On Thursday night, Kurt called the Anderson-Berry residence to talk to Rachel.

No. Kurt was calling the house because he knew Blaine was at home. Kurt had just gotten the grade for his end of semester exam in Algebra, and he had passed with flying colors. This was the best grade he had gotten in math his entire life, and as he stretched out on his bed, his boot-clad feet crossed leisurely, he only hoped that Blaine would answer the phone.

Blaine heard the phone ringing and bounded from his room to go get it. He was in the best of moods lately, and he wasn’t letting anything bring him down. “Hello?” he greeted as he answered the phone.

”Hey Blaine, is Rachel home?” Kurt got this funny feeling in his stomach when he heard Blaine’s voice on the other end of the line, and hurriedly shoved it away.

”No, sorry, Kurt. She’s out with Finn,” Blaine bounced on his toes excitedly when he heard the countertenor’s voice on the phone. “Hey, how did your exam go?” he asked, his voice raising hopefully at the end of his sentence.

Kurt’s eyes lit up, “It went-!” he cut himself off. “I mean… It didn’t go so well…”

What are you doing Kurt Hummel?! That grade is the best you’ve ever gotten in math! You’re giving yourself an excuse to spend more time with that-

Kurt’s cruel subconscious screamed at him as he spoke, warning him of how badly this could end.

”Oh…. I’m so sorry Kurt! I should’ve helped you more, I could’ve showed you more examples or spent more time on inequa-“ Blaine babbled on, and Kurt stopped him.

Kurt kicked his feet lazily back and forth, as he shushed Blaine. “It’s not your fault at all, Blaine, it’s mine. Do you care if I come over now? We could go over the problems that I missed on the exam.”

”No! It’s fine. Dad and Papa aren’t home though, so if we get hungry we can order out or something,” Blaine said with a laugh, “Last time I tried to cook something, the firemen were called, and the ceiling was scorched.”

Kurt laughed, and Blaine held back a dreamy sigh at the countertenor’s musical laughter. They said their goodbyes, and they hung up.

Kurt quickly made a fake copy of his exam, and changed most of the problems to an incorrect answer, and then scribbled corrections in red pen as his teacher would do. With a score of 68 plastered at the top of the fake exam, Kurt made his way to Blaine’s.

Blaine was clearly disappointed in Kurt’s grade on his exam. But, he wasn’t disappointed in Kurt, he was disappointed in himself. Blaine felt as if he had let Kurt down, and he couldn’t let that happen again. He corrected Kurt’s problems with ease, and promptly showed him the way to solve them.

At the end of their tutoring session, Kurt couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. He could see the disappointment Blaine felt in himself, and he wanted to make that go away.

”Blaine, it’s not your fault… I’m just clueless when it comes to math….” Kurt said softly and placed his hand over Blaine’s.

In school, nothing had changed. Blaine had been tutoring Kurt for a little over a month now, and he was clearly excelling in every subject. Kurt would now be the instigator of the waves, and warm smiles while passing in the hallway, but nothing ever more than that. Until one day after school, Blaine had never been more scared.

Blaine was walking out to his dad’s car, when a boy much taller than him, in a red letterman shoved him to the ground. Dave Karofsky glared down at him with a scowl plastered on his face.

”So what’s this I hear that you’re getting friendly with Porcelain?” Karofsky ground out from between clenched teeth, and Blaine immediately recognized the school-wide, known name for Kurt. Blaine was paralyzed with fear as two other boys surrounded him, and shook his head back and forth quickly.

”D-Don’t know wh-what you’re t-talking ab-out,” he stammered.

Karofsky’s two wingmen hauled Blaine to his feet and shoved him into the brick wall of the school, holding him there with his feet dangling inches from the ground. “You know damn well what I’m talking about, nerd! You’ve been seeing him afterschool! Well I’ve got news for you. Porcelain is mine. He has, and always will be, so stay away from him. Actually, I don’t even know why I’m warning you, other than I won’t pass up a chance to beat the shit out of someone. You think you mean anything to Hummel!? You think he gives a damn about you?!

Blaine closed his eyes tightly as he screamed, shuddering in panic, before he could register what was happening, a fist was slammed into his abdomen, and another snapped into his face, hitting his nose and beneath his right eye. His head slammed against the wall as they continued to hit him, and blood began to trickle from his nose, and from the back of his head. Blaine felt his consciousness sway as he felt the warmth of blood run slowly down his face and back. They dropped him roughly to the ground, and left him lying there, the red substance spilling to the ground with him.

The letterman-clad boys walked away laughing, without a care of what might happen to Blaine. Before he lost consciousness, he vaguely noticed someone with copper colored hair, wearing white and black knee-high boots running towards him, and shouting his name.