Nothing changed the day after Karofsky revealed his and Blaines private relationship to their other classmates, as if no one had seen Blaine get beaten in front of them. As he walked with Kurt down the hallway, he got the same glares and sneers that he always did, and people stumbled over themselves to get away from him. Sometimes, Blaine wanted to be as heartless as they thought him to be, that way their insults and snickers wouldnt hurt as much.

Blaine remembered the days when he was faceless, just another student who walked the halls with his friends, talking about plans for the weekend and laughing about a funny joke. He wanted those times back, but they seemed impossible to get as he passed by people who hated him so much. His reality now, as he walked down the hallway with his new friend, was to just lower his head and pretend to be invisible. He couldnt tell if he was trying to make everyone else invisible so he didnt have to see their narrowed eyes and curled lips, or if he was trying to be invisible, even to himself.

When Kurt turned into the backstage area of the auditorium, where their camp had been moved to so the football players could get used to the stage, Blaine pulled himself from his own thoughts and pinned himself to Kurts heels. Most of the glee kids were still backstage, watching the football players, who were already on stage and scuffing the floor with their shoes. Two of them-Blaine couldnt remember their names-started punching on each other, playful whacks that the players around them rooted on. As he watched them shove and hit each other, he couldnt remember the amusement hed once found in that.

He glanced over at Kurt when he patted his fingertips together, getting everybodys attention, "Hi, everyone! Im so glad all of you came today! Im looking forward to teaching some of my favorite dance moves." At Kurts call, the glee kids started moving onto the stage, but they kept as far away from the football players as they could. The football players stared at them as they approached, smirks on their faces, and then they returned their attention to Kurt.

Kurt started to wander over to them, but he was yanked back by Blaine, who couldnt lift his feet. His grip was tight on Kurt, his only protection, and he wouldnt move any closer to the football players. Their glowers were like a repel to him because he knew they were waiting to attack him if he stepped onto the stage. He wasnt certain that he could take much more of the pushing and laughing and insulting without screaming, not after years of taking it from Karofsky. He just wanted one day to be normal.

Blaine really wondered if Kurt could read his mind because he touched Blaines cheek, making him jump with surprise, and he jerked him out of his own head again. "Its okay, Blaine." He peeped, trying to slide from his grip but failing. Rubbing Blaines hand, which was like steel around his arm, he murmured, "Ill have to leave you for only an hour. Ill just be a few feet away."

He wasnt sure if he could actually let Kurt go because he couldnt twitch a muscle in his body even if he tried, but he quickly broke out of the concrete that had made his body as still as a statue when someone patted his back. Whipping around, he raised his fist to defend himself and Kurt, but dropped it when he realized that Finn was only centimeters away from getting whacked in the nose. He ducked and covered his face, but lowered his defenses when Blaine dropped his fist to his side. "Whoa! Sorry, I didnt mean to startle you."

Blaine cocked his head, refusing to open his mouth and say anything. He hadnt seen Finn at Booty Camp yesterday, and he guessed that he just wanted Kurt to go over anything hed missed. Not that hed missed anything at all. Raising a brow at him, he took a step back, but Finn grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. "Can I talk to you?"

Blaine had absolutely no idea what to expect from Finn, but he would have rather done anything than stay in the same room with the football players. He couldnt go anywhere, though, and he made that clear to Finn by flicking his eyes down to Kurt. Finn followed his gaze to the top of Kurts head, and his brows ruffled, then he realized what Blaine meant, "Oh! No, its okay, Blaine." Lifting his head again, he waved his hand at Puck, who blinked at him. "Puck, will you watch out for Kurt?"

"Sure." Puck nodded at Kurt, "Come here, Kurt. Youll be fine with me."

Kurt hopped on his toes because of his excitement over spending time with Puck, who seemed to amuse him, but before he scampered away, he whirled around and hugged Blaine. "Have a good time with Finn." He chirped, then scurried off and clung to Pucks side.

Puck nodded at Blaine to assure him, just because he hated being away from Kurt, giving Finn the okay to pull on his arm. "Come on. Theres something I need to tell you about Kurts dad."

Blaine suddenly stopped walking, making Finn pause in his long steps. "Burt? Whats wrong with him?"

Smirking at him, Finn pulled him toward the doors and out into the hallway, which was empty. It gave Blaine the silence he needed, away from the noisy football players. "Nothings wrong with him, Blaine. Its actually really good news. At least, to me it is. My mom told me that she ran into Kurts dad when she was at the store a while ago... they got along really well because they talked about football and stuff. The other day my mom had me drive her out to Burts work because she didnt know where it was... thats why I missed Booty Camp. And they were, like, flirting." Finn said the word as if he didnt know what it meant, and his smile widened. "Burt said he wants to propose to my mom. So, me and Kurt are going to be stepbrothers."

Blaines eyebrows raised to his hairline. He immediately twisted around and tried to see through the tiny window in the door, but all he could make out were a few stacked boxes. His thoughts went to the way Kurt felt about his mom, the way he admired her and wanted to be just like her. Blaine was worried hed feel scared that they were trying to replace her, or that hed feel sad that his dad was moving on from her. He didnt know much about Elizabeth, but from the way Kurt loved her, he could only imagine that shed been a wonderful mom.

Blaine didnt realize he hadnt spoken for several minutes until Finn cleared his throat and continued, "Its going to be like were family, huh? You and me. Youll be just like my brother... like the way things used to be. You remember?" He didnt say a word because he didnt want Finn to bring anything up about his past. He grunted when Finn reached for his shoulder and shook it, "Burt wanted all of us to get together at Breadstix... you know, after the performance. Kurt can meet my mom, and then Burt can propose to her. Just... dont tell Kurt, okay? We want it to be a surprise."

He finally opened his mouth, "Surprise? Finn, I cant-"

"Please, Blaine?" Finn pleaded, a hesitant smile on his lips. "You dont know how much this means to Burt." When Blaine didnt say anything, he smiled, "My moms really excited to meet him. And Ive always wanted a brother... but I told you that. Thats why I always liked having you around. You and Puck were the brothers I never had. I could tell you guys anything-"

Blaine didnt like where this was going. "Finn-" He couldnt let Finn go on in remembering what things had been like before Karofsky. If he kept talking about it, Blaine felt like he might cry because he wanted those things back so badly. He wanted to fall asleep on his friends shoulder after hours of watching scary movies, and he wanted to have popcorn fights until the entire floor was covered in yellow, and he wanted to hold onto his friend and cry after he had a bad day. Forcing himself to believe that Finn wouldnt hurt Kurt, Blaine closed his eyes and grinded his teeth, "Fine, I wont tell Kurt."

Finn threw his arms around Blaine as if he was really relieved, but he quickly jerked back when Blaine hissed. His wide eyes flashed over Blaine, searching him, so Blaine pulled away and turned around. Before Finn could ask him any questions about why he didnt want to be touched, his phone buzzed against his thigh. He figured that it might be Burt wanting to tell him everything that Finn just had, so he pulled it out and opened a new text. He quickly read over it, and he was surprised to find that it was from Santana. Karofsky showed up at the court date today. He gets part-time with the baby.

He didnt get a chance to reply to the first text when another appeared on the screen. I decided to name the baby after you. His name is Hunter. You had to hunt for life, and so will he. Thanks for everything, Blaine.

Blaine lifted his head and turned his gaze to Finn, who was looking over his shoulder and trying to see the text. Stuffing his phone in his pocket, he took a step away from Finn, "I need to go." He shoved through the doors before Finn could get out another word, trying but failing to keep his distance. In his rush to get away from Finn, his clumsy foot caught on the edge of one of the many boxes and he stumbled, almost falling onto his face.

A pair of hands quickly came to his sides, holding him upright, "Are you okay, Blaine?"

Blaine felt heavy weights at the back of his eyes, and stinging tears leaked into the corners. "I-Im fine." Too embarrassed to say much else, Blaine wiped his face and stood up again, meeting the eyes of fifty of his peers, all of them staring at him. Kurt was at the front of the group, and he looked at Blaine with a very concerned expression.

He instantly knew what Blaine needed and he waved at the group, "Ive had so much fun with all of you today. All of you have done very well! Well meet again tomorrow. Goodbye!" Scurrying away from the group, Kurt clicked a button on the stereo to turn it off, and he gave the group one last wave as he padded over to Blaine. Stroking Blaines jaw, Kurt pushed his bottom lip out, "Whats the matter, my darling? You know how I fret over your frowns." He kissed the tip of Blaines nose.

Blaine collapsed against Kurt, wanting space to himself, away from Finn, who was still holding onto him. "Finn, Im taking Kurt home now." He mumbled lowly, and Finn finally removed his hands from Blaines ribs.

"Okay." Finn said, easily giving in to what Blaine wanted. "Blaine, youll keep your word, right?"

Blaine finally lifted his head and stared at Finn, finding a big grin on his face and a hopeful gleam in his eye. He remembered when Finn used to smile at him like that, and the first time Finn had ever looked away from him and frowned. "Finn..." Blaine said weakly, his voice too raspy. Rather than tell Finn that he wanted things to be the way they used to be, he clamped his emotions up and snapped at him, "I dont break promises."

He jerked back before he could see Finns disappointed expression at his biting tone. Hooking one hand around Kurts waist, Blaine staggered away from everyone and took Kurt with him. Kurt held on to him to keep up with his long strides, his little feet sliding as he struggled to stay by Blaines side. Realizing that he was walking too fast, Blaine lifted Kurt off of his toes and half carried him out of the school.

The walk to the parking lot didnt take more than a few minutes because Blaine was hurrying to get away from everyone inside the school. He felt a weight fall off of his chest when he reached his car. He almost ripped the passenger door off of its hinges in his rush, but he was very careful when he tucked Kurt into the car. After he strapped him in, he strode around the front of the car and got in on the drivers side.

He stayed still for several seconds, except for the shaking in his hands and curling of his toes. He counted the breaths he took before he was jerked out of his daze by a small hand stroking his curls off his forehead. Whipping around, he flashed his eyes over Kurts face. Kurt didnt seem upset with him for ruining another Booty Camp, just sad that Blaine was having trouble escaping what Karofsky had done to him. Moving closer to Blaine, Kurt rubbed his cheek against his and kissed his ear, making a popping sound that deafened him for a second. "You dont have to hide the way you feel, my darling. I dont mind if you cry." When Blaine pushed against him and buried his face in his neck, Kurt shushed him and smoothed his hair again, "You know, I hear you cry sometimes... when you sleep. What do you dream of?"

He knew he was losing control to Kurts soothing hands and voice, but he still wanted to fight his emotions. He didnt want to admit that hed been weakened by Karofskys violent thrashes against him, but as Kurt kept kissing and hugging him, he felt himself getting lost to his gentle nurturing. His lips quivered, but he sucked them in. A muffled noise gurgled in his throat, making Kurt coo over him. "Shh... youre okay, Blaine. Im right here, my darling. I wont leave you."

Thinking about why Kurt hadnt left the pitiful, snotty, weepy mess he was yet made a low sob break from his mouth. Kurt held him much tighter, "Oh, my Blaine... you poor dear. Come now... you can stay in my arms." He tugged Blaine to his chest, and Blaine weakly went with him, tucking himself under Kurts chin. He felt helpless there, but he forced himself to believe that Kurt wasnt going to beat him for letting tears roll down his cheeks.

"Keep me safe..." he begged, his voice so thick that even he couldnt understand what he just said. "K-Keep me safe." He felt cared for and protected in Kurts arms, but he knew his hiding place couldnt last forever. He was so terrified that Karofsky would come back and take him away from Kurt.

Blaine couldnt sleep that night, even though he was comfortable underneath the piles of fuzzy blankets with a plump pillow under his head. Kurts warm body was curled up on his chest, and he hadnt twitched for hours, his breathing slow and his lashes batting as he dreamed. He stared up at the ceiling, but he wasnt looking at it, his thoughts going a thousand places at once. To keep himself from getting stiff, he moved his hands around every so often, sliding one behind his head, or running his fingers up and down Kurts back. Hed had many nights like this before, so he knew exactly how he could avoid getting cramps from being too tense as his thoughts became horrible. "You cant keep me from Finn and Puck, Karofsky! I wont let you control me!"

"I can do whatever I want to you!"

"Dont touch me!"

"Stay away from them, Blaine! Theyre bad!"

"Karofsky, youre hurting me!"

Blaine blinked at the ceiling, his hand lifting to his forehead and rubbing a headache away. He still didnt understand why it had been him, and he doubted he ever would. Soon after the first time Karofsky had beaten him, hed asked Karofsky if he had ever loved him, because hed known that Puck and Finn had loved him. Karofsky hadnt answered, just as Blaine had expected.

He snorted through a runny nose and tried to wipe away his tears that wouldnt stop rushing down his cheeks. "Why did you choose me?" He whispered to nobody, but his words were caught in his throat when he heard a crash from above him. He was immediately worried that Burt had tried to get out of bed and had fallen, so he quickly sat up.

His movement made Kurts eyes pop open, and his little fingers tightened on Blaine. "Blaine?" He peeped, his voice soft with sleepiness. "Is everything okay?" His eyes widened when he heard a noisy cough, followed by heavy footsteps.

Putting Kurt aside and swinging his legs off the bed, Blaine muttered, "Stay down here, honey. Im going to check on your dad." He slipped away from the bed after he checked on Kurt one last time, and he took the stairs two at a time. He hesitated near the top of the steps at the sight of a flash of movement under the doorway, and then the sound of a door creaking open. The door slammed shut, a sound that made Blaine jump with surprise.

He reached for the doorknob, but it twisted two seconds before he put his hand on it. Their door swung open, and a hand lashed out and whacked the side of Blaines face. "Blaine!" He heard a high pitched voice scream. He teetered back and forth, about to fall down ten steps, but a strong arm hauled him up by his waist and threw him over a thick shoulder. "Let him go! Please!"

The tiny voice was ignored, and Blaine felt his body vibrating with every thudding footstep his kidnapper took. He was too weak to hold himself up, so his limbs swung and his head lolled. Another door smashed into a wall, and Blaine guessed that it was the front door because a chilly breeze touched his bare skin. Hed worn very little to bed, just a thin tee shirt and his boxers, so he shivered as the cold air slid through his minimal covering. "Put me down..." his words were slurred, and he wondered if his kidnapper could even understand him. If he was heard, he was ignored because he was carried farther and farther from his house. Not able to fight anymore, Blaine let himself go under, falling against the big mans back. His blurred eyes shut.

About ten minutes later, Blaine jerked out of his daze when he was shaken and set down next to a cool and rough wall. The chips
and cracks in the wall cut his skin, drawing thin lines of blood. Peeling his lids apart, he glimpsed around himself at a dark alleyway, puddles of rain soaking the bottom of his feet and making them dirty. He jerked when someone hissed in his ear, "Ive missed you, Blaine. Have you missed me?"