As the summer passed, Kurt and Blaine only grew closer. Every day they would meet at the playground and play together. By 4:00pm, they would return to Elizabeth’s side and they would go to the Hummel’s house for afternoon snack and play for the rest of the afternoon until Mrs. Anderson would arrive to bring Blaine home. Every evening ended the same with Blaine begging to stay longer so that he and Kurt would be together. On the weekends, when Mr. Anderson was away on business, Kurt would sometimes go over to Blaine’s house.

By the time September came around the two boys were inseparable.

One day near the end of August, Kurt and his mother arrived at the playground as usual. Mrs. Hummel pulled out her book and assumed her position on the bench at the far edge of the playground. She pulled her son over by the collar of his pink striped turtleneck, giving him a kiss and sending him on his way. Kurt skipped across the grass, scanning the groups of kids for one boy in particular. The boy with the dark curly hair that, no matter how hard he tried, could not be tamed. The boy with the contagious smile. The boy with the liquid gold eyes that one could get lost in.  The boy named Blaine Anderson.

But Blaine was nowhere to be found.

Kurt searched for Blaine everywhere they usually hung out, including some places they didn’t tend to go. But he was not there.

Kurt sat on one of the swings in the far corner, trying to figure out what to do with himself. This was the first time since they had met that Blaine hadn’t showed up. What was he to do?

Kurt halfheartedly swung his feet in a feeble attempt to swing.

Where is he? Kurt wondered. Is he bored with me? Did I scare him away?

Kurt wasn’t sure his heart could sink any lower.

“Hummel.”

And then it did.

Kurt twisted in his seat, knowing all too well who had called his name. James and Jeremy Bubb stood side by side looking down on him.

“What are you doing over here, Hummel?” James asked.

“Swinging.” Kurt said defensively. The Bubbs hadn’t bothered him as much as they used to ever since Blaine threw them to the ground back in June. There were occasions when the brothers would trip one of them, spit at them, or give them dirty looks, but the physical and verbal abuse had lessened considerably.

Where was Blaine?

“Thanks for that, Smarty Pants.” Jeremy added. “What we meant was, where is your boyfriend Blake?”

“Blake?” Kurt scoffed, “You mean Blaine?”

“Whatever.” The twins said together.

“He’s on his way here.” Kurt lied. “So you two better go.”

The only place the Bubbs went was in front of Kurt, stopping his kicking legs.

“We don’t like what you’ve been doing, Hummel.” Jeremy said. “Our older brother, Aaron, says that you and Blare are bad people.”

“Blaine,” Kurt corrected again.

“Hey!” Jeremy said, taking hold of the chains of the swing and leaning over him, “I don’t like the way you’ve been talking to us, Hummel.”

“You’ve gotten a big head because of that boyfriend of yours.” James finished, sliding up next to his brother.

Kurt tried to get away from them effectively falling backwards off the swing with a thud! and he felt his confidence shatter. He suddenly realized the situation he was in. On the far end of the playground. Surrounded by two boys who hated him. Without Blaine. Alone. This was not good.

“You know, James,” His brother mocked advancing on the small boy before them, “I heard from Aaron that having a big head can be a very bad thing.”

“We might have to fix that little problem.” James said.

“It would be the good thing to do.”

“Yes, it would. But how do we fix a big head, Jeremy?”

“Simple, brother.” Jeremy sneered down at Kurt, “We deflate it.”

Kurt’s heart sank. These boys really did want to hurt him, didn’t they? What was he to do? Where was Blaine? Why wasn’t Blaine here? Would he ever come? What was he supposed to do now? What would Blaine do?

Defend yourself. Stand up for yourself.

Kurt couldn’t do those things. That would get him killed. No, he couldn’t do that.

Run.

Jeremy and James moved forward, intent on their target. Kurt wasted no time, he scrambled onto his feet at took off. He had no idea where he was going, only that he had to get away. Jeremy and James might have been bigger, but Kurt was faster.

He sprinted toward the playground’s massive Jungle Gym to try to escape. He raced up the stairs; sure that he had made his escape. Kurt was sure he had lost the twins, until he turned at the top of the slide and saw them running at him. Their eyes burned, angry at the chase Kurt had put up so far.

“Hummel!”

“Get back here!”

Kurt obviously had no intention of doing so. Not now. He did, however, have a plan. When the twins made their way over to the stairs to chase him, he would simply slide down the slide and get another lead on them. Then he could run into a more populated part of the playground, preferably with parents present. They couldn’t do anything then! Then he could look for Blaine and they could play together. It was foolproof!

Foolproof, until Jeremy and James headed up the slid instead of the stairs.

Kurt stared in horror. This was not supposed to happen. He turned on his heel and fled farther onto the Jungle Gym. There was nowhere he could go. He would be caught if he tried to make it down the stairs or back down to the slide.

Nowhere but up.

He spied a decorative over hang high up on the structure. Kurt began to climb. Luckily for Kurt, he was nimble enough to make it to the top before the Bubbs reached him.

Enraged, the twins jumped up and down, trying to reach the poor, frightened boy. Kurt curled in on himself, tucking his knees under his chin. He wanted Blaine. With Blaine around, this wouldn’t have happened. Where was he? Blaine said that he would be here forever.

He cautiously looked down below him at the boys.

“Get down here, Hummel!” One of the twins shouted.

“Yeah, you coward, get down here! You need to be put in your place! You and that little faggy boyfriend of yours!” The other spat.

Kurt felt like he had been stabbed in the heart.

Faggy? He thought, his eyes beginning to water. What does that mean? It  sound- it sounds terrible…

“Jeremy!? James?!” called an authoritative voice from a group of mothers. “Where are you? It’s time to go!”

“Well, get you, Hummel, mark our words. The world isn’t meant for faggots like you!”

The two blonde boys turned and left Kurt alone atop the Jungle Gym. Kurt stared as they ran away, his vision becoming increasingly blurry with tears. He wrapped his arms around his knees tightly and buried his head, finally releasing his sobs. He stayed that way until he could hear his mother calling his name. Carefully, Kurt climbed down from his spot, wiping his eyes. He tried to compose himself so that his mother could not see how upset he was.

“Bonjour, mon ch�ri!” his mother greeted cheerfully. “Where have you been all day? A- and where is Blaine?”

“Oh, yeah, Blaine couldn’t come today. I’ve been, uh, on the swings all day.” Kurt sniffed.

“Oh, that is too bad.” Elizabeth leaned down to brush the hair out of Kurt’s eyes, “Kurt, sweetie, are you alright? You seem sad and your eyes are kind of red and puffy.”

Kurt quickly plastered on the best smile he could muster, “Oh no, I miss Blaine is all, Mama. And my eyes are red because I think my allergies are acting up!” She smiled and laughed, “I’ll give you some allergy medicine when we get home, okay?”

Kurt let out the breath he wasn’t aware he had been holding and thought to himself that he might try to be an actor when he grows up.

On the walk home, Kurt tried his best to act as normal as possible, trying not to let his mother know of the confrontation he had had earlier in the day. As his father was working late, Elizabeth tucked Kurt into bed that night. She kissed her son on the cheek and made to leave the room.

“Mommy?” Kurt squeaked.

“Oui, mon beau gar�on?"

“Can I ask you something?” He said, sitting up in his bed.

“Of course, my love.”

Kurt sighed and looked at his tiny hands, “Do you know what a- a faggot is?”

Elizabeth’s eyebrows shot to her hairline, her eyes wide.

“Where did you hear that word, Kurt?” She asked, trying hard to stay composed.

“Well, some boys called me that today.”

“You and Blaine?”

Kurt nodded.

“What is it? Is it a bad word?”

“A- that word, that word is not a nice word, Kurt. It’s a mean word that mean people use to put down other people.”

“But what does it mean?”

“I, uh, well, it’s a bad word to call boys who like boys.”

“So if it’s a bad word, does that mean that I’m bad?”

“No!” she breathed, scooting closer to her son and taking his hand. “No, sweetheart. Just because a word is bad, doesn’t mean the people are bad. Kurt, what you and Blaine share is very special. A friendship like yours, so sweet, so strong, so pure; is hard to come by. A relationship like that is something to be protected. Kurt, sweetie, hold onto it, hold onto your friendship with Blaine because even though there might be people in your lives who tell you that what you have is wrong, it’s not. It is the purest kind of relationship and one that should be looked after. Promise me that you won’t let anyone tell you otherwise, okay baby?”

Kurt smiled at his mother with heavy eyes. “Yes, mama. I promise.”

“There’s my boy.” She leaned over and kissed his forehead, getting up from her spot on the bed. “Goodnight, Kurt.”

“G’night, mommy. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She choked out, a lump in her throat.

As she shut the door behind her, Elizabeth let out a sob. Kurt was still so young and already people were judging him. There was no way she could know if Kurt would develop feelings for his friend, they were far too young. But she wanted to make sure that if he ever did, he knew that it was not wrong. That he was free to love anyone his heart desired.