The next hour was a blur in Kurt Hummel’s mind. A broken, choked up sob coming from the side of the school building, three letterman-wearing jocks hurrying off at the sight of him, Blaine on the ground, nearly unconscious, the frantic call to the hospital, trying to keep Blaine awake with his desperate pleas, sirens of an ambulance, how they had to pull Kurt from its protective, hovering stance over his unconscious body, loading him into the ambulance, shouting to one another about too much bleeding, and now the harsh sterility of the hospital waiting room.

His light blue eyes were wet with tears and rimmed with red. He had called Neil, David, and Rachel, the rest of Blaine’s family, on the ride to the hospital. Kurt was pacing back and forth in the waiting room, while in contrast the Anderson-Berry’s sat holding one another tightly, with soothing words and comforting glances. They had tried to calm Kurt down, but in his panicky state he just ended up becoming even more nervous and began muttering under his breath in a language they recognized as French, something he did when he was very nervous, angry or upset.

Carole Hudson, Kurt’s stepmother opened the waiting room door. Kurt immediately stopped pacing and flitted to his stepmother’s side. A stressed look resided on her face, and she seemed shocked to find Kurt in the waiting room as well. Now remembering that Carole was working today, and that she would probably have been with Blaine made Kurt feel the slightest bit relieved. “Neil and David Anderson-Berry?” Carole asked politely.

With a clearing of his throat, David answered her, “Yes, that’s us.”

”Alright,” Carole continued, while wrapping an arm around Kurt’s slender figure in a comforting gesture, and he leaned his head on her shoulder. “Blaine has suffered a severe concussion, with luckily no bleeding under the skull, or on the brain. He has three broken ribs, and his nose was broken as well. He is experiencing a bit of memory loss right now, but it should go away in a few hours. When you go in to see him, try not to ask him any questions that might make him think too hard. The doctor has him on medication to dull the pain, but don’t ask him anything about the event unless he asks you, or brings it up first. He is awake now, and you can go visit him momentarily,” Carole spoke softly but clearly, but she now turned to Kurt, “He’s been asking for you, Kurt.”

Carole led Blaine’s family and Kurt to Blaine’s room, although Neil grasped Kurt’s hand, while his husband’s was clutched in his other hand. Rachel buried herself under David’s arm, and they walked like that down the white hallway to room number 366. David urged Kurt forward to walk in first, since Blaine had asked for him. Kurt walked in slowly and timidly, and at the sight of him, Blaine’s sleepy eyes clearly lit up with happiness, even in their drugged stupor. “Kurt,” Blaine whispered in a hoarse, raspy voice.

Kurt took the seat beside Blaine’s bed, and took his hand in his own. The Anderson-Berry’s had kindly waited outside for a few moments to allow Kurt and Blaine some time to talk. “I’m so glad you’re alright, Blaine… I was so worried about you” Kurt whispered as his thumb smoothed circles on the back of Blaine’s hand. A lone tear trailed down Kurt’s cheek, and he kept his head lowered, but the tear trail glimmered in the fluorescent lights.

Blaine’s heart was clearly beating erratically, given away by the ecstatic beeping of his heart monitor. Kurt let a small smirk work its way onto his face, but it didn’t reach his worried eyes. Blaine looked down at Kurt, his hazel eyes meeting blue ones. A dark, purple bruise was underneath Blaine’s right eye, and his nose was clearly swollen from the break. A large ice pack was draped over top of the blanket on his abdomen to keep the swelling down from his broken ribs. Each breath he took was shaky, and each time he took a deep breath, it was followed by a short gasp of pain, along with a groan.

”I’m fine, Kurt… You’re not losing your tutor any time soon. You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Blaine joked with amusement in his voice, although he tried not to laugh.

After he said that, the events of what had really happened came rushing back to him, his breathing sped up, his heart beating even faster, and his eyes clouded over with panic. “K-Kurt…. You have to leave. I-I can’t be seen with you. Th-they said if-“ Kurt cut Blaine off, and stood up defensively.

”Who said what, Blaine? Who did this to you? What really happened?” Kurt asked, his voice rising a bit. Who dared to mess with someone close to him?! But no one knew that Kurt had grown close to Blaine, so who ever had found out was clearly not happy about it.

”Karofsky said that y-you were his, and I had better st-ay away from you. He said that you never gave a damn about me to begin with, and I d-didn’t mean anything to you… It only makes sense. I’m nothing but your tutor, your best friend’s little brother. It was stupid of me to think that could ever be different,” Blaine turned his head to the side, looking away from Kurt. It was Blaine’s turn to cry this time, and he couldn’t look Kurt in the eyes. He couldn’t bear to see the rejection in his eyes at Blaine’s upcoming confession, “I should’ve known something like this was going to happen. I shouldn’t have let myself fall for you any more than I already had.” Blaine looked at Kurt, “But, I didn’t tell anyone that I was tutoring you, Kurt, I swear. I don’t know how he found out.”

Tears glimmered in the Cheerios blue eyes, and he shook his head silently, “Blaine…”

”You don’t have to say anything, Kurt,” Blaine said through a teary, heartbroken smile, “I already know you don’t feel the same way.”

”But Bl-“ Blaine cut Kurt off, “Can…can you just go? Please? I don’t think I can handle any more pain today. Knowing someone doesn’t feel the same way about you hurts continuously, but I just can’t handle seeing the cause of that pain right now.”

Kurt nodded silently as the tears ran down his rosy cheeks. He placed a kiss on Blaine’s forehead, and walked from his room. As he found Carole in the break room, he pulled himself into her arms on a plush leather couch, and cried silently as the realization that he was in love with Blaine settled over his broken heart. Wait, broken heart?! It was true, that he was sure of. He hadn’t even noticed, but he had fallen hard, just as hard as Blaine had fallen for him. But where had Kurt been when it was time to catch him? Kurt cried harder, too, because Blaine’s pain right now was his own fault, and his own heartbreak was of his own cause as well.