It took Kurt a week to feel brave enough to go back to school. He still wasn't feeling quite like himself, and ended up going in the most casual outfit anyone had seen him go outside in – a t-shirt and not-so-tight jeans. He made sure that he kept a backpack on the back of his wheelchair that had water and his medicine in and was nervous to go to any class that neither Blaine or Finn were in. He could feel people looking at him as Blaine wheeled him through the school halls, but he tried his hardest not to look up in case he freaked out.

He sort of understood why people were staring at him – his lip was still swollen and he was still covered in cuts and bruises, a few of them starting to scar – but it still made him feel incredibly uncomfortable.

“Call me if you need me, okay?” Blaine said for the umpteenth time, kneeling in front of Kurt's chair before he allowed him to go into his class.

“Yes, father, I understand.” Kurt teased with a smile, his voice barely audible over the chitter-chatter of teens in the hallways.

“Okay,” Blaine sighed, pressing a kiss to Kurt's forehead before allowing him to wheel himself into class.

It was his first class since coming back to school and with Kurt's luck, neither Blaine nor Finn were in it with him. The worst thing about that was he had nobody to comfort him when he heard people snickering about him from the back of the room. He made it through the first part of the lesson before his ribs started to hurt, making it hard for him to breathe properly. Kurt raised his hand weakly, praying that the teacher wouldn't take too long to answer him.

“Yes, Kurt?”

“Can I be excused please?” Kurt asked quietly, his voice sounding strained with the pain shooting through his body, shocking everyone in the class as nobody had ever heard him speak before.

The teacher said yes and Kurt wheeled himself out of the room, trying to reach for his backpack. He couldn't reach it, however, as it required him twisting his body and that was practically impossible with his ribs. He couldn't get his phone, either, to call Blaine and ask him to help him.

Kurt's breathing got heavier as he struggled to breathe, tears beginning to run down his face. He didn't know what to do – what he could do to stop the pain.

“Oh my god, Kurt,” Rachel – one of the glee members – said. “Are you okay?”

Kurt shook his head, more tears streaming down his face. “Can you get my backpack please?” Kurt cried out brokenly, the girl rushing to grab the bag from the back of Kurt's chair. “Thank you.” He said gratefully, despite the mess he was in. He reached inside and grabbed his water and medicine, taking it before sipping more of the water slowly, trying to calm himself down.

“Are you okay now?” Rachel asked.

Kurt nodded. “Yeah…I just need Blaine.” He said quietly, rubbing at his eyes and flinching as he was still a little bruised there.

“Do you want me to call him?”

“Yes please.” Kurt said, trying to refrain from sobbing with relief.

Rachel pulled out her phone and dialled Blaine's number, waiting for him to pick up.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” Rachel replied. “I'm with Kurt and he kind of needs you right now.”

“Where are you?” Blaine asked immediately.

“We're near the bathrooms on the ground floor.”

“Okay, tell him I'll be there in a minute.”

Rachel hung up the phone and put it in her pocket, kneeling in front of Kurt and rubbing his knee gently. “He said he'll be here soon, okay?”

As soon as Blaine found Kurt and Rachel he rushed over to them, enveloping Kurt in a gentle yet firm hug so as not to hurt him. Kurt started crying again as soon as Blaine's arms were around him, wrapping his arms around his middle and resting his forehead against his shoulder.

“Shh,” Blaine said softly, bringing his hand up to card through the hair at the back of Kurt's head.

“I wanna go home,” Kurt sobbed, fisting the back of Blaine's shirt. “I thought I'd be okay but I'm not. I hate having people stare at me and talk about me and I don't feel well and…and…” Kurt cried, unable to finish his sentence.

“Shh, it's okay,” Blaine said, releasing Kurt and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “Do you want me to take you to the nurse?”

Kurt nodded, wiping his eyes sadly. He clutched his backpack in his lap as Blaine wheeled him to the nurse's office, wishing everything would just go away. Blaine stayed with Kurt until his dad came to pick him up.

“Hey kiddo,” Burt smiled as he entered the nurses office, immediately noticing how relieved Kurt was to see him. “Ready to go?”

Kurt nodded, looking up at Blaine and smiling when he bent down to press a kiss to his forehead, pulling away with a ‘mwah' sound.

“Call me later, okay?”

“Okay.” Kurt said quietly, wheeling himself over to his dad and allowing him to wheel him out of school before helping into the car.

As soon as they got home, Burt helped Kurt upstairs and into his pyjamas before lifting him into bed. The sixteen year old was asleep almost instantly, snuggling into his pillows happily as his dad smiled down at him, pressing a kiss to the top of his head before leaving the room. He slept for hours, calling Blaine when he woke up to let him know that he was okay before calling his dad and asking him to put a DVD in for him, snuggling back into his bed straight after.

He didn't know how long it would take him to start feeling better, but he was more than grateful that he had his family and Blaine to help him get through it, not matter how hard it got.