Walking down the hallway with Kurt on his arm, Blaine kept his eyes low, too anxious to lift them and face the kids hed known for years, but really didnt know anything about. He heard the same screeching and laughter that had been at his ears for years, but, for some reason, it didnt sound the same anymore. Nothing did. Everything in his life had changed over the past few months, from who his best friend was to how he felt about himself. When Kurt squeezed his arm, he hesitantly raised his head and looked at him from under his thick lashes. Kurt gave him a gentle smile, as if he could read Blaines mind, and he rubbed against him.

Blaine kept his dark eyes on Kurt, unaware of how close they were getting to the doors. Gasping when one of the doors flew open, Blaine yanked Kurt behind him, but he didnt protect himself from getting hit. He stumbled against a nearby wall, holding himself up by pressing his hands to the cool concrete. "Get out of my way, Lady Fabulous!" One of the bitter football players shouted at him, and Blaine realized that he didnt even have a name to them anymore. He was just another rude nickname, as if hed never been one of them before.

Kurt quickly darted to his side, touching his chest and smoothing him, "Are you okay, my darling?" He peeped, holding onto Blaine tighter when he heard another slam from somewhere behind them. "Oh, dear! Puck!"

Flicking his eyes over to the lockers, where Puck had slammed that same football player into one of them, Blaine jerked his face away again. He didnt want to watch any fights, just because he wanted one normal day, but luckily Puck peeled away from him after a few seconds of staring him down. "If you hit my boy again, Ill knock your teeth out!" He threatened, and Blaine narrowed his eyes. When had he become Pucks boy, when just a few months ago they couldnt stand each other? Or, at least, he thought Puck didnt want to be around him.

Puck jogged over to them and swung an arm around Blaines shoulders, careful not to knock Kurt, who was still clutching him. "Ive got you, Lady Fabulous." He muttered to him, ripping Blaine off the wall when he took a long step toward the door. "You know, I think I like that. You look like a Lady Fabulous. Im going to keep it."

Blaine rolled his eyes, reaching back for Kurt and trying to keep up with Pucks ground-eating strides. The three of them stepped outside, and Blaine winced at the bright light that flashed in his eyes. It took several seconds for the spots to fade, and when they did, he focused on the football field, where football players were complaining to their coach about Booty Camp. A couple of the glee kids were among them, keeping their distance from the huge players. They stopped just outside of the football field, and Blaine twisted his feet so the tips of them didnt cross the white line. Itd been months since hed stepped onto the football field, and he was terrified that it would burn him when he did, as if it had turned against him, too.

He almost fell because of his awkward posture, and Puck tightened his grip and raised his brow at him, "Blaine, you okay? Youve got cramps again?" His cheeks turned bright red because Kurt didnt know about his lame excuse at the party, and he felt so embarrassed at Pucks blunt question that he almost wanted to fall over. When he realized that Blaine wasnt going to respond, Puck reached over and patted Kurts shoulder, "Okay, Kurt, go get them. Im looking forward to this Booty Camp!"

Kurt hopped up and down, "Me, too! It will be so much fun!" Blaine wished he could be that excitable. Curling into Blaines side, he squeaked, "Youre my good luck!" He bounced away from them, and Puck chuckled after him, but Blaine still didnt change his expression. He was still getting used to his new alliance with Puck and the other glee guys, constantly assuming it was so breakable, so he was uncomfortable to be alone with them.

Turning away from Kurt, who had pranced up to Schuester, Puck pulled him back to where the others were lined up and stood him between Mike and Artie. Puck took a place beside of him and rolled his shoulders, shaking himself out. "Im ready for anything the professional dancer brings at me!" When Blaine gave him a doubtful look and cleared his throat, Puck smirked, "Fine, you got me! Everything except the splits... and maybe those twirls that ballerinas are really good at."

Blaine raised his brows at him, still keeping his mouth shut, even though he wanted to laugh. He didnt, though, and he turned back to Schuester when he clapped his hands. "Okay, everyone, listen up! Kurt will be your teacher for this first week of Booty Camp-" a few of the football players chuckled at the name, and Schuester rolled his eyes, "-and then Blaine will take over-"

He was interrupted again, "But hes a fag! We dont want to listen to his ass! He might turn us into fairies!"

Kurts little mouth fell open at the insults, and his eyes found Blaine in the crowd. He gave him a sorrowful look, and Blaine turned his gaze to his shoes, feeling helpless under the snorts of the football players. Suddenly, he heard a small squeak, and he looked back up at Kurt, who had his hands on his hips. "Please, be nice to Blaine!" He pleaded, and the football players quieted down, obviously shocked that someone had bothered to stand up for Blaine, the biggest loser in the school.

Schuester nodded his head a few times, "Thats right. You guys have got to stop with the disrespect. Thats why were having this... and I know that none of you want to be here. But, as I was saying, Blaine will be taking over for football week, but for this week Kurt is going to teach you guys a song and dance. Okay, thats all I have to say, so, Kurt, take it away."

He stepped aside and let Kurt have control of the group, and Kurt hopped on his toes and clapped his hands, "Hello, everyone! Im so looking forward to this week! Singing is my favorite thing to do!" Tapping his bottom lip, he suddenly held his hand up and squeaked, "I know what we can start with! Lets do some stretches!" He skipped over to the side of the group that Blaine was on, and he waved his hand, "Blaine, will you come up and be my partner?"

One of the football players couldnt help himself, "Look, its two fags together. Do you think theyll have gay sex in front of us?" Almost the entire group roared with laughter at his joke, but neither Blaine nor Kurt could find the humor in it. Before Schuester could say anything to cut off their rudeness again, something violently ripped Blaine from his spot next to Puck. Someone yelled from beside of Blaine as he stumbled toward the steel grip on his wrist, and he cried out when a brick slammed into the side of his head. "Whoa, what the fuck, Karofsky?" That same outspoken boy said, and he tried to defend Blaine for the first time ever, "I wasnt going to take it that far!"

The steel grip pulled him closer to a hard wall, and he felt the grip move on his wrist, twisting his arm until it almost snapped in half. Blaine cried out and fell against the hard chest, but his struggle for balance didnt last long when he was slapped again. He collapsed to the ground, and he heard something crack. He landed on his arm, but he was distracted from the pain as something kicked his stomach hard enough for him to lose his breath. "Karofsky!" Another person shouted, and the kicking stopped only for a second, but then it was back and harder. "Get off of him!"

"Blaine!" He heard over the sound of his skin getting slapped, "Blaine! Karofsky, leave him alone! Oh, please! You cant do this to him!" There was a small gasp from his protector, and his first defender yelled at him.

"Kurt, back off!" A noisy snap echoed in Blaines ear, and then a low grunt. The kicking and hitting left his skin again, but he was hauled to his feet. He slid his lids apart and stared at the blurred images around him, catching Karofskys red face as he shoved Puck off. Karofsky was holding onto him, his grip so tight on Blaine.

"Hes mine!" Karofsky screamed, crushing Blaines doll-like body to his chest. "We had sex together! Blaine, tell them youre my whore! Tell them so theyll leave us alone!" Even through his dazed head, he could tell that Karofsky was drunk. Hugging Blaine to his chest, Karofsky shoveled his fingers through his hair, yanking a few strands out as he stroked. "Whyd you leave me, you slut? I just want you to be my whore!"

His protectors stopped fighting for him because they were confused, so Blaine had to jerk away from Karofsky himself, even though twitching his shoulder made him hiss. He slipped from Karofskys grip and dropped to the ground, and he bit his tongue to keep himself from yelling at the pain. He didnt have long to collect himself before Karofsky reached down for him again, and when he did, he whacked at him with as much strength as he could manage. "I promised you..." he gasped at the effort it took to say a few words, and he wondered if it was because he hadnt used his vocal cords in a while or if he still couldnt get a breath of air. "I promised... one night to keep Kurt safe. You said you wouldnt hurt him anymore!"

"I said nothing about you!" Karofsky put in, his voice sharp. From somewhere nearby, someone gasped, and Blaine tried to flick his eyes past Karofsky, but he took up his line of sight. "I wouldnt have to hurt you if you would just stay with me, Blaine! I hate doing this to you!"

For some reason, Blaine had the strength to turn this into a yelling match, even though hed never had the will to do much of anything when Karofsky beat him before. "You have to let me go!" Growling deep in his throat when Karofsky reached for him, Blaine rolled away from him and boosted himself onto his palms. He knew he would fall over if he tried to stand, but, to his surprise, a pair of hands came to his back, and then another. They helped him up, and he leaned against a tiny body.

He staggered and almost fell onto his ass, but a pair of hands pushed him back into place, making sure he was upright. "Kurt, youve got to take him home." A low voice mumbled, quieting when Blaine snarled at a hand that was pressed to his head. The huge hand pushed his hair out of his face. "You know what to do for him. Ill make sure Karofsky didnt run off to the parking lot."

"O-Okay. Please, be careful, Puck!" Kurt begged, still struggling to hold onto Blaine. When Blaine started tipping over and groaning at a throbbing in his side, he whispered, "Oh, my poor Blaine. Youll be okay." Blaine held onto Kurt as he started padding across the grass, looking out for Blaine to make sure he didnt slip from his grip. The two of them remained in silence for the rest of the long walk to the car, and even though Blaine couldnt think because every cell in his body was focused on his wounds, he wondered what Kurt was thinking about, if he was concerned about Karofsky and Blaines one night of sex.

Blaine had never wanted him to know, but he guessed it couldnt be avoided now. Maybe when he woke up, though, this would all be over.

The next time he jerked up, he started to yell because he expected pain, but he didnt because he couldnt feel anything. His mouth hung open and he felt a line of drool roll from his tongue and onto his dry lip, and he quickly wiped it away because it was so gross. Finally getting a grip on where he was, Blaine realized he was tucked away in his bed, the blankets halfway down his stomach. A warm cloth wiped his chest, sticking to his pile of chest hair as it made a pathway down to his belly button, then back up.

Tilting his head so he could see the person caring for his ruined skin, he swallowed thickly at the sight of Kurt, who hadnt noticed that he had awoken. His eyes were somewhere far away, the corners of them shining with tears. One flirted with his eyelash, then dropped onto his stomach, a warm splash of water on his skin. He sniffed and wiped his face, pausing in soaking Blaines skin to sob. Blaine didnt understand, and he shifted a little, trying to get closer to Kurt. His movement surprised Kurt, who jumped and lifted his hand to his mouth. "Oh!"

Blaine peeled his good hand off the bed and touched Kurts wrist, and Kurts hand quivered. He reached for Blaines hand and wrapped his fingers around it, gently squeezing, "Blaine... I didnt know you were awake." He cooed, setting the cloth aside and looking up at Blaines face. His eyes softened, but they were still wet. "I was so worried."

Blaine closed his eyes and blew out heavily, then opened them again when Kurt leaned down and wrapped his arms around him. He was so shocked that he just laid limply, unable to twitch a finger. "My tears wont stop falling." Kurt breathed in his ear, sniffling before he went on. "I had no idea that you..." he shook his head, "you gave yourself for me."

Realizing that Kurt wasnt upset with him, Blaine turned his face into his neck. Tears swelled in his eyes, heavy weights that quickly spilled. "He would have hurt you had I not... not..." He couldnt get the words out, but Kurt understood. He always did. "Kurt... my sweetheart..." Feeling Kurts lips against his neck, Blaine tightened his arms around him and squeezed his eyes shut, "I-Im... gay."

Hed sometimes imagined himself saying it, just shouting it as if he was proud, and then Kurt would jump into his arms and they would kiss. But it was never like this, not when he was a teary and snotty mess, and his boyfriend had just found out that Blaine had been hiding that hed been raped. But Kurt didnt seem to mind the circumstances. He just kept holding Blaine, nuzzling so close to his head that he got tangled in his hair. Throwing his sticky hair off his face, Blaine muttered lowly, "Kurt... I want you to cut my hair."

Kurt finally lifted his head, an alarmed expression on his face, "But why? I like your hair very much!"

Blaine frowned at it and snagged a piece between his fingers, "I just want it off... all of it. I want my short hair back." When Kurt gave him a look like he didnt understand, he sighed heavily, "Karofsky said I looked like a fag with short hair... so I just... gave in and grew it out. I cant have long hair anymore... I just cant." Blaine was relieved that Kurt understood his desperation and didnt argue with him like others would have. Climbing off of his body, he hurried away from him and disappeared into the bathroom, and Blaine heard a few drawers opening and closing.

After a few minutes, Kurt returned to him with a pair of scissors in his hand, "I found the scissors!" He murmured, going over to the side of the bed and sitting down by Blaines hip. Running his fingers through Blaines hair, Kurt whispered to him, "If it makes you feel any better... I think youre beautiful just the way you are, but Id think you were handsome no matter what. And if being away from Karofsky is what makes you happy, then Ill cut your hair."

Blaine turned his head to the side and felt Kurt lift a piece of his long hair, and he gasped when he heard a snip. His hair fell to his shoulder, the dark curls dusting his brown skin. He looked over at Kurt again, and he saw another piece of hair between his fingers. He stuck his tongue out in concentration and cut the hair in half. A small smile curved Blaines lips. He was slowly losing Karofsky hair by hair, if only he could get rid of the damage hidden inside of him.