Kurt rolled his eyes, making Blaine laugh.

“And you had to say thank you,” he grumbled. “You’re such a geek Blaine.”

“Hey, I find the word geek offensive. I prefer the term socially awkward with genius-level intellect.”
“Shut up. Come on, we gotta get all your stuff.”

“You really want to go there?” Blaine asked nervously. Kurt took hold of his hand and gave a sympathetic smile.

“It’s best to get it over with, right? Otherwise you’ll just keep dreading it. Come on.”

Kurt led Blaine out of the office, though the hospital and into the parking lot. The sky was black – they’d been at the hospital for hours.

“Kurt, what time is it?”

He glanced at his watch. “Eleven.”

“What?” He yelped. “When did it get so late?”

“Blaine, we’ve been in there forever. Come on, we’ll get your stuff, go back to mine… or ours,” he blushed slightly as he said it. “And go bed okay. You must be exhausted.”

Blaine shrugged, and got into the passenger seat of Kurt’s car. Kurt climbed in beside him and started the engine. The journey passed in silence and by the time they arrived at Blaine’s apartment, they were both feeling tense. Only a few hours ago, they’d found Blaine’s mother here.

“Do you want me to go in?” Kurt asked, but Blaine shook his head. They got out of the car, and went into the now-empty apartment. Blaine threw a large duffle bag at Kurt.

“What do you want me to pack?”

“All my clothes, shoes, bowties, all of it… I’m going to sort all of the other things.”

Kurt nodded and opened Blaine’s wardrobe. He began folding his clothes neatly and putting them into the bag. Blaine moved to his desk and began sorting his things. He picked up another duffle bag, and put a photo album, several photo frames, and other things inside.

“You keep a diary?” Kurt asked in disbelief, staring at the small book in his hands. Blaine nodded. “So do I… it helps.” Again, he nodded, but didn’t say anything.

For the next half hour, they were silent, occasionally exchanging a comment. Kurt knew Blaine was in pain – in his opinion, he was brave to come back in here. Blaine looked around his bedroom, a sigh escaping his lips.

“You okay?” Kurt asked quietly. He nodded and turned to him, allowing himself to be embraced. Kurt kissed him, gently at first. A small sigh escaped his lips when Blaine pulled back.

“I’m sorry Kurt…”

“Hey, no, it’s fine. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kissed you.” Blaine shook his head, but Kurt ignored him. “Stop it, you moron. I’m sorry, you aren’t even sure if you’re gay. I have no right to kiss you.”

Blaine opened his mouth to speak, but froze. There was an almighty crash as the front door of the apartment was thrown open. Whoever it was stumbled slightly and swore loudly in a deep voice. The hairs on the back of Blaine’s neck stood up and he shrank back against the wall. Kurt looked at him, frowning, but Blaine just shook his head, putting a finger to his lips. The man stumbled again and the bedroom door was thrown open. Andrew Anderson was drunk, there was no denying it. As soon as he entered the room, the smell of alcohol overwhelmed them. It took a while, but Blaine’s father managed to focus his eyes. He let out a roar of rage and swung his arm. Kurt was thrown backwards, into Blaine’s mirror. The glass shattered from his weight. Blaine’s father kicked Kurt in the stomach as hard as he could and then turned to Blaine. He pinned him up against the wall by his throat. Blaine gasped for air, trying to pry his father’s fingers off him. After some punches to his body, he shoved Blaine to the floor. His face smacked against the wood, and his father’s foot kicked him in the middle of the back. He heard Kurt yell, but his father threw him across the room once more. Blaine’s father turned back to his son and kicked out again, his foot connecting violently with his ribcage. Several brutal kicks later, he was hauled to his feet and pinned against the wall once again.

“Not so brave now, are you!” He bellowed. “Run to the fucking police about me will you, you little shit?”

Blaine twisted hard to try and free himself, but the air was knocked out from his lungs. His breath was swallowed back down as he choked for air. His father’s fist slammed into his body again. Pain seared through him like fire. With every vicious punch and kick, he cried out, again and again. Every nerve in his body was screaming. He heard Kurt shouting too, but he couldn’t figure out why.

Then, after what seemed like an age, his father’s heavy body was thrown off him. Blaine sank to the floor, struggling to breathe. He felt Kurt’s arms around him, heard his voice whisper comforting words. But nothing seemed to be going in. The only thing he knew was pain; it was ripping through his body and he felt like asking to die. But he knew it would never be allowed.

“Come on Blaine, let’s get you home.”

“Doesn’t he need the hospital?” He heard someone say to Kurt.

“No. What he needs is somewhere warm and comfortable. I’ll take him tomorrow if he needs it, okay? Please, just let me get him home.”

Someone agreed and Kurt pulled Blaine to his feet as carefully as he could. He let out a cry of pain, despite the other boy’s efforts. He heard Kurt apologise several times. He managed to focus his eyes on the scene around him – Kurt was supporting his body. His father was unconscious on the floor, and several of Blaine’s neighbours were in the bedroom. Kurt led him out of the apartment, the duffle bags on his shoulders. He threw them in the back seat of his car and then helped Blaine inside.

“W-What happened?” He asked as Kurt started the engine. “Why did it stop?”

“When I realised I couldn’t get your dad off you, I started screaming for help. Some of your neighbours came running. One of them picked up your lamp and hit your dad on the head… Blaine, are you okay? Oh shit… I’m sorry, that’s such a stupid fucking question.”

“I’m fine Kurt,” he mumbled, closing his eyes. “I’m okay.”

Kurt watched Blaine close his eyes and swore. He drove quickly, determined to get home now. He’d had enough drama to last him a fucking life time. When he pulled up in front of his house, he could see his dad and Carole stood in the doorway, waiting for them to return. They knew something was wrong the second Kurt stepped out of the car. He was wincing as he walked.

“Kurt, what happened? Are you alright? I-”

He held up a hand to silence him. He limped to the passenger side and opened the door, picking Blaine up in his arms. It was a good thing he was so small. “He’s hurt,” he whispered. “I’ll explain in a minute, just let me get him inside.”

They nodded and followed him over the threshold. Kurt went down the stairs to his basement bedroom and tucked Blaine into the sheets. He brushed some of his curls out of his face gently and went back up the stairs. He went outside to his car, grabbed all of Blaine’s bags, and put them all at the foot of the staircase. Burt and Carole were watching him closely.

“Kurt, what happened?” Carole asked him.

He sighed and sat down on the sofa. “We were packing all of Blaine’s stuff when the front door opened. The bedroom door was shut, so Blaine just told me to be quiet. His dad came in. He threw me across the room-”

“He did what?!”

“And then attacked Blaine,” Kurt continued, acting as though he hadn’t heard Burt’s interruption. “It was horrible. I tried to get him off him, but he was so strong. So I ended up calling for help, and one of Blaine’s neighbours knocked him out with a lamp.”

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…” Carole kept saying under her breath. Burt wrapped his arms around her to comfort her.

“Are you okay buddy?” He asked Kurt gently. When he nodded, he gave a small smile. “Good. I know you’re tough, but take the day off tomorrow, okay? You and Blaine – you’re gonna need more than the weekend to recover. I’m sure the school will understand. We’ve set the spare bedroom up for Blaine.”

“I’m not going to wake him now, he’s exhausted. I’ll just sleep on the sofa downstairs or something.”

Burt looked hesitant, but he knew how stubborn his son was. He nodded and Kurt went back down the stairs. He changed quickly and grabbed a pillow and a blanket, setting up his bed on the sofa. He didn’t feel much like sleeping though. Kurt lay awake for hours, not knowing what to do. His head was ready to burst. He cared about Blaine, there was no denying that. But did he want to be with him? Sure, he’d never felt this way about someone before, but it was just lust, wasn’t it? Eventually, he told himself no, it wasn’t. He’d been with plenty of guys, had plenty of one-night stands to know that it wasn’t simply desire. He was falling for Blaine. He hadn’t even known him a week and he was already falling for the bastard. Kurt sighed. Neither of them were ready for anything yet – he wasn’t even sure why he kissed him. But Blaine had kissed him back… and it had been wonderful. His lips were soft. Kurt’s stomach fluttered just thinking about it. Holy shit, he was falling for him.

Just as his eyes started to droop, Blaine started screaming.