Scratching the side of his nose with the end of his pen, Blaine scanned a page of the math syllabus for senior year students at McKinley High School and was pleased to note that he had now covered all the topics that everyone else in the year had done so far. He had officially enrolled at McKinley a few days ago and Kurt had brought him the syllabus for each subject, along with a pile of folders full of notes and work for him to do, plus several textbooks. Since then he had been working through it all every day, handing Kurt any problem sheets or essays the teachers wanted from him to hand in to the school - he would receive his graded work from Kurt once it had been marked. It made the once long days fly by and he was glad to have actual goals in life again, to have things to look forward to and aim towards. His life had direction again.

He smiled around the pen he had been absently tapping against the corner of his mouth when there was a knock at the door and Kurt entered the attic, calling out a cheerful greeting to him. It was always a nice surprise when Kurt was able to visit him once he'd arrived home from school on the days the rest of his family was out. It didn't happen often, seeing as how Finn usually came home at the same time as Kurt unless he had football practice or Kurt was spending time with his friends.

"How's the home-schooling going?" Kurt asked as he joined Blaine and peered over his shoulder at the papers spread out on the box in front of him.

Setting his pen down, Blaine began tidying the papers up. "I'm all caught up to the same level as everyone else in all subjects," he announced, a hint of pride creeping into his tone; his schoolwork had been one of the few things his parents had actually praised him on.

"That's great!" Kurt enthused. "I can't believe how quickly you did it...It's only been three days."

Blaine shrugged modestly, but pride and pleasure filled him, much stronger than it had ever done when his parents complemented his academic ability. "I have nothing else to do all day and I work fast."

Kurt's eyebrows drew together in a small frown, but before Blaine could ask him what was wrong, his expression cleared and he surveyed Blaine's work and files of notes contemplatively. "I don't know how you manage it all by yourself; I wouldn't know what to do."

Shrugging again, Blaine placed the last of his stuff into a folder and flipped it shut. "I've been teaching myself for ages. It's just become how I work now. Even before I left home I was teaching myself stuff beyond the curriculum as something to do once I'd finished my homework."

Kurt sat down next to him, leaning back against the box. "Maybe you should be the one tutoring me instead of the other way around."

Blaine just grinned and bumped his shoulder against Kurt's.

He had worried that things would become awkward between them after that night they'd spent together in the attic when he had been ill, but they'd only grown closer since.

Waking up that morning and feeling Kurt's body against his own, his breath creating a warm spot against the back of his neck, his arm curled protectively over his side and around his stomach, the steady rise and fall of his chest against his back - it had been indescribably perfect and something he wanted to imprint in his memory forever. The attic was the closest he had to somewhere safe - to home - but it had never really come close to feeling that way, not until that morning. Lying curled up with Kurt, arms holding him close, Kurt's nose occasionally nuzzling the back of his neck, he felt safe - it felt like home. And when Kurt had mumbled something indiscernible and shifted against him and he had hesitantly rolled over to face him, he had felt something he hadn't experienced for as long as he could remember: peace.

Kurt returned his smile. "Just don't push yourself too hard. You've only just gotten better; you don't want to fall ill again."

"I've been healthy for days now," Blaine protested. "But don't worry, I won't." At Kurt's nod of approval, Blaine added, "You need to stop worrying about me so much, that can't be healthy for you."

"I don't worry that much anymore," Kurt countered.

Blaine eyed him disbelievingly. "You seem to. Don't think I haven't noticed the larger servings of food you've been giving me or how you always check to make sure it isn't too cold up here before you go downstairs to bed."

Kurt shifted guiltily. "I don't want you to be cold, and you're still really thin," he justified. He took Blaine's arm and pushed the sleeve of his sweater up to reveal his wrist. "Look how skinny you are! Your wrists are tiny!"

Kurt's expression sobered and he studied Blaine with sad eyes. "You are, aren't you?" he said after a moment, sounding more as though he were thinking aloud than actually talking to Blaine. "You're just this small, sweet, likeable, harmless guy and yet-" He broke off, biting on his bottom lip. "I don't understand how anyone could be as cruel to you as they've been." He sniffed and gave himself a small shake, seeming to suddenly remember where he was. "Sorry, I ruined the mood, didn't I?"

Blaine said nothing to this, just watched Kurt sniff again as he smiled apologetically at him. Kurt's comment had reminded him of something he'd wanted to discuss with Kurt for a while now but had never found the moment or the nerve to do so. Now seemed like as good a time as any and he didn't particularly want to put it off much longer; he'd seen the way Kurt had winced when he'd bumped his side on the box he was leaning against earlier.

"Kurt..." he began hesitantly. When Kurt met his gaze with eyes full of encouragement and curiosity, he continued, "Are you still being harassed at school?"

Kurt's mouth opened and then closed again, his expression a mixture of wariness and reluctance, and he looked slightly taken aback as if this was the last thing he had expected Blaine to ask him about. "I- I am," he admitted eventually. "Mostly just by this one guy Karofsky, but a few of his thugs from the football team have a turn as well when they feel like it."

Hearing Kurt's admittance and seeing the way he curled in on himself and his eyes became shadowed with memories made Blaine's jaw tighten as a buzz of anger and protectiveness fizzled through him.

"Are they still just doing the same stuff as before?" he asked him. "Throwing slushies, locker shoves, name-calling?"

Kurt nodded. "Pretty much." Seeing the look on Blaine's face, he hastily added, "It's nothing I can't deal with. I'm used to it now; I can push through it. I have less than a year left at the school and then I'll be away from it all. I can cope until then," he finished determinedly.

"I wish-" Blaine sighed in aggravation. "Is there nobody at the school who could try and put a stop to it?"

Kurt shook his head. "Not really. My Glee teacher knows about it, but he's too busy with his own problems," he muttered darkly, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "The cheerleading coach helped for a while, but-" He broke off, shaking his head.

"What about your friends?" Blaine pressed. "Your step-brother?"

"There's not much they can do. They offer sympathy and support when they can, but they don't really understand what it's like, I much prefer-" He cut himself off again, this time ducking his head and avoiding Blaine's gaze. "Finn's stopped them calling me names or pushing me around a few times, but he can't be with me all the time and they mostly target me when they know no one is around who might try and stop them."

Blaine felt sick. He knew lots of people suffered through this kind of torment every day and he had suffered years of it himself, but it somehow made him feel a lot more disgusted and angry hearing that Kurt was still being subjected to it. Worst of all was that Kurt had begun to just accept it. Blaine felt that way about himself, that he was unworthy of respect and love from others, and after everything with his parents and school he had accepted that nobody thought anything of him, but Kurt shouldn't be feeling that way; the last thing he wanted was for Kurt to become like him.

"What about your dad and step-mom?" Blaine asked. "You're not hiding this from them, are you?" When Kurt squirmed and dropped his gaze guiltily, Blaine frowned. "Kurt, you have to tell them! They need to know that it's still going on and how bad it is."

Kurt looked up again, looking anguished. "I know I should, but my dad had a heart attack last year and I don't want him under too much strain and this will just make him worry." He twisted his hands in his lap. "I could tell Carole, I suppose," he decided.

Blaine wished he wasn't so scared of leaving this attic. He wished he was brave enough to leave the house in daylight and face people other than Kurt. He would go to school with Kurt and protect him from the ignorant thugs who tried to shove him into lockers or harass him in any other way. He would be there at Kurt's side as a constant reminder that he wasn't alone, that he was loved and understood and respected, and that not everyone in the world was like those homophobic assholes at his school.

He sighed in regret and annoyance at his own weakness. "I wish I was able to go to school with you and stop them from treating you like that."

"You are able," Kurt corrected. "You're just not ready yet." A small smile appeared on his face. "And don't worry, I'll talk to Carole and try and get it stopped."

"You shouldn't have to try," Blaine said miserably. "If the teachers at these schools really cared about the students like they're supposed to, people like us would be able to get an education without being scared all day."

Kurt reached out and placed his hand over one of Blaine's, squeezing it gently. "I know it sucks, but there's not really much we can do. I want to make it possible for people to go to school without fear of being taunted and harassed and I bring up the situation at every opportunity I can, but it's hard on your own, especially when they want solid evidence to prove what I'm saying is true and no one who sees is willing to back me up."

Taking in Kurt's dejected posture and weak smile, Blaine was filled with determination. "I'm going to get out of this attic and join you at school and I'm going to help you with this," he said with conviction. "I hate seeing you like this and I really hate sitting here during the day knowing what you're facing at school."

Giving his hand another squeeze, one side of Kurt's mouth lifted. "I appreciate that, but I don't want you to rush into something you aren't ready for."

But Blaine was possessed with the fierce determination to do this, to finally leave the attic, to start interacting with other people again, to be with Kurt at his school before the harassment reached the level it had at his school.

"I want to start living my life again," he told Kurt, holding the taller boy's gaze as he returned the pressure of his hand, drawing from him the courage to take his first big steps toward returning to everyday society again. "I don't want to hide away up here anymore, and the longer I stay up here the harder it will be for me to leave."

Some of the concern was fading from Kurt's eyes, the determination in Blaine's expression and the force behind his words helping to somewhat alleviate Kurt's fears.

"You've given me the strength to be able to do this, Kurt," Blaine continued, his tone softer than it had been before. "Your support, and encouragement, and friendship...I can't even begin to tell you how helpful you've been in getting me to this point."

Tears were filling Kurt's eyes and Blaine's emotions were threatening to choke him up. He paused for a moment to breathe deeply and try to regain some control; it was important for him to say all of this.

"If it wasn't for you..." Blaine shook his head. "I don't know where I'd be now. I told myself in the early days after leaving home that I'd be able to make a new life for myself, but that became less of a possibility with each passing day. But then you showed up-" a smile twitched on Blaine's face at the memory- "and everything changed. You didn't tell anyone I was up here or kick me out on the streets. You brought me food, clothes, books, blankets, company, friendship, and a possibility of a future and I can never thank you enough for that."

His voice was rough and choked. Tears were shining on Kurt's cheeks.

"Kurt, you're just..." He trailed off, shaking his head, unable to think of the words. "You have such a big heart and if I could have half of your courage and kindness I would be happy." He swallowed thickly and whispered, "I'm so glad to have you in my life."

Kurt was staring at him with an intense, unreadable expression in his tear-filled eyes. He had gone very still during Blaine's speech and his gaze never once wavered from Blaine's face. "Blaine," he whispered. "I-" He opened and closed his mouth and then dropped Blaine's hand before leaning forwards and wrapping his arms around him.

Blaine slid his arms around Kurt's waist, tucking his chin over his shoulder and closing his eyes as he held the other boy close. Kurt squeezed him lightly; then, after a moment, pulled back a little to meet his gaze. "You are just as brave as I am," he told him. "I don't think I could have survived everything you have, never mind come through it all still a sweet, genuine guy like you are. I knew that you were someone different, someone special - that's why I kept your secret." He lifted his right hand off Blaine's shoulder to brush a curl out of Blaine's eyes. "You're special, Blaine," he whispered.

Blaine clutched at Kurt's back a little tighter and he sighed softly when Kurt's hand skimmed his cheek as he moved it to rest it on his shoulder again. They were only inches apart, still holding each other's gazes and something flickered between them. Kurt's eyes lowered briefly and he leaned a little closer, his breath ghosting over Blaine's mouth and cheek.

"Can I?" Kurt asked quietly, his eyes seeking Blaine's permission.

Unable to speak, Blaine simply nodded, his pulse racing and his arms trembling as Kurt slowly closed the space between them, brushing his lips lightly over Blaine's, still giving him the chance to back away if it was too much. When Blaine's eyes fluttered closed and he leaned into Kurt's touch, Kurt kissed him again. This kiss was more than just a light touch; this time Blaine could feel the soft silkiness of Kurt's lips, could taste him on his tongue: coffee, a faint sweetness, and a delicious, unique taste that could only be Kurt. This time, Blaine kissed him back, massaging Kurt's lips with his own and tentatively parting his lips further as Kurt kissed him harder, inhaling sharply through his nose when Kurt sucked gently on his bottom lip. He exhaled shakily when they parted and kept his eyes closed as he rested his forehead against Kurt's, continuing to float in the rush of emotion, affection, closeness, Kurt.

"I'm so glad to have you in my life," Kurt echoed in a murmur.

The sense of belonging and being wanted filled the last of the dark, achingly lonely voids inside of him and Blaine felt stronger and braver than he had ever felt in his life.

Kurt had spent many a boring class at school or a night lying in bed unable to fall asleep fantasizing about kissing Blaine, and while the feeling of Blaine's lips against his own had far exceeded any wistful fantasy his imagination had conjured up, the aftermath of their kiss was completely different to what Kurt had imagined, and not in a good way.

Their behaviour around each other had barely changed: they hadn't kissed again except for a few pecks on the cheek or forehead, which weren't much more than friendly, and they didn't really act any differently. They sometimes held hands and had cuddled together a few times, but it was not what Kurt had expected at all; it was almost as if they had never even kissed. It was confusing, but while Kurt felt more comfortable with taking Blaine's hand or resting his head on his shoulder, he was a bit uncertain with initiating another kiss between them. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he figured it was because he wanted to give Blaine a bit of space while he was preparing to take his first steps towards leaving the attic for good. This was a big moment for him, one that still scared him, and the last thing Kurt wanted to do was add something else onto his already full plate. Though Blaine had returned his kiss, he still wasn't sure Blaine was quite ready for a relationship on top of everything else just now. He decided to let Blaine be the none to initiate any further advances in their relationship; that way he would know Blaine was ready.

As part of Blaine working towards leaving the attic permanently, he had been spending most of the time when Kurt's family was out down in the house, mostly in Kurt's bedroom, though he now ate any meal he had during this time in the kitchen and they would occasionally sit in the living room and watch TV or a movie. It didn't take long for Blaine to become comfortable with this, and after less than a week he was helping Kurt cook in the kitchen and flopping down on Kurt's bed with an exclamation of relief after finishing a particularly long essay for English. Because of this, Blaine had decided he was ready for the next step: meeting Rachel.

Kurt had debated long and hard about who would be the first person Blaine met and had ruled out his family members straight away; he didn't want Blaine's living situation to be brought up while he was so vulnerable.

Remembering Blaine's reaction to the sound of Burt coming up the stairs and knowing his past history with his dad and the jocks at his old school, Kurt had decided one of his female friends would probably be best to begin with and as she was Kurt's best friend, Rachel had been the obvious person he thought of. Despite being quite loud, bossy, and a lot to take in, Rachel was relatively unthreatening with her small stature and her ability to comfort people when they most needed it, and Kurt was hoping Blaine would be at ease in her presence. Rachel was also trustworthy: she had kept everything to herself that Kurt had asked her not to share and he knew she would never breathe a word about Blaine to anyone if he told her not to. Now all he had to do was tell her his, Blaine's, and his house's biggest secret.

Twisting the end of his scarf nervously between his fingers, Kurt watched the people entering and exiting the Lima Bean as he waited for Rachel to appear. He had called her yesterday and asked her to meet up for coffee, not revealing that he was planning on telling her a huge, shocking secret - he didn't want to get into any details over the phone.

He glanced at the time on his phone again as he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. She had said that she might be late since she was coming straight from dance class, but he wished she wasn't. Lifting his coffee cup to his mouth with trembling hands, he took a shaky sip and went back to staring at the door again.

Blaine had seemed fairly calm when Kurt visited him briefly that morning, the paleness of his face and silence as he ate the breakfast Kurt brought him the only signs of his nerves. Kurt had promised to go straight up to see him as soon as he got home to tell him how it went and he had given the shorter boy a reassuring hug before he left, his stomach churning with anxiety. He wanted this to go smoothly so badly, he wanted Blaine to start living his dreams again, and how soon that would be possible all depended on how Rachel reacted.

Gripping his coffee cup tightly, Kurt inhaled sharply and felt his stomach twist and knot in a way that made him feel nauseous as a familiar short, dark-haired girl walked into the coffee shop, her dance bag slung over one arm and wearing an outfit he would have shaken his head at and criticised had he not been so nervous. He forced a friendly, relaxed smile on his face as Rachel waved at him on her way up to the counter and struggled to hold it on his face as she got herself a coffee and wove her way through the tables to join him.

"Sorry, I'm late," she apologised when she reached the table. She set her bag down beside the chair and sat down. "I wasn't completely satisfied with how I did some moves today, so I stayed after class to practice a little longer until I was happy." She smiled at him. "You know how important it is to never end a practice session until you're happy, you'll never succeed in the competitive world of theatre if you don't."

"Sure," Kurt agreed absently, his mind flicking through all the possible ways to tell Rachel about Blaine, searching for the best one.

Rachel swallowed a mouthful of coffee. "So what have you been up to lately? This is the first time we've had coffee in ages."

"Rachel, if I tell you something do you promise not to breathe a word about it to anyone?" Kurt blurted out, deciding to just cut to the chase before he was sick with nerves.

Setting her coffee down, Rachel leaned towards him across the small table, her eyes wide and earnest. "Of course I do," she promised. "You can tell me anything, Kurt, no matter how big the secret is - you know that."

Kurt nodded slowly. "This isn't just my secret though, and it's huge, someone's life could be drastically altered forever if you tell anyone," he warned her.

"I won't tell anyone, I promise," Rachel swore.

"Ok," Kurt breathed, nodding again. "Ok," he repeated. He met Rachel's curious gaze. "There's this guy-"

"Oh my gosh, you have a secret boyfriend?" Rachel shrieked. At Kurt's glare, she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Sorry," she whispered through her fingers.

Ignoring the heat threatening to creep across his face at the conclusion Rachel had jumped to - it was almost right - he took a deep breath and started again, this time taking a different approach.

"Remember how you told me that all stories are based on fact back when you still believed my house was haunted?"

Rachel frowned and Kurt could almost see her mind ticking away behind her eyes, wondering how this related to the boy he had started to talk about before her interruption. "Yeah..." she replied after a pause.

"Well, you were right; there was some truth behind those stories. The noises neighbours heard during the night, the shadows seen at windows, the feeling that something was off about the house: that was all true."

Rachel looked even more confused and a hint of worry was starting to creep into her expression. "What are you saying?" she asked tentatively.

"I started hearing noises during the night after we moved into the house and I noticed food was disappearing and some of my books were going missing then reappearing again - remember that essay writing book Mercedes want to borrow that I couldn't find?" At Rachel's nod, he continued, "One night when I was home alone I decided to find out what the cause of all it was and when I went up into the attic, I-" He breathed out shakily and gripped at his coffee cup for support - this is it. "I found a teenage boy living up there; he had been there for around six months."

Rachel gasped, her mouth falling open as she stared at Kurt in complete shock. Kurt took another shaky sip of coffee as he apprehensively awaited her response, letting her have some time to take in what was surely a bombshell.

She mouthed wordlessly at him for a few seconds, before she managed to stutter out a response. "And you- How- Has he-" She took another moment to try and form a coherent thought. "How long ago did you find him?"

"A few months ago," he replied, worrying on his bottom lip with his teeth as he carefully watched his friend's reaction.

Worry flickered across Rachel's face. "And he's still living in your attic?" she asked.

Kurt nodded cautiously. Rachel's expression shifted and he hastened to reassure her of Blaine's credibility before she started to lecture him on how unsafe it was to keep allowing a strange, homeless boy to live in his house. "He's nothing like what you're thinking, he isn't a criminal or a drug addict or- or anything like that, he's just a sweet, polite boy who was forced to leave his own home and has nowhere else to go." He bit down so hard on his lip he tasted blood as he fought back tears at the memory of finding Blaine and the thought of what would happen if Rachel went against his wishes and told someone about him. "And please don't ask me how I can be sure of that, I- I just know, ok?" He swallowed thickly and dropped his gaze down to his coffee cup, no longer wanting to see Rachel's expression. "He's my friend," he said in a small voice.

Silence followed his words and he continued to stare at his coffee, holding back his tears and silently pleading for Rachel to understand and keep her promise.

"What's his name?" Rachel asked eventually and Kurt almost started sobbing with relief.

He lifted his gaze from his coffee to see Rachel watching him, still looking concerned but not like she had been a moment ago. "Blaine," he told her quietly. "His name is Blaine." A memory flashed before him: Blaine... My name is Blaine.

"Blaine," she echoed quietly, nodding her head slightly as though she was still trying to piece everything together in her mind to decide how she felt about it all. "And how old is Blaine?"

"Seventeen." Kurt shifted in his chair as Rachel nodded yet again. "Look, Rachel, he's still living in my attic partly because he doesn't have anywhere else to go, but mostly because he's scared, scared of being picked up by the police, scared of being sent back to live with his parents, scared of being forced to live in some shelter, and scared of being around other people in case they contact the authorities, kick him out on the streets, or abuse him again - yes," he added, seeing Rachel's eyes widen with dawning realisation and the question forming on her lips, "his parents abused him, along with a number of students at his old school. That's why he ran away."

Rachel's shock had faded and was replaced by a mixture of concern, sympathy, and horror. "That's awful," she murmured, her eyebrows drawn together into a pained frown. She licked her lips, shifting uncertainly in her chair. "Why- Why was he abused? Do you know?"

Sighing, Kurt rubbed a hand over his face, suddenly feeling weary. "The same reason I get treated like shit at school: he's gay."

Rachel's mouth made a small ‘oh' shape, though no sound came out. She fumbled for words for a moment. "And you're-"

"Helping him?" Kurt asked, taking a fortifying gulp of his cooling coffee. "Yes, I've been bringing him food and clothes, been spending time with him, and I became his friend." His expression and voice softened. "He's a nice guy, Rach. A nice guy who's had shit happen in his life and everyone he knew turned on him just because of who he is."

Rachel nodded. "I believe you," she said quietly.

Kurt breathed a sigh of relief and the sickening churning in his stomach began to fade away. "Will you come meet him tomorrow? He needs to start trusting people other than me before he is ready to meet my family and leave the attic for good."

He could see at least a dozen more questions in Rachel's eyes at his words, but she didn't ask them; instead she just nodded. "I'll meet him."