Blaine gave Kurt his phone number, telling him that if Kurt needed help, or just wanted a free coffee, he should contact him. This idea proved to help him, as well as Kurt., because Kurt started notifying him when Karofsky was planning a slushie attack before school. Kurt only knew that, because he started arriving extra early, just to avoid those incidents. He felt bad that Kurt was now getting to school so early, but it saved Blaine from early morning slushie facials.

it didn't, however, help on the days Kurt skipped. 

The following Thursday, Kurt sent Blaine a text message, telling him he wouldn't be there that day, so Blaine should be extra cautious. To which, Blaine replied with, Right,. How will I survive without my extra pair of eyes to watch out for me?

it took a minute for Kurt to say Just admit it, you need me. :)

Blaine walked into the kitchen and greeted his mother with a kiss on the cheek. "I'm gonna head to the library after school, so don't expect me until dinner," he told her.

"Thanks for the warning," she smiled, holding out a plate of toast for him.

Blaine grabbed a piece off the top, "i gotta go, I'm running late." He grabbed his car keys off the counter and made his way to the car. When he got in the car, he pulled out his phone and replied to Kurt. Depends on the day of the week.

Kurt didn't reply, until Blaine pulled into the parking lot.You need me on Thursdays, admit it, Anderson.. Seriously though, be careful.

 Blaine smiled. he couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to Kurt. They had fallen in step without a problem. They still didn't know each other that well, but Kurt was the only person Blaine really had at Mckinley. Blaine already felt like he knew him longer than two weeks. Don't worry, I'll be fine.

It wasn't a promise, because he didn't know what Karofsky would be like that day, especially since he was making Blaine a target more frequently with his slushie rounds, but it wasn't every day. That had to be something.

He made his way into school that morning without a problem. He didn't see Karofsky most of the day, and felt relief every time he successfully made it to a class without any trouble. By his last class that day, Blaine was convinced that nothing would go wrong that day.

It wasn't until glee club that things turned worse.

Karofsky and two other football players stood in the middle of the choir room, while three other glee club members sat in the chairs: Tina, Rachel, and Mercedes.

"What's going on?" Blaine asked, as he entered the room, taking in the sight before him. he stopped by the piano, looking at Mercedes. Their eyes locked, and she sent him a signal, warning him not to push his luck. He simply nodded in return.

Mercedes then stood up, pointed at Karofsky, and said, "these assholes are looking for Kurt. Apparently, they shoved a note in his locker this morning and since Kurt's absent today, he never got it."

"He probably saw the note and chickened out, because he knew he'd get the crap kicked out of him," Karofsky huffed, rolling his eyes. 

"What did it say?" Blaine asked, approaching him slowly. Karofsky didn't seem angry, but he still had to be careful. Blaine had no idea what that note was about, but it couldn't be anything good.

"None of your business Andergay," Karofsky laughed harshly.

Like he hadn't heard that one before. "Really, that's the best you can come up with? I'm impressed you took the time to remember my name," Blaine was hoping he wasn't pushing his luck.

Karofsky stepped closer, balling his hands into fists, "I gotta keep tabs on who my victims are."

Blaine stopped. He had a retort, but decided it was better to keep his mouth shut after that. Victim? Was he really one of Karofsky's new victims? The thought worried him a little. He knew what karofsky was capable of, and if he was a victim, then he shouldn't say anything to provoke him. It was better to just get rid of him. "Look, Kurt's not here, okay? That's why you're here, so can't you just leave the rest of us alone?"

"Kurt's not even in glee club anymore, so it's not like you'd find him here anyway," Rachel informed him, jumping out of her seat and placing her hands on her hips.

Karofsky's jaw dropped at this news, "he's not?" He cleared his throat, clearly pulling himself together. "Guess he finally realized how gay it was. We finally knocked some sense into him. I never thought that was possible."

"It's none of your business why he did it. Now get the hell out of my choir room," Mercedes pointed at the door. When none of them moved, she added, "Mr. Schue will be here soon, and if you're still around, he'll think you want to join."

Stepping backward, Karofsky said, "huh, whatever. You just let Lady Hummel know that skipping out on this doesn't mean he's off the hook." He turned and quickly left the room, without a glance back.

"He's a coward," Tina shook her head, "can't even be seen in here."

Once Blaine knew they weren't coming back, he took a seat next to Mercedes and shot Kurt a quick text message. Be careful. Karofsky left a note in your locker.

By the time a couple more people arrived, Kurt had answered him. Ooh. Really? Did you break into my locker, Anderson?

Blaine couldn't help but smile at this. He loved that Kurt felt comfortable enough to tease him. At least, he hoped that's what he was doing, and he didn't actually think Blaine broke into his locker. No, he told me. He came looking for you in the choir room.

It took longer for Kurt to reply. Most of the glee club were now sitting down, waiting for rehearsal to start. Oh... shit. Thanks for the warning. I'll have to come in tomorrow, just to see the note.

Just as the bell rang, Blaine replied, Let me know if there's anything i can do. We don't want you being tossed  in a dumpster. He smiled to himself, because he knew that Kurt would roll his eyes at that. He always did, probably embarassed that they met that way.

Riiight... Sure thing, Blaine. 

He set his phone back in his pocket, just as Mr. Schuester entered the room and told everyone to have a seat.

Swinging his locker door open the next morning, a piece of paper slid on to the floor, and Kurt hesitated before he bent down to pick it up. He held it in his hands for a moment, afraid of what he'd find inside. He had been so worried about the note ever since Blaine warned him about it. He just didn't know what Karofsky would want from him.

Eventually, he told himself he had to do it.  Slowly unfolding the note, he read: 

Meet me behind the school after gay club. We have business to discuss.

Swallowing hard, Kurt had no idea what that meant. What business would David Karofsky have with him? What would this mean? What was he planning? Was it just an invitation to harass him, or something else?

"So, you didn't show yesterday?" he heard Karofsky's voice behind hm. he shuddered.

Swallowing hard, Kurt turned slowly to face him, he said, "I was sick yesterday." He could only hope Karofsky didn't notice how frightened he sounded.

Karofsky punched the locker next to him, making Kurt jump. "Bullshit. Don't think I forgot your routine last year. You only ever came two or three days a week to school. You're doing it again." Karofsky stopped in front of him, cornering him into the lockers. His face so close, Kurt could feel his hot breath, making his skin crawl.

"What's it to you what I do?" Kurt asked, back pressed against the cool metal.

"Everything," he hissed as he grabbed Kurt's arm, making him squirm. Kurt let out a loud gasp at his rough touch. He tried to fight off Karofsky, as he dragged Kurt down the hallway. He didn't know what was happening, or where they were going. "Since you didn't show yeaterday, you'll pay for it."

Lazily tapping his pencil on his desk, Blaine started dozing through his second hour algebra 2 class. He pulled out his phone and sent a text message. I hate math and i'm curious... Did you ever find that note?

Ten minutes went by and Kurt didn't reply, so Blaine sent another text message. Did you even make it to school today? After another fifteen minutes, Blaine sent another message, because he was starting to think something might have happened. After all, Karofsky was probably on the lookout for Kurt that morning. Should I look for you in the dumpster?

The end of the hour came and went and Kurt hadn't replied to his text message at all. It wasn't until lunch that Blaine received a message. 

Oh, you are Lady Hummel's girlfriend? Can't wait to print out some of your sext messages and hang them up around the school.

What was this? Someone had Kurt's phone. It had to be Karofsky. No one else called him Lady Hummel. Why did Karofsky have Kurt's phone, and where was Kurt? Blaine started panicking a little. Nothing like this had happened before. Kurt said he was going to school that morning, and apparently, he had, and Karofsky had found him

Pausing in the middle of the hall, making a few people shove him out of the way, Blaine replied, A.) There's nothing in our messages worth printing off. it's not like we even flirt over text messaging.  B.) I'm straight. and C.) what the hell did you do to Kurt?

Blaine waited, nerves running high. Something had happned to Kurt, and he didn't know how to get it out of Karofsky over text message. He would have to find him in person to get an answer out of him. He didn't want to. He had already lied about being straight, just to avoid drama. He had vowed to himself before he even went to Mckinly that he wouldn't tell anyone. He had to do everything he could to avoid being bullied. He had already done a bad job avoiding Karofsky, and now he was practically walking right into his trap.

 It took forever to get a reply. Long enough for Blaine to shove his books back in his locker and quickly check the bathroom and dumpster for Kurt. He simply replied with, That's for me to know, and you to figure out.

Heart beating quickly in his chest, Blaine left the dumpsters and headed into the back entrance of the school. He had to think. What would Karofsky do? There had only been so many places someone could hide another person, right? A closet or a locker.

He first checked the janitor's closet, knowing it'd be a good place to hide someone, but Kurt wasn't there.

He couldn't be in a locker though. Someone would know. Everyone used their lockers during the day, and they would hear him calling for help. He had to be somewhere out of the busy traffic of the hallway, somewhere no one would be during the school day.

Blaine made a dash for the only other place he could think of. He had to be right.

The room was spinning. He lost his balance more than once as someone tried to steady him. 

"Are you okay?" he heard Blaine's soft voice say, just as he retched all over the locker room floor.

Rubbing the back of his head, which was throbbing uncomfortably, Kurt mumbled, "no. I knew I shouldn't have come today... I was so stupid for thinking I could handle it." He sat down on a bench, not even caring that his voice shook so much. He felt terrible.

Blaine's hand was now rubbing gentle circles on his back, "Kurt, this is getting out of control. What happened?" His voice was so quiet, but Kurt could tell he sounded worried.

Just as Kurt opened his mouth to speak, another voice said into the empty locker room, "hold your story, pumpkin. Let's take this to Figgins office."

He hardly remembered the trip there, but Coach Beiste led Kurt and Blaine to Figgins office, where they called Burt, telling him something happened and they needed him to pick up Kurt. He showed up within twenty minutes. The entire time they waited, Kurt had his head in his hands, and Blaine's hand rested on his knee, occasionally telling Kurt everything would be fine.

"What the hell happened?" Burt Hummel asked, entering the office. He took the empty seat on the couch next to his son, putting his arm around him, Kurt leaned into his embrace, and curled himself up next to his father. His head was still throbbing, and he didn't really care how vulnerable he looked.

"That seems to be the question," Principal Figgins commented, sitting back in his chair. "Kurt, please tell your story."

"Who is he?" Burt asked, pointing at Blaine, before Kurt could say anything.

"I'm Kurt's friend. i helped him. I just wanted to stay and make sure he was okay," Blaine shifted next to Kurt, moving away from him slightly.

Kurt reached over and took Blaine's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Blaine had been so good to him, he didn't want Blaine to feel like he didn't belong there, because he did.  "Dad, please, let him stay," he sat up, taking a deep breath, as he prepared himself to tell his story. "David Karofsky caught me alone this morning, and dragged me into the locker room. It was empty and he knew it'd be empty most of the day. So he..." he paused, trying to remain calm. He tried to continue, but his throat felt closed off. Blaine gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and Kurt felt himself ease a little. He took another deep breath and continued,  "He slushied me and tried shoving me in a locker. I tried putting up a fight, which he didn't approve of, so he hit me in the back of the head with something, which knocked the sense out of me for a moment, giving him enough time to shove me in a locker... I waited all morning, until Blaine found me a little while ago."

"How'd you find him?" Burt looked over at Blaine, eyeing him suspiciously.

Sitting up, Blaine let go of Kurt's hand and said, "I tried texting him, and Karofsky replied at lunch. I knew something had to be wrong, if Karofsky had his phone, so I went looking for him. When I didn't find him in the janitor's closet or the dumpster." Blaine glanced at Kurt, who weakly smiled. Blaine would  look in the dumpster. "I started thinking of places that were off the beaten path, and the locker room was my first place. Sure enough, he was there."

"But why the hell would he do that? Kurt, I thought you said school was going okay?" Burt shifted so that he could see Kurt properly, which made Kurt back away from him a little. They locked eyes and Kurt saw, not only worry, but hurt in his father's eyes. Burt had trusted what he said, and he felt guilty for lying to him. 

Looking away from his father, Kurt knew it was time to be honest. He had told his dad things were fine, because he was so worried about his dad's health, that he didn't want to make things worse. But if his dad was going to be called to the school after two weeks of bullying, how much worse would it get? he couldn't hide it forever. "I didn't want you to worry," He took his father's hand. "I'm worried about you and I just..." he trailed off.

Burt gently squeezed his hand, looking into Kurt's eyes. "never worry about me, okay? Not when it comes to you. We tell each other everything, right? My health is just as important as your safety. We have to get through this together, and we can't do that, unless we're honest. Just like we've gotten through everything else."

"I love you, dad," Kurt whispered. "I'm sorry."

Burt smiled, "I love you too, kid." He then looked at Principal Figgins and said, "so what do we do about this? Have another meeting with this kid's father? That's never accomplished anything. I want something done. What if he had seriously hurt my son?"

Principal Figgins sat forward in his seat and folded his hands on the desk, "i wish there was more i could do, but there weren't any witnesses."

"What about me? Or Coach Beiste?" Blaine asked.

"You weren't actually there," Prinicpal Figgins reminded him. "You only came after the incident. You can't prove David Karofsky did anything."

"What about the text messages? You still have them?" Burt asked Blaine.

Shaking his head, Blaine said, "I do, but it won't do any good. He never actually said who he was... I just knew it was him. I can't actually prove it though."

Jumping up from the couch, Burt said, "this is ridiculous! My son just spent his entire morning in a locker, covered in a slushie, after being forced in there against his will. Something has to be done about it. I don't care that there's no damn proof. You should be able to take his word for it. "

"Dad," Kurt said softly, reaching out to grab his arm, hoping to cam him down.

"I'm serious," Burt pulled his arm out of Kurt's grasp and stopped in front of Figgins desk. "This has gone on long enough. Maybe I should have taken him out of here when we had the chance. At least I would know he was safe at Dalton. You can't just let this go on anymore."

Principal Figgins stood up too, voice raising, "Mr. Hummel I'm sorry. I have done everything i can. There's nothing else i can do! Of course I want my students safe, but i can't just get rid of a student without proof that he did anything wrong."

"Then maybe my son shouldn't be your student anymore," Burt turned to leave.

"Dad, please," Kurt hated how desperate he sounded. "I can't leave... I, we, talked about this... I can't leave. I know I'd be safe, but I belong here." He felt a gentle touch on his knee and looked to see Blaine's hand there. He looked up into Blaine's caring, hazel eyes, and Blaine gave him a warm, reassuring smile. He tore his eyes away and looked back at his father. "It's just nine more months, right?"

"Kurt, nine months is a long time," Burt said quietly.

Kurt nodded, "I know," he whsipered.

Taking a deep breath, Burt said, "we'll discuss this more at home. Do you want to come now or stay here?"

"Do you trust me enough to follow me?" Blaine asked Kurt, as they made their way out of the office.

"Um, we have class," Kurt muttered, heading to his locker. "Sorry I ruined your lunch."  He knew he was being short with Blaine, after everything Blaine had done for him. He didn't mean to be short, he was just exhausted and sore, and he just wanted to get the day over with.

Blaine shrugged, "I wasn't hungry anyway."

Kurt swung his locker door open and asked, "then where are we going?"

Blaine smiled sheepishly and said, "it's off campus."

"I'm listening," Kurt said. "Anything to get me out of here." it wasn't just that, it was the way Blaine looked at him, like he really wanted to convince Kurt to go with him, like he needed this to happen.

"Come on," Blaine gestured toward the door.

Hesitating, Kurt wasn't sure where Blaine was going with this, but decided that Blaine had been nice enough that he wouldn't lead him to trouble.

They got in Blaine's car and drove in silence for a while. They drove so long, Kurt was pretty sure they weren't in Lima anymore. "Where are we going?" he finally asked, glancing sideways at Blaine..

"Almost there," Blaine said. He didn't speak again until he parked the car behind an old, abandoned building. he sat back and looked at Kurt, shutting the car off. "Growing up, I lived close to here. My parents fought all the time, and I needed to get out of the house. My grandpa used to own this warehouse, and after it shut down, I started coming out here, It's been empty for years. No one comes over here... Sometimes I still come here to be alone." He swung the car door  open and got out.

Kurt observed the building nervously, he couldn't move. He almost jumped when Blaine opened his door for him. he stepped out and said, "so you brought me here, because...?" All he could think was that Blaine had taken him out of town, to an old abandoned warehouse, with no witnesses. Maybe Blaine wasn't so innocent. And maybe Kurt was just paranoid after the long morning he had in a locker.

"Because I figured you didn't want to be at school or face your dad right now," Blaine shrugged. "I don't know what's going on in your home life, Kurt, but I know enough about your school life. I think you need a break. We're sort of... friends, right? I just want to help." 

Kurt looked into Blaine's eyes and saw something he had so rarely seen in his peers: Blaine cared. Maybe not a lot, because he didn't really know Kurt, but he definitely took interest in Kurt's bullying situation, and this caring attitude wasn't just a show. 

Once Blaine had led Kurt to the roof of the warehouse, which toook a lot of coaxing, because Kurt didn't want to climb a filthy, old ladder, he watched Kurt glance around nervously. "You can't sit, you know?" Blaie took a seat on the ground and patted the spot next to him. "We'll be here a while, relax."

Kurt shook his head, "I'd rather not. these jeans are worth twenty times the value of the dirt on this floor."

Blaine chucked, "have it your way." He studied Kurt's tired face for a moment and couldnt resist asking a question that had been on his mind for days, "is Finn hudson your brother?"

Kurt looked surprised, crossing his arms over his chest, "how'd you guess that?"

Shrugging, Blaine said, "he mentioned his step-brother the other day, said he had a rough year and thought about transferring to Dalton... You're having a hard time, and your dad mentioned Dalton today."

"oh, that" Kurt said quietly. His eyes downcast. His mood shifted, and he suddenly seemed uncomfortable, which confirmed the answer to his question..

"Why Dalton?" Blaine raised his eyebrows. "it's, like, two hours away."

kurt sighed, "far enough away that David can't hurt me... It just seemed like a good idea. Things had gotten so bad, and I knew about the school, once Mr. Schue mentioned we were competing at Regionals. I looked into it and saw that they had a no violence policy. It sounded pretty good to me."

"We would have met sooner," Blaine informed him.

"What do you mean?" Kurt looked down at him, blue eyes full of curiosity.

"I went to Dalton last year," he said lamely. He didn't really want to have this conversation, because he knew it'd lead to questions about his life that he didn't want to answer just yet, but he wanted to know about Kurt's life, which meant he had to have this conversation.

Kurt glared at him, "you did? Why did you leave?"

Blaine glanced at the ground, trying to come up with anything to avoid that question. It's not like he could trust Kurt. How much could he really say? "It's a long story."

They sat there in silence for a long time. Blaine stared off across the empty landscape, thinking about his days at Dalton and how much he missed them, how much he missed his friends. He didn't know how long he sat there, before Kurt pulled him from his thoughts, saying, "maybe we were meant to meet each other."

"Huh?" Blaine asked, looking at him.

Moving closer to him, Kurt said, "If i had gone to Dalton, we would have met. But i didn't, and now you're here. Maybe we were supposed to meet each other." he shrugged, "if you believe in that whole 'everything happens for a reason' crap."

Blaine thought about it for a moment. What if he had met kurt before he left Dalton? Would he want to leave? Would they have become friends? Would Kurt want anything to do with him? He looked at Kurt, studying his calm face for a moment. His eyes had such a sad look to them. Blaine felt like he could melt in those deep blue eyes. "I really don't know if I believe that theory," he simply said.

Kurt smiled, "I don't either, but..." he hesitated. "I am glad we're sort of... friends. I don't really have friends outside of glee, and now that I'm not in glee, I don't see those friends as much." He sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging slightly, "it's hard. David's been such a pain in the ass, and no one understands. I mean, they've been slushied and stuff, but he just... really hates me."

"Sometimes you just need a little courage," Blaine sighed. "I know you're going through  a lot and i know how it feels to be alone, sometimes you just need a friend." He hesitated, still afraid to say more than he thought he should. "Sometimes it's easier to have someone who understands what you're going through. I don't know exactly how you feel, but I can try." 

"Does that mean you're going to kidmap me more often, now that we're sort of friends?" kurt asked, still smiling.

Blaine smiled back. There was something about Kurt's smile that  just made him feel better. 'Only if you want me to."

Kurt glanced around the rooftop, taking it all in, before he looked back at Blaine and said, "I might need a blanket to sit on, but I kind of like it out here. It beats sitting at the Lima Bean all day."

He didn't know much about Kurt, he didn't even know if Kurt played for his team, and if he had a chance with him, but Blaine liked the way he felt in that moment, and he liked the idea of spending more afternoons with Kurt. A small part of him hoped they would have more afternoons like that one. "Next time," he said, 'I'll make sure i bring a balnket for you."

"So you are going to kidnap me again?" Kurt asked.

Blaine pulled himself off the ground and looked into Kurt's eyes, "as long as you can handle being my friend."

Kurt tried to look like he had to think about it for a moment, "i think i can."