The next day, Blaine avoided his friends as well as possible. If he was really going to sneak out around noon, he couldn't let too many people see him now. Naturally, though, Nick and Jeff waved happily at him when he snuck off to his dorm during study hall, but he pretended not to see them. That would only lead to questions and delays. After quickly changing out of his uniform and into something he hoped was fashionable enough for Kurt (and Mercedes, in case they ran into her), he grabbed his car keys and his bag and left the building as inconspicuously as possible.

In an attempt to appease Wes (whose voice seemed to have invaded Blaine's mind), he sang Hey, soul sister about a dozen times before he'd had enough and changed to the other song they were supposed to sing at Sectionals, but hadn't really practised during the past week or so. For a moment, Blaine stilled. What if this extra meeting was to start on their other song? Seeing as he was almost in Lima already, Blaine saw no point in turning around. The rest of the Warblers could start rehearsing the harmonies already, he figured. That, and the choreography; Blaine could practise that in his spare time.

He shot Kurt a quick text when he was a few minutes away from the school, and when he arrived at McKinley's parking lot, Kurt was already loitering near the front doors. When he noticed that it was Blaine who'd arrived, he walked up to the car and reached it just as Blaine locked it.

"Hey, you," Blaine greeted him happily. He was certain his grin had taken over his face, and it was all because of Kurt.

"Hey," Kurt said in return, glancing around swiftly before giving Blaine a quick hug. "You really didn't need to do this."

"Well, like I said… I wanted to," Blaine retorted playfully. "If it bothers you so much, you can just come to Dalton again next time, alright?"

"I think I could live with that," Kurt conceded. With a slight smirk, he added, "I approve of the outfit, by the way. I'm glad you decided to wear something different from your uniform this time." As Blaine smiled in thanks, Kurt asked, "So… what did you have in mind? Did you want to go somewhere, or…?"

"Is there a restaurant around here where we could get some lunch?" Blaine asked. "I haven't eaten yet, and…"

Kurt smiled. "As far as I'm aware, Breadstix is the only restaurant near here that has edible food. We can always go to the Lima Bean, maybe they've got sandwiches? I normally don't go there at this hour of the day, so I'm not sure."

Blaine nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds like a plan. Shall we go?"

Kurt's attention was momentarily elsewhere. "Can we stop by my locker really quickly? I think I accidentally put my phone in there in my haste to get outside." Blaine thought the sheepish look Kurt was currently sporting was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen, so he was quick to agree. Not that he wouldn't have agreed otherwise, of course.

As they walked through the hallways, Blaine looked around wearily. There was a feeling he couldn't shake, and this school didn't seem very safe and friendly indeed. He didn't know how Kurt did it; he himself would've tried to find a way out of here a very long time ago.

And to think that there weren't even a lot of people around at this moment. Blaine suspected that they must either be in the cafeteria or in class, but it did help him feel a little safer.

He shouldn't have felt at ease so quickly.

Out of nowhere, he was slammed into the locker next to Kurt's. Glancing up dazedly, he could just make out Kurt kneeling down next to him to see if he was alright, before he was also pushed further down.

"Hey!" Kurt shouted at the culprit, a big guy in a letterman jacket who was walking away like he hadn't just physically assaulted two people. Blaine couldn't be sure, but this might just be Karofsky, Kurt's biggest bully. Kurt seemed to have had enough of being pushed around, though, if his standing up and chasing after the boy was anything to go by.

Blaine hastily got up as well, ignoring his throbbing head and the fact that his shoulder and back would be entirely bruised by tomorrow. He supposed it was a lucky thing that he usually slept on his stomach, but that was something he'd think about later. Now, he had to make sure that this Neanderthal wasn't hurting Kurt anymore than he'd already done. So, as fast as he could, Blaine sprinted after Kurt until he couldn't see him anymore.

Then, an angry voice drifted towards him – Kurt. He took off again, hoping that he wouldn't be too late. He would never forgive himself if he would. He didn't even notice the tall blond woman he almost bumped into – not even when he hurried into what appeared to be the locker rooms and she was almost directly behind him.

"Stop it!" Blaine cried out, not knowing where his sudden bravery came from. As both Kurt and his bully were distracted for a moment, Blaine put himself firmly in between the two, intent on protecting Kurt from this Neanderthal.

Said Neanderthal, however, just scowled. "This your boyfriend, Kurt?" he scoffed, and he made to push Blaine into the lockers.

"Stop right there, Karofsky," someone said from the doorway, and all three boys whirled around to see the tall blond woman Blaine knew to be Sue Sylvester. "To my office, right now. Porcelain, Hobbit – you're coming as well."

Protesting heavily, claiming that Kurt had been peeking at his junk in the locker room, Karofsky was directed to wherever Ms Sylvester's office was. Still a little shocked at what had just gone down, Blaine turned towards Kurt. "Are you okay?" he asked gingerly, placing a careful hand at the other boy's shoulder.

Kurt nodded hesitantly. "Yeah, I guess. Nothing he hasn't done before, but thanks for stepping in."

Blaine smiled. "Well, of course. What kind of a lousy boyfriend would I be if I didn't stick up for you?"

"We should – we should probably go to the principal's office, too," Kurt said after a few seconds. At Blaine's confused look, he added, "Didn't I tell you about how coach Sylvester got Figgins fired and took his place? Well, she did. She's the principal now."

"Lead the way, then," Blaine replied, and as they walked, he said, "I'm sorry, by the way. If I hadn't decided to come over today, you wouldn't have been in the hallway when Karofsky walked by."

"He pushes me into lockers every time I see him," Kurt said, and that was new. Blaine had known that the bullying had taken a turn for the worse, but locker slams every chance those bullies got? That was ridiculously extreme. "I guess I just… cracked, now, which could've happened any day now. I suppose I was lucky you were there and followed me, actually."

"There are scholarships available, you know," Blaine blurted out. "For Dalton, I mean. I know your dad can't… afford to send you there, but you could always apply for a scholarship. And there are probably also special… plans, or something, for extreme situations like yours. You don't have to go through all this abuse, Kurt."

"As wonderful as that sounds, Blaine, I don't think I could leave my dad, and my friends. They need me." Still, Kurt sounded stricken.

"I never said you had to decide right now," Blaine reminded him. "Just – when it gets to be too much, know that you have other options besides being bullied. And you don't really have to leave them – you don't have to board at Dalton, you can commute, too."

"Why do you have to make it sound so perfect?" Kurt muttered, smiling fondly. "Well, anyway, we're here," he added before Blaine could reply. "Did I ever warn you about coach Sylvester before?" Blaine nodded. "Good. At least you have some sort of idea what to expect." He frowned. "Not that that helps, but at least you're a little bit prepared."

Before either boy could knock, a voice came from inside. "Don't just stand there, I can hear you breathing from miles away."

Hastily, Blaine pushed the door open, and he and Kurt entered the room. Karofsky was sitting in one of the chairs, glaring at them, and Blaine inched a little closer to Kurt.

"Sit," Ms Sylvester ordered them, and they instantly sat down on a small couch. "Now, Gelhead, I have no idea who you are or what you are doing here, and honestly, I couldn't care less about it either. You look like Schuester's long lost son even more than that smarmy Carmel kid from last year did. I would tell you to get out and wait outside, or drag you to court for trespassing, but I have a feeling you would start singing about it and I really can't stand that."

Blaine blinked owlishly at her. Was this woman serious? He felt Kurt squeezing his hand swiftly before letting go again – just in time for Ms Sylvester to continue speaking.

"Now, which one of you is going to tell me what I just saw in the locker room?" she asked impatiently, and apparently, Karofsky had been waiting for this chance ever since he'd got caught.

"Those two fairies were trying to peek at my junk," he spat, glaring at Kurt and Blaine with an ever-intensifying glare. "I was just putting them in their place."

"Porcelain?" Ms Sylvester said expectantly. Blaine didn't know the woman very well, but he definitely didn't think that she believed what Karofsky was saying.

"He shoved us into a locker," Kurt said softly, "like he always does. I'd had enough, so I ran after him when he walked off. And I definitely would never even think about peeking at his junk," he added with an obvious shiver. "I'm not that desperate."

Blaine pursed his lips to prevent himself from laughing. Somehow, he didn't think that would go over well in present company.

"Eyebrows, what do you have to say about all this?" Surprised, Blaine looked up. He hadn't thought he'd get a chance to speak.

"I wanted to make sure he wouldn't hurt Kurt any further," he said carefully. "When I came into the locker room, it looked like he was about to punch Kurt."

"Is that true, Porcelain?" she asked, and Kurt nodded quickly.

"You don't believe them, do you?" Karofsky exclaimed. "Those fags are – "

"Hold it right there, Karofsky," Ms Sylvester interrupted him. "I know what I saw, and what I saw was not two gay boys sneaking up on you. From what I hear, the opposite is true. Besides, I had security cameras installed all around the school in order to make sure nobody would ever get away with spying on the Cheerios. If you're so sure about your story, why don't we have a closer look at what's been caught on tape?"

It was almost – almost – comical how swiftly Karofsky's face went from red to white. Kurt seemed surprised as well by the fact that there were cameras in the school.

"So, Karofsky," Ms Sylvester said. "Don't think I won't hesitate to search for evidence and punish you the next time Porcelain comes in and tells me you or any of your friends tried something, so spread the word, and stay away from him next time."

Blaine was actually a little disappointed, he found. He'd somehow expected McKinley's new principal to do something about the bullying situation Kurt was facing. It seemed like she was hardly any different from most high school teachers in Ohio, though.

When Ms Sylvester started speaking again, Karofsky was already gone, but Blaine wasn't feeling much safer. "Now, Porcelain," she said, "this kid lays a finger on you, you come straight to me, and I'll do what I can for you." Leaning back in her chair, she continued. "The world's a cruel place. People are mean. But this is my school now, and I will not tolerate students physically and emotionally abusing one another for something they can't do anything about. Now get out, I feel like I'm slowly suffocating here from all the chemicals in both your hairdos."

Both boys got up immediately, and while Kurt nodded at her in thanks, Blaine moved to the door. Once outside, Kurt took a deep breath before wiping his face clean of any fear or anger. "Let's go have some lunch," he announced faux-happily.

As soon as they turned around the corner, though, they, once again, came face to face with Karofsky, who did not look happy at all. "If either of you tries to tell on me and my buddies ever again, I will kill you both," he snarled, slamming his fist into the nearest locker for good measure, and Blaine wondered how Ms Sylvester couldn't hear that – they weren't that far away from her office, after all.

With one more threatening look, Karofsky disappeared again, and Blaine felt Kurt trembling next to him. "We should… tell someone," he uttered. "Kurt, we can't let him get away with this."

"Didn't you hear him, Blaine?" Kurt asked, voice barely louder than a whisper. "He'll kill us if we do. And if he doesn't, his friends will." He sank down against the lockers, Blaine sitting down next to him. "Promise me you won't tell anyone," Kurt muttered. "Blaine, you have to – to promise me."

"I promise," Blaine replied, slightly shaken by what had just taken place, and by this side of Kurt he'd never seen before. "But Kurt – it's not safe for you here, don't you – "

"Of course I know that, Blaine," Kurt shot back, sounding annoyed. "But I can't just leave. We already discussed this. I'll be fine. It's only another year and a half." Blaine didn't want to think about what could happen to Kurt here in a year and a half, but kept his mouth shut. It was obvious that Kurt didn't want to talk about this.

"Uh – Kurt, dude? Are you okay?" As Blaine glanced up, he saw a giant. Alright, maybe not a giant, but the guy in front of them came pretty close to how Blaine envisioned giants.

"I'm fine, Finn," Kurt said curtly. He stood up and dusted himself off, and Blaine took this as his own cue to do the same. "We were just heading out to grab some lunch. I'll see you later."

Before giving his (apparently) stepbrother-to-be a chance to respond, Kurt all but dragged Blaine out of the school, only stopping when they'd reached Blaine's car.

"So that was Finn?" Blaine asked as he attempted to find his car keys. "He's… tall."

Kurt hummed in agreement. "Yep, that idiot is going to be my stepbrother after this weekend."

Not really knowing what to say to that, Blaine finally located his keys and opened his car. Kurt wouldn't let him hold open his door for him, so Blaine just got in. The drive to the Lima Bean was spent in a rather awkward silence. Going over today's events in his head, he grabbed the steering wheel harder than he had to, and noticed this only as he pulled into the Lima Bean parking lot. After shutting down the car, he said, "I'm really sorry about today."

"Blaine, you didn't do anything wrong," Kurt said, grabbing his hand. "Nothing that happened today was your fault, okay? If anything, I should be the one apologising – if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even be in this mess right now."

"No, Kurt," Blaine protested. "Don't say that."

Kurt smiled sadly at him. "Let's head inside. I don't know about you, but I'm craving some coffee right now."

Once they'd ordered their coffees and, in Blaine's case, a sandwich, they sat down at their usual table, marvelling about the fact that even now, it wasn't occupied. When Kurt started talking about the latest Vogue issue, though, Blaine frowned.

"So we're not going to talk about this?" he asked, making sure that no one around them could hear. "We're going to pretend nothing happened?"

"Blaine," Kurt said quietly, "it happened. See, we'll just… have to make sure not to tell anyone about it, and we'll be fine."

"That guy threatened to kill us," Blaine hissed. "Telling someone would be the most logical thing to do, don't you think?"

"He'll kill us, Blaine," Kurt repeated. "If we tell anyone, it'll somehow get back to him, and we're doomed."

"If we tell someone, they could help us – maybe he'd get sent to juvie, or something," Blaine countered.

"Then his friends will finish his dirty job," Kurt said, rubbing his face. "Look, Blaine – can we discuss this some other time? I'm not really in the mood right now."

Realising well enough that Kurt would never be in the mood to talk about this – and, to be fair, neither would Blaine – Blaine reluctantly let the matter go. He didn't feel very comfortable about it, but it was Kurt's school, and if Kurt thought it best not to talk about it, not to each other, nor to anyone else, then Blaine would accept that.