. "What happened? How, what…?"

Kurt looked like a frightened animal backed into a corner. "It's nothing," he whispered and Blaine felt tears trickle down his face, because how could Kurt be so cavalier about this?

"Just some members of the football team not liking that the school freak joined the freak club and hangs out with other members of the football team."

"Is that why you quit Glee?" Blaine asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach. Had Karofsky done this to Kurt because Blaine was hanging out with him? Or was it after Puck had accidentally told his teammates Kurt was in Glee?

Kurt nodded and Blaine couldn't stop himself anymore. He took another step forward and pulled Kurt into his arms. The other boy resisted at first before sinking into Blaine's embrace, shaking in his arms, though Blaine wasn't sure if it was from being cold or something else.

"I promise to protect you from that, but you need to let me help. I can walk you to every class and I'm sure Puck, Mike or Sam would help too. I'll make sure he never touches you again or any other guy on the team. Please, Kurt, you need to let me help you," he begged Kurt as tears ran down his face.

Kurt nodded weakly. "Okay," he whispered. And Blaine hugged him tighter, still careful though not to put pressure on Kurt's injuries.

"Does that mean, you'll come back to Glee? You can't let them dictate what you do or what you don't do. Please, don't let them take something away from you I know you love. We'll make sure they'll leave you alone. I promise," Blaine told him again, waiting with baited breath for Kurt's answer.

Finally, Kurt gave him a nearly imperceptible nod.

"Okay, come on, let's get you cleaned up." Blaine helped Kurt pull a fresh t-shirt over his head and carefully wiped the remaining slushie from his tear-streaked cheeks, before wiping off the slushie that had ended up on his own clothes.

He knew they were both missing their first classes, but he couldn't care in that moment. He'd talk to the teachers and make them understand. Once they were both cleaned up, he sat down on the floor and pulled Kurt down with him, holding the still shaking boy until the bell rang and students were flooding the hallways again.

He dropped Kurt off at his next class, reminding him to wait for him there, before walking off in search of Puck, Sam and Mike.

Kurt

Kurt approached Mr. Schuester with shaking hands before handing him the signed permission slip. He had done his best to believably fake his father's signature and hoped that Mr. Schuester wouldn't be able to tell.

The choir teacher's face lit up. "You were right, my dad didn't want me to let down the team and said I could do the competition. I'm not sure yet if I can come back to Glee but he said we'd talk about it again after Sectionals," Kurt told him, hoping his voice wouldn't give him away.

Mr. Schuester just smiled at him though. "Glad to have you back, Kurt. I'll see you in Glee tomorrow."

Kurt was a nervous wreck the next few days, avoiding his parents as much as possible so they wouldn't find out what he had done. Friday night dinner at Blaine's got cancelled because of the competition the next morning and Blaine had offered to pick him up Saturday morning to drive him to school. There was only one problem left. How was he going to get out of the house for a few hours on Saturday without his parents noticing? They usually slept in after going out, but he couldn't risk them waking up and finding out he wasn't home.

Because he didn't have a driver's license he couldn't offer to go grocery shopping for them either, so there was only one thing to do. Lie more and hope not to get caught.

"Dad?", Kurt approached his father cautiously when he came home from school Friday afternoon. "What?" his dad grunted, clearly not liking that Kurt disturbed him during a game.

"There's this boy helping out at Mr. Hummel's shop on Saturdays for a few hours and he broke his leg," Kurt began and when his dad glared at him Kurt quickly continued. "Mr. Hummel has asked me to help out because he couldn't find anyone else at such a short notice. I wanted to know if I could do it, because I'd like to help as a thank you for having me over for dinner so much."

He knew his dad would rather say yes if he thought they were sort of obligated and he hoped it would work out. "You can call Mr. Hummel if you want to ask him about it," Kurt added because he knew his parents liked Blaine's dad about as much as Burt liked his parents.

"Don't know why he thinks you could be of any use, but fine. It's probably about time that you got off your lazy ass and earned your keep," he spat and Kurt felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders.

"Thank you, dad. Can I borrow your phone so I can tell him I can come over tomorrow?" Kurt asked hoping it wasn't too much to ask that. His dad threw his phone at him, and Kurt caught it before it could hit him in the head. He quickly dialed the Hummels number, hoping it would be Burt that picked up. Apparently luck was on his side for once because Burt did pick up the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Hummel, this is Kurt. Can you let Blaine know that picking me up at nine is okay," he quickly said, glancing at his dad, who fortunately was engrossed in his football game. "Thanks, good bye."

He carefully handed his father his phone back, and rushed downstairs before his dad could change his mind.

He barely slept the night before Sectionals and he was sure he must look like a zombie when Blaine picked him up, but luckily the other boy didn't comment and they drove to school in silence, Blaine having given up on having a conversation with him, after Kurt had ignored his first few attempts. His stomach was in knots and he hoped he wouldn't throw up as soon as he got onto the stage.

Blaine

Kurt looked incredibly pale when they were waiting behind the curtains even under his stage make up, and Blaine suspected a bad case of stage freight. He lightly squeezed Kurt's shoulder afraid to hurt him now that he knew what he was hiding under his shirt.

"You are going to be amazing out there, okay. I believe in you, and when the judges will hear you sing, they won't have another chance but declare us the winners," he tried to assure Kurt. He was feeling pretty good about the performance especially now that he knew the Warblers weren't their competition for Sectionals and he just needed Kurt to believe in himself.

As predicted, Kurt was amazing. As soon as the curtains rose it was as if he had transformed into a completely different person. There was a real smile on his face and he looked more confident than he had ever seen Kurt before.

He was glad he had sung his solo before Kurt started to sing because with how busy he was staring at Kurt, he might have missed his cue had he sung with him.

The other two performances went well as well and Blaine pulled Kurt into his arms again as soon as they were off the stage. "Blaine," he heard his father call out and Blaine told Kurt he would be right back.

"You were amazing, son," his dad told him when he released him from his hug. "Come on, I need to congratulate Kurt as well." Both Hummel men turned to see a vaguely familiar man, take Kurt's arm and lead him away from the crowd. There was fear in Kurt's eyes and Blaine could feel his dad tense next to him.

"We need to go, Blaine. Now"! his dad suddenly yelled and started running in the direction the man had taken Kurt. Blaine remained frozen on the spot for another few seconds that felt like hours, because suddenly all the puzzle pieces were starting to fit together. He paled, before running after his dad, praying that they wouldn't be too late and would be able to stop Kurt's dad before he could hurt him even more.

Up Next: The truth about Kurt's dad comes out