Mairead was waiting for Blaine's phone call that night but felt something was wrong. It wasn't like Blaine to wait awhile before calling her; he was usually very organized and returned call right away… unless something happened. She knew that Blaine was gay long before he told his parents or even before he himself recognized it. Her brother Nick was gay and told her before their parents; thankfully, their parents accepted him for who he is and not pushed him away. Coming from a non-religious family helped, she herself was agnostic, Nick was atheist, and her parents came from Catholic families but didn't like church that much so they stopped going.

Brushing her hair, she thought of Miranda and Matthew. They both were the best parents to Blaine, Joey, and Lauren. Miranda always made cookies everyday when they came home from school and Matthew would take them on trip to Lake Michigan to go boating in his friend's private yacht. They were the perfect family, until Blaine came out when he was tenth grade; then things started getting worse, much worse. It all started with a shouting match between Matthew, Blaine, and Lauren. Miranda and Joey fled the house and sought refuge in Mairead house right next door.

Mairead sighed, she remembered the day well. Her mother and her were just finishing doing the dishes and joking around when she heard a loud knock at the door.

"Done yet, slowpoke? I could run around the house faster than you can wash that one last dish." Her mother smiled.

Mairead smiled mischievously as she reached for the bottle of dish soap, opened the nozzle, and was going to squir-

Three loud knocks could be heard from the door. She looked at her mother and ran down the stairs the main foyer. She was surprised by Miranda and Joey in her doorway looking terrified.

"Please, can we stay here for the night? Matthew is out of control after Blaine told us his news." Miranda said breathlessly while rubbing Joey's arm as he was crying and clinging to his mother.

Mairead's mother took one look and dashed up the stairs to ready the guest bedroom for the two of them. "Of course you can. Here let's go in the kitchen and we can talk. You okay, Joey?" Mairead looked him worriedly, seeing him tremble and tear streaks down his face. She nodded and turned her head while biting her lip. "Hey Dad, can you come in here for a minute? I need you to talk to Miranda and Joey. I need to do something for a bit." As soon as her father was in the kitchen, Mairead grabbed her cell phone and her pepper spray that Nick had gotten for her a few months ago.

She raced next door and heard the loud thumps coming from within the house. The door was unlocked and she entered cautiously, looking at all the debris around the door. There wasn't too much, just shoes and jackets strewn around.

"YES, I'M GAY, DAD. ACCEPT IT. YOU CAN'T CHANGE ME." Blaine yelled at a red faced Matthew. He had his arms at the ready in case Matthew decided to throw anything else at him; Blaine already had cuts on his arms from protecting himself. Lauren was in the middle of the two of them, she also had cuts on her hands and arms but they were minor cuts; Blaine had large lacerations.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Mairead yelled.

She could never forget that day. It was so terrible seeing Blaine so broken and betrayed at the man he loved and called his father. Mairead call the authorities after seeing the enraged look on Matthew and she pepper sprayed him when she said that she was with Blaine and he attacked her. Matthew was charged with nothing but a citation for disorderly conduct, but of course, he bribed the judge to let him have a lower charge.

It was now 12:04 AM and Blaine still hadn't called. Mairead started to call him three times in a row hoping that at least one of those times he would actually be able to feel his Android's vibrations. Still nothing. Geez, sleep heavy Blaine? Mairead thought as she yawned. She started to call Joey. She was surprised when he answered on the first ring.

"Hello? Joey? Where's Blaine?" She asked him.

She could barely hear him as he was whispering into his phone. "Something happened, can you come in through my window? I'll let my fire ladder down. Can you bring a thermometer? I'm scared that Blaine's running a fever." He said in a hurry.

Mairead was wide eyed at this point. "Sure thing, where are you guys?"

"We're in our bathroom and both of our rooms are locked. I'll leave the door open to the bathroom from my bedroom. Can you get over here soon? I'm scared." Joey whispered tearfully.

"I'm already on my way."

She changed into her most favorite and worn jeans, t-shirt, and sweatshirt. On the way out, she left a note on her desk for her parents saying where she was and that she would call as soon as she could. Mairead quickly ran around the back of the Anderson's house and saw the fire ladder hanging down from Joey's third floor window. Great, this might be painful… Mairead had had bad experiences with free hanging ladders when she was younger. She put her foot on the first rung and started to climb up. Okay, it's going well so far. Let's just this doesn't – and she promptly slipped and fell flat on her back three rungs into the ladder. I hate these bloody things. She grumbled mentally as she got up and dusted off the back of her sweatshirt and jeans.

Let's try this again. Maybe going fast might help? She quickly climbed the ladder without incident into Joey's sporty bedroom and ran for the open bathroom door. What she saw, however, was unbelievable.

Blaine was lying in a sleeping bag with an extra blanket on top near the bathtub with his shirt off. Mairead could see the swelling in his face where the gashes were; they were already turning blue and purple. She could also see the smaller cuts on his upper chest that were reddening up, looking like they were infected. His nose was crusted with dried blood and had ice around it.

Joey started crying when he saw Mairead open mouth. "I-I t-tried to do m-my best b-but I don't kn-know if he's going to be o-ok-kay." He hid his face in his hands. Mairead took his sobbing body and hugged him.

"Hey, you did great, kiddo. What you did for him was the right thing, okay? Because of you, he's going to be fine. You did awesome, Joey." She said quietly into his ear so as to not wake Blaine up. "Why don't you sleep in your own bed for a bit? I'll watch over Blaine, okay? You look exhausted." Joey nodded as he walked over to his bedroom.

Mairead sat down near Blaine and stroked his hair back from the cuts on his forehead. Oh, Blaine. You shouldn't have to go through this. No one should. She sighed. Just looking at him reminded her of the bullying she went through when she was in fifth and sixth grade. Because of that, she developed PTSD and has a hell of a time every time her mind decides to flashback to a horrible memory.

Blaine stirred the motion of her hand. He opened his eyes and saw her right above his face. He croaked, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

She smiled. "Looking after you of course. I heard you got into a little trouble." She took the thermometer out of her hoodie pocket. "Open up. Just want to check. Then maybe I'll be able to sneak you out and back to Dalton, and Kurt" Mairead waved the thermometer in front of his face. Blaine opened his mouth as she turned on the thermometer and then promptly fell asleep again. The thermometer beeped, it read 100.2 degrees. Not too bad, probably because he's cold. Mairead checked his bandages and saw they weren't too blood soaked yet.

Blaine started mumbling, "A-All the games you played. The promises you made –"

Mairead started singing with him. "Couldn't finish what you started. Only darkness still remains." She felt a tear going down her face.

He continued mumbling lyrics to Hey Monday's Candles. "Been black and b-blue before. There's n-no need to e-explain."

"I am not the jaded kind. Playback's such a waste" Mairead tearfully sang. Blaine finally drifted off to sleep. She tucked him in and made sure that the blanket was covering him. His phone started rumbling with a message: New Text Message from: KURT HUMMEL

She thought it couldn't hurt to read it. Blaine had told her about Kurt via email a few days earlier. Mairead pressed Read Now on the phone.

To: Blaine Anderson

From: Kurt Hummel

Hey, why haven't you answered my texts or calls? I'm getting worried. TEXT ME NOW, BLAINE ANDERSON OR I WILL HIDE YOUR GUITAR WHEN WE GET BACK ON MONDAY.

Love you, by the way.

K

Mairead smiled, it was typical Kurt fashion. She could tell they loved each other so much.

The sun was peaking through the clouds and shining into Joey's window. Mairead sent a text to her mom, saying that she'll be home later. That she's hanging out with Blaine and Joey and hope that they believe it. She wants to get Blaine out of the house and get him either to Dalton or Kurt's house.

Blaine slowly woke up. He was disoriented until he saw Mairead sitting by him on his phone. She was so preoccupied with texting Kurt that he should meet them at Dalton with his mom, who was a ER nurse, in Blaine's room. Blaine slowly snuck a hand out of the sleeping bag and was just about to tickle her sides until she said, "Not so fast, Anderson. You know I could hear you waking up right? You always crack your toes whenever you wake up." Dammit, he thought.

Mairead scooted over to the sleeping bag. "Here, let me help you up before you hurt yourself. You really got yourself into a mess, you know that?" She sighed.

Unzipping the sleeping bag, she saw Blaine's chiseled chest and abs. She smothered a snicker, when had he been working out? He was the laziest person she knew. Mairead slipped her arms under his back and boosted him up to a forty-five degree angle and propped him on her lap.

Blaine groaned as he'd forgotten to tell both Joey and Mairead about the bruises on his back from fencing practice and trying to evade the Warblers' "fencing" practice; "fencing" meaning who ever can grab the fireplace pokers and duel with them. Unfortunately, Wes used Blaine as the scapegoat and gave him the poker because he didn't want to duel with David.

As she heard him groan, she looked around his body for something she touched and saw the bruises. Mairead cocked an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything.

"Just, don't say anything to Joey, okay? I don't need him to worry about anything else. Can you get me back to Dalton? I don't want to stay here anymore." Blaine spoke to Mairead quietly as Joey was just waking up. She nodded and went to tell Joey the plan.

Blaine slowly worked on getting himself standing, hanging onto the tub side at first and then sitting on the tub side, then pulling himself up using the wall. He saw stars again right when Mairead reentered the bathroom and saw him falling. She caught him just in time when he muttered some profanities.

"Dude, next time you want to try to stand, call me will you? You're still weak from the blood loss, and by what Joey told me, you've lost way too much, my friend. I'm not surprised this happened. You can be a little reckless at times, you know that?" Mairead grunted as she hauled him up to a sitting position. "Joey went to get some clothes from your room and pack your bag. We're going to Dalton in ten minutes. And you are going to eat this and take these two pills." She handed him another pouch of pudding and two ibuprofen pills. Mairead set a glass of water on the floor besides him. Blaine nodded and started on the pudding.

Joey came back and smiled at Blaine. "Here, I got you jeans and a t-shirt. Need anything else from your room? I packed your bag with the usual stuff you need, snacks, books, underwear." Joey grinned at the last item and then ducked at the incoming empty pudding pouch.

Mairead came back. "Hey ready to go? I have my car out front with the engine running, we'd better go now." Blaine nodded.

"Hey, Mairead? Where's my phone?" He inquired. She froze in her steps, thinking of an answer.

"It's out in the car, I made sure that I locked the doors so that Matthew can't get in and snoop around." She looked at Joey. "You get one arm, I'll get the other?" He nodded. Mairead grabbed his right arm and put it around her neck while Joey did the same with the other. "You good? Dizzy at all?" She asked her best friend. He nodded with his eyes closed. "It's okay, we'll go slow, just one step at a time." Joey had made sure that the doors were open as they made their way down to the main foyer to the front door.

Just as they were at the bottom, Matthew came and saw them. He stared at Blaine for while, looking at the numerous gashes and his broken nose.

"What do you want, Dad?" Blaine said angrily. "I'm going back to Dalton, and I'm not going to call home when I get there. So don't even bother calling for anything." He blurted out. "Let's go." They continued out to the car and helped Blaine into the front seat. They were just about to leave the driveway when Miranda waved them down. Blaine rolled the window down.

"Blaine, sweetie. I'm so sorry for what happened. Please give your father a second chance, please?" She begged of Blaine.

"Sorry, but no. I'm not coming back anymore. Because of this. Good-bye Mom." Blaine rolled the window back up.

"Blaine, Blaine, BLAINE!" Miranda yelled from behind the speeding car.

He leaned back into the seat and seemingly fell asleep. Mairead looked in her rear view mirror back at Joey and saw the same view. She turned on the radio and turned the volume as to not wake them up. They had both had a hell of a night and both needed the sleep.

During the two hour ride to Dalton, Mairead had time to think of what she had to go through during her life with the relentless bullying and subsequent complications. Only Blaine knew of what happened during then and no one else, not even her parents. The bullying had taken a toll on her as she physically and mentally harmed herself in response to it. She, in fifth grade when she was only ten years old, had developed anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. It also didn't help that she whipped her own back with a belt buckle to deal with the pain. In sixth grade, she became so thin that one of the teachers finally noticed and became a mother to her because both of her own biological parents were going through with their own issues and didn't notice her that much. Now, she has flashbacks every time she's stressed out or something triggers it. Especially when she sees someone else being bullied or made fun of, even if it is just for fun.

They finally arrived at Dalton and saw Kurt's big black SUV in the parking spot right next to them. Since the windows were tinted, none of them knew that Kurt and Carol were in the car.

Kurt was nervous on the way to Dalton; this girl, Mairead, didn't disclose the details of what happened to Blaine. Only that he was to meet her, Blaine, and Joey at Dalton with Carol.

"Hey, what wrong, honey?" Carol said nervously as they reached the student parking lot. She had seen Kurt be distant the whole way to Dalton and seemed tense when they parked and waited for Blaine.

Kurt sighed. "It's just that… I'm worried. Blaine doesn't have parents like you and Dad. His father is a Catholic idiot who can't seem to pull his head out of his Bible long enough to see that being gay is okay. And – Oh my Gaga! There he is!" Kurt opened the door quickly and went to see a female about Blaine's height and a younger boy supporting him.

Blaine could feel Mairead's hand gently shaking him awake. "Come on, Blaine. We're at Dalton. Let's get you inside." He groaned, first in weariness then hissed in pain. The pills wore off already and the pain was getting to him. Not to mention that he was incredibly dizzy from the bumps in the road.

She sighed. "Joey, you got his bag?" He nodded, fully awake and opening his door. Mairead got out of her tricked out orange 2011 Honda Accord and went to the other side to help Joey support Blaine. She was just getting his arm around her head when she heard a scream.

"BLAINE!" Mairead saw a taller boy with a somewhat gelled hair barreling towards them. She quickly twisted her body in front of Blaine to protect him.

"Who the hell are you?" She didn't trust anybody at this point after what she went through with Blaine.

The boy took a step back. "I-I'm Kurt. You're Mairead, right? You're the one that texted me this morning. And told me that Blaine was hurt." He said nervously. The woman behind him gripped the boy's shoulder gently. "And this is Carol, my step-mother. She's an ER nurse."

Mairead sighed. This was good, then. "Yes, I'm Mairead. And this is Joey, his younger brother. Can you help us to his dorm room and Joey'll explain what happened. I'm not too sure myself on what happened." Kurt nodded.

"We can take a shortcut to the dorms." He showed them the way and they all walked quickly towards Blaine's room.