That afternoon, April 11th, as soon as 6th period was out, Blaine got a phone call from his brother-in-law. Mia had been diagnosed with Stage 2 ovarian cancer, but they caught it extremely early. He knew this was a good thing, because it meant that she could be cured. The doctors had been a little nervous at first, because this kind of cancer usually didn't present symptoms early on. They were worried that it was more progressed, that it was worse.

After that call, Blaine had gone straight to his room. He sent Wes a text message saying he didn't feel well and was sorry about missing the first rehearsal of the week, and Wes had just told him to feel better.

He didn't really want to tell anyone about his sister just yet, even though only Wes, David, Kurt and Jeff knew what was going on. Kurt had been the most concerned, but the least pushy; he didn't try to make Blaine talk. David and Wes, on the other hand, were afraid to leave Blaine alone.

He had stayed at Dalton the previous weekend, since his parents and brother were in Indiana with his sister. He had asked if he could go with them, but Mia told him she wanted him to stay at Dalton, since she'd be in and out of the hospital for tests and he wouldn't get to see her much. As soon as things were more stable, she promised, she wanted him out there.

Is it alright if I come see you? Rehearsal is over. – k

Sure. Is Wes coming up? – b

No, he, David and Thad are having a council meeting. I'm stopping by the cafeteria before they close, want a coffee? – k

Yeah, please. Thanks. – b

Blaine felt a little better. He knew he needed to talk to somebody about this, and Kurt would probably understand more than anyone.

Be there in 5. :) – k

He got up and opened the door a few minutes later when he heard Kurt's knock. The taller boy smiled and handed him his coffee, and Blaine moved aside to let him in.

"Be glad you missed rehearsal today. Wes threw his gavel at Eric, but Eric ducked and it hit Jeff. Then Jeff kind of went crazy and attacked Wes with his own gavel." Kurt sighed, then sat down next to Blaine on his bed.

"Wow. What's the damage?"

"Um, Jeff has a big bump and bruise on his forehead, and possibly a mild concussion. He's in the nurse's office. Wes has a black eye, and since Jeff jumped over the table, the chair is broken. Oh, and David got slapped in the face, but we don't know who did it. It was a little nuts." Kurt took a drink of his coffee.

"Why did Wes throw his gavel at Eric, anyway?" Blaine asked.

"He insulted his girlfriend. Told Wes that Penny wasn't as good a singer as she thought she was."

"Ah. Now I can understand it. Wes is extremely sensitive about his girlfriend. Penny's actually a lot like your friend, Rachel. It's a little scary, actually." Blaine shook his head. "I really hope they get their crap figured out before tomorrow, I don't want to go to rehearsal only to stop a fight."

Kurt took another drink of his coffee, then looked at Blaine. "So, what's up? Why did you miss rehearsal tonight?"

Blaine took a deep breath. "Mia called." He looked away. "Apparently, she has Stage 2 ovarian cancer. It's still early enough that they can treat with a good chance of a full recovery, though." He tried to smile.

"Blaine." Kurt said, his voice quiet. "You know you don't have to be brave here, right? You can say anything, and I won't judge you." Blaine nodded.

They sat in silence for a while, just drinking their coffee. Blaine was surprised when Kurt finished his drink and got up from the bed. "Where are you going?" he asked. He knew he sounded needy, but at that moment, he didn't really care.

"I'm throwing away the cup, Blaine. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." He smiled and dropped the empty cup in the trash can.

"Sorry." Blaine looked down at his own almost-empty cup, his face turning red.

"Don't apologize, you're fine." He sat back down. "So. Are you okay?" he asked quietly, watching as Blaine drained his coffee and set it on the nightstand. The two boys were leaning against the wall, sitting close enough to feel the warmth from each other, but far enough away that they weren't touching. It took a lot of restraint for Kurt not to reach out and take Blaine's hand.

"I don't know. I mean, I think I am. But I only found out a few hours ago." He looked at Kurt. "I'm still scared, though. This is cancer, Kurt. Even if they get it all now, it could come back. She could get worse."

"She could. Or she could get it all removed and be completely fine and live a great, long, healthy life with lots of kids. You never know."

"Yeah." Blaine looked thoughtful.

"I'm not going to tell you not to be upset right now, because you have every reason to be. But I know you; you're going through all the worst-case scenarios in your head right now, and that's not going to help you feel any better." Blaine looked guilty; he had been thinking the worst. "I know that you have a tendency to want to protect people, and I know you probably want to rush to Indiana right now to protect Mia, but you really can't do that." He opened his mouth to speak, but Kurt continued. "What you can do, however, is tell me how you feel. Any time. Text, call, email, whatever. I know I wasn't here this weekend, but you didn't message me once. I was worried."

"I kind of wanted to be left alone; I only talked to my family." He explained. He felt bad for not contacting Kurt; he knew he worried, but he didn't really feel like talking to anyone.

"I get it." He smiled and leaned into Blaine, knocking their shoulders. "Don't worry about it. I just want you to know that you can talk to me. 'Kay?"

"Okay." Blaine grinned, and felt a little better. It was nice having Kurt in his life.

"Hold on, that's my phone…" Kurt started looking through his pockets, and finally found the iPhone. "Hey, babe."

Ah. Jeff.

"No concussion? Good. Are you going back to your room now? Um, yeah. I'm over at Blaine's room. No, I can meet you there. Nope, already got some." He paused for a bit. "No. Don't worry, I'll be there. "'Kay. See you in a few." He hung up.

"So he doesn't have a concussion?" Blaine asked, keeping his voice light.

Kurt got up from the bed. "Apparently not, just a bad headache. He's supposed to get checked again tomorrow, since there is a slight chance that he could have one, but the school nurse doubts it."

"That's good. I take it you're leaving?" Blaine asked. He didn't want Kurt to go.

"Yeah, he wants me to meet him at his room. I mean, I can stay here if you want me to…" Kurt seemed concerned at Blaine's facial expression.

"No! No, I'll be okay. I imagine Wes will be back soon, to bitch about your boyfriend. I'll have company." He smiled a fake smile, not realizing that Kurt knew the difference.

"Alright. But if you need anything, you text me. Understand?"

"Yep."

"Okay. I'll talk to you later." He leaned over to give Blaine a quick hug, then walked out the door, leaving Blaine to his thoughts.

.....

"Oh, wow…" Kurt sat down next to Jeff on his bed, his eyes wide and staring at the massive bump on his forehead.

"I'm going to kill Wes. He's dead. You think we can break into his and Blaine's room tonight? My dad owns land. A lot of land. Nobody will find his body." Jeff was obviously still upset, and Kurt didn't blame him. The gavel had hit at exactly the right angle that there was a big, perfect circle just above Jeff's left eyebrow.

"You're not killing anyone. People would look for Wes, and you'd be the first person they'd think to murder him, next to David." Kurt watched Jeff lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes.

"Ugh. I don't think that many people would actually look for him. He's kind of an obnoxious twit." Jeff muttered, and laid down.

"True. Very true." He sighed. "Jeff, you know I want to stay here and baby you, but I have to get going. I'm supposed to help Nick with our French homework." Kurt got up from the bed.

"No." Jeff said.

"I have to."

"I don't want you to go. Stay?"

"Jeff. We have spent almost every day together for the last month, not counting weekends. Nick is about to fail French, and we have a test this Friday. I need to go. Besides, aren't we going out Friday night?" Kurt wouldn't mind staying there for a bit and spending time with his boyfriend, but he really did have to help Nick.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I just really want to spend time with you." Jeff pouted.

"It's alright. I'll see you tomorrow, I've gotta get going."

"Want to get coffee with me before classes tomorrow?" Jeff asked, hopeful.

"Sure. I'll text you when I'm ready to go in the morning." Kurt smiled, and leaned down to kiss him. He didn't expect Jeff to wrap his arms around his waist and pull him down. He started to pull away, about to make some statement about how they had all the time in the world to spend making out, and then Jeff grabbed his ass.

Kurt raised his eyebrows at the contact, and tried to move, but Jeff just held tighter.

"Ten minutes." Jeff's eyes were hooded, and he moved his hands to Kurt's hips. "Take off the blazer and stay a while."

"Jeff." Kurt's voice was laced with warning, but Jeff paid it no mind; he pulled Kurt's hips toward his own, and kissed him hard. Kurt let himself settle on top of Jeff, and kissed him back. He knew he should get back to his room; he should get off of his boyfriend, leave, and go back to his room, but he didn't. Not only did he let Jeff keep kissing him, he kissed him back. Kurt felt Jeff's cold hands slip under his white button-down shirt, moving slowly, like he was relishing the feel of Kurt's skin.

"No, Jeff. I have to go." Kurt got up suddenly. He knew that if he stayed much longer, he'd do something he'd regret. True, he was a teenage boy, but he still had some impulse control. Jeff didn't move for a second, he just watched Kurt walk away. "I'll call you later." Kurt smiled, his face covered in a blush. His hand was on the doorknob when he felt Jeff come up behind him, his hands light on his hips.

"Hold on. You forgot something." Kurt let Jeff turn him around, then Jeff leaned in and kissed him along his jaw. He had been standing a few inches from the door, but Jeff moved forward, pushing him back.

"N-" he opened his mouth to speak, but Jeff covered his mouth with his own, his hands tugging at the waistband of Kurt's pants. He felt himself going backwards, thinking he might fall, when his back hit the door, hard. He didn't even think about what he was doing. All he could see when he opened his eyes was Karofsky, tall, confused, angry, and towering over him. He shoved as hard as he could, not fully realizing that no, Karofsky was not there, was not the one kissing him; his boyfriend was. "Jeff!" he yelled as Jeff fell back, hitting the back of his head on the corner of his bed.

Kurt rushed to Jeff, who was trying to sit up. "I'm so sorry! I'm so so sor-" he shut up when he saw the look on Jeff's face.

"What the hell, Kurt?" he asked, and moved his hand to the back of his head. He was sitting propped up against his bed, where Kurt joined him a moment later.

Kurt looked truly apologetic, and a little scared. "Let me see." Jeff leaned his head forward a little, and let his hands fall to his lap. He winced when Kurt's gentle fingers brushed the spot where the bed frame had hit him, and Kurt whispered another 'sorry'. Jeff was pissed, but he was also confused. He really wanted to know why the hell Kurt pushed him away like that.

"Why did you push me? I told you that I wouldn't do anything you didn't want to, and honestly, if you thought I was going too far, you could have just said something. You didn't have to resort to physical violence."

"I'm sorry." Kurt was quiet. He moved his hands from Jeff's head, and instead took Jeff's hands. "I really am. I just… I had a moment."

"No shit." Jeff took his hands back, and stood up. "You pushed me, Kurt. You pushed me pretty damn hard, too. Are you going to tell me what that's all about?" He glared at the boy sitting on the floor.

Kurt looked down, then pulled his knees up to his chest. "If I tell you something, you can't tell anyone else. Can I trust you?" he asked.

"You know you can." Jeff wanted to move back to sit next to Kurt, but he still stood there, his arms crossed. "We promised to be honest with each other, and if you don't tell me what this is about, then you're not holding up your end of the bargain. I need to know what's up." He sat on Eric's bed.

Kurt took a deep breath. When he started talking, he still wasn't looking at Jeff. "You know I was bullied back at McKinley. You know about the locker slams, slushie facials, all that." Jeff nodded. "Do you remember what I said about the bully who finally pushed me out?"

"Yeah, you said he threatened to kill you." Jeff's voice seemed darker and angrier when he said it.

"I didn't exactly tell you why, though." Kurt could feel himself shaking slightly, still scared of what Karofsky could do to him. Before Jeff could speak, Kurt kept talking. "One day, he slammed me really hard into a row of lockers. I usually just did nothing, but I took Blaine's advice, and I went after him." Jeff was confused, and Kurt noticed. "He told me that I could either be the victim, or confront Karofsky. I confronted him. It didn't work the way I wanted it to, though. It sort of backfired."

"Backfired how?" Jeff asked.

"I chased him into the locker room, and asked him what his problem was. He kept threatening me, but I was used to that. I expected that. I didn't expect him to kiss me." Kurt's voice was so quiet, Jeff wasn't sure he heard him right.

"Kissed you? Like, kissed you?"

"Yeah. He grabbed my face, and next thing I knew, his mouth was on mine and it was awful and I didn't know what to do. He pulled back, and I thought he might hit me or do something more, so when he leaned back in, I shoved him. As hard as I could. But Jeff, he's so big, I could barely move him. I'm so lucky he decided to run out. So lucky." Jeff noticed a few tears flowing down Kurt's face, and before he could stop himself, he moved to sit next to him. He wrapped an arm around Kurt's shoulder, and kissed his forehead.

"Kurt, why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"I didn't want anyone to know."

"Is that why he said he'd kill you? Because he kissed you?"

"Kind of. He told me he'd kill me if I told anyone. And I was stupid, Jeff. I told Blaine."

"Wait. You told Blaine?" Jeff was starting to get a little pissed.

"Well, yeah. He was the only gay guy I knew at the time, and he was the only one who knew what was really going on. Of course I told him."

"But that Karofsky guy said he'd kill you."

"I know that. I just… I needed to tell someone. And when Blaine came to McKinley the next day, he helped me confront him again. It wasn't a violent one, it was more of a 'hey, we know you're gay, you can talk to us' kind of thing. I had hoped it would make him open up, or at least back off."

Jeff was thoroughly pissed off now. First, Blaine tells Kurt to confront the guy who makes his life a living hell. Then Blaine tells him to do it again, only he'd be there to help. What the hell was Blaine thinking?

"Kurt, why didn't you tell me about this before?" Jeff asked, trying to keep his voice even.

"Because I didn't want you to think I was weak."

"I'd never think you were weak. I think you were a bit of an idiot about it, yeah, same with Blaine, but I'd never think you were weak."

Kurt sat up, and turned to look at Jeff. "Idiot? How was I an idiot? And how was Blaine one?"

"Think about it, Kurt. He basically told you to go in, guns blazing, and put yourself in the line of fire with that guy. Then he comes with you and tries to talk to him about the kiss? And you let him? Kurt, there's a time and a place for that, and it's not at school, not where you've been harassed for years. That's just stupid."

Kurt stood up. "Well, I'm sorry, Jeff. I was going through hell and I took the advice of someone who's dealt with it before. I'm not like you, I haven't been spoiled in preppy boarding schools all my life. I've had to deal with being kicked, punched, thrown in empty dumpsters, being locked in port-a-potties, and all sorts of shit that you wouldn't fucking get."

Jeff stood up, going a little slowly so he wouldn't fall over. "Kurt, don't take this out on me. You're the one who shoved me. I'm sorry if it got a little too close to what happened before, but we could have avoided all this shit if you had actually opened up to me instead of Blaine."

"I told you, Jeff. Blaine was the one who was there. He was the one who went through crap, too. You would have been the one I called if I had met you that day, but no, I met him. Now I'm sorry I pushed you, I really am. I didn't mean to, it was just a stupid flashback or something. But I'm going to go now, before either of us says anything else we'll regret. Bye." Kurt spun on his heel and walked out the door, trying not to slam it behind him.

.....

It was almost midnight when Kurt heard his phone start to ring.

Kurt answered it quickly, not wanting to wake Nick. They had studied for a while, until Nick thought he was ready for the test.

"Blaine, what's going on? It's late, are you okay?" Peacock was Blaine's ringtone; he chose it himself. He thought it would be hilarious, plus it was Katy Perry. Kurt was too lazy to change it.

"I'm fine, just can't sleep. Did I wake you?" Blaine asked.

"No, I was awake. I couldn't sleep, either." Kurt kept replaying his argument with Jeff over and over. They hadn't talked the rest of the night, and Kurt couldn't stop thinking about what Jeff said. 'He basically told you to go in, guns blazing, and put yourself in the line of fire with that guy. Then he comes with you and tries to talk to him about the kiss? And you let him?'

"Everything okay?" Blaine sounded concerned.

"No." he knew better than to try to lie to Blaine; he could usually tell.

"What happened?"

"I told Jeff about when Karofsky kissed me." He sighed.

"And how did he take it?"

"Well, he didn't take it so well. Mainly because the only reason I talked about it to begin with was because I had shoved him. He fell. And hit his head on his bed frame."

Blaine tried not to laugh; it wasn't really that funny. "Why did you shove him? What did he do?"

Kurt blushed, not really wanting to tell him. "Because."

"Did he hurt you?" Now Blaine was worried.

"No, nothing like that. He just…" Kurt trailed off.

"Tell me." Blaine's voice was firm.

"It's embarrassing."

"You saw pictures of me in a dress."

"You were 8." Kurt retorted.

"Doesn't matter. Tell me. I won't judge you, just… I want to know."

"Fine." He sighed. "We were kind of making out, and we were close to the door."

"Okay." Blaine tried not to listen to the jealous voices in his head.

"He got a little too into it, and he pushed me into the door. Not too hard, but hard enough. It reminded me of-"

"Of when Karofsky kissed you." Blaine sounded murderous. "Kurt, if it reminded you of that, then he did push you hard."

"Well, I shoved him back. Really hard. He ended up falling, and I hurt him. And now I feel like shit."

Blaine didn't really know what to say, so he stayed quiet.

"Blaine? You still there?" Kurt sounded a little panicky.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Just not sure what to say right now."

"For once in your life." Kurt let out a small laugh.

"You. Hush."

"I will if you tell me what you're thinking. I know you, Mr. Anderson, and you have an opinion on absolutely everything. So tell me what your opinion on this is." Kurt was right, of course. Blaine did have an opinion on everything, even though he kept it quiet most of the time.

"Okay. But not right now, Wes is starting to wake up. Tomorrow?"

"No. If you don't tell me now, I'll stay up all night worrying about Jeff and you."

"Kurt, Wes is going to kill me if I wake him up." Blaine was whispering.

"Then meet me downstairs in the common room. No one will care, Jeff and I are always down there after hours, if Nick and Eric don't want us hanging out in the rooms." Blaine didn't want to think about what they were doing down there. It was best that he not know any real details about their relationship.

"Fine. Let me put on a shirt and I'll meet you down there in 5." Blaine said as he slipped out of bed.

"See ya." Kurt hung up as he tried not to think of Blaine shirtless. He may have been fighting with his boyfriend, but that was no reason to fantasize about his friend.

.....

"Having difficulties?" Kurt walked into the Windsor common room, where Blaine was trying to get the fire going.

Blaine dropped the poker and jumped. "Jesus, Kurt! You scared me!" Kurt laughed.

"What can I say? I'm like a ninja." He shut the door to the common room behind him, and sat down on one of the many leather couches.

"Ugh. I give up." Blaine picked up the poker and set it on the hook, then sat next to Kurt.

"So. I'm down here. Tell me what you think about what I told you." Kurt was a little nervous to hear what Blaine thought.

"Well, you want the truth, right?" Kurt nodded. "Okay. You know I feel about you."

"Blaine-" Kurt started.

"No, listen. You know how I feel about you, but I don't want you to think that has anything to do with what I'm about to say. This is coming from me as your friend, alright?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now, I'm only getting your side of the story, so I can only comment on that. But since I really don't want to talk to Jeff, this is what you're stuck with." He took a breath. "You pushed him. That wasn't okay. Not only did you push him, he got hurt. That's really not okay."

"I didn't mean to hurt him, Blaine, it just happened. I swear, in that moment, I thought he was Karofsky. It was so much like the time he kissed me, with being pushed against the door…"

"I know you didn't mean to." He knocked Kurt's shoulder. "I know that. And it's not like I'm siding with him, if there even is a side. But you're not the bad guy here."

"Who is, then? I feel like it's me. I'm sure that Jeff thinks it's me. I pushed him, Blaine. I hurt him, just like you said." He dropped his head in his hands.

"Karofsky. He's the bad guy. He's the one who started this. If he hadn't gone after you like that, none of this would be happening. Don't blame yourself, it's his fault." Blaine pulled Kurt into a hug, and Kurt let his head settle on Blaine's chest. "Just calm down, breathe for a bit. You'll be fine, and so will he, and you guys will talk and everything will be great."

Kurt let his eyes close, and snuggled in closer to Blaine, curling his legs up under him. Blaine reached behind them and pulled a blanket from the top of the sofa around the two of them, enjoying the feel of Kurt against him.

"Thank you." Kurt whispered.

"For what?" Blaine asked, resting his head on top of Kurt's.

"Being here for me. I know I haven't exactly been a model friend, but-"

"Shh. Just chill for a bit. You've been fine." Blaine didn't add that he felt like the bad friend here.

They hadn't meant to fall asleep, but Kurt was soon passed out, curled into Blaine, and holding onto the front of his shirt. Blaine fell asleep soon after, his arms wrapped around Kurt, holding him as close as he could get.

.....

"What the FUCK?" Blaine opened one eye, and squinted at the bright sunlight that was flooding the common room. Jeff was standing in the doorway, with Eric, Nick, Wes and David behind him.

"Blaine? Wusgoinon?" Kurt mumbled next to him, lifting his head from it's spot on Blaine's chest. He looked around, and realized that he and Blaine were cuddled up on a couch, their legs tangled and clothes askew, a blanket on the floor.

"Yeah, Blaine, what in the fucking hell is going on? What are you doing with my boyfriend?" Jeff looked livid, and he walked toward the two boys. The other guys in the hall looked like they wanted to stop him, but no one did.

Blaine sat up quickly, extracting himself from Kurt. "Dude, nothing happened. We were talking last night, and we must have fallen asleep. It's not a big deal." He stood up.

"Talking, huh? About what?" he glared at Kurt this time, who looked a little scared.

"I, I was worried. About you." Kurt's voice was small.

"So you ran to him?" Jeff was trying to sound angry, but he sounded more hurt than anything. "Seriously?" Jeff started moving toward Kurt, but Blaine stepped in front of him.

"Back off, Jeff. He was telling the truth. He was worried about everything that happened with you guys yesterday, and he wanted some advice. Relax." Blaine noticed the others move in from the hall. "Why doesn't everyone just go back to their rooms and get ready for the day? We can deal with this later." He wasn't sure what time it was, but he knew it had to be early; everyone was still in pajamas.

"No." Jeff said. "No. You two aren't going anywhere until you tell me what really happened last night."

"Baby, nothing happened, I swear!" Kurt got up and moved around Blaine to get to Jeff.

"You don't get to call me that. Not after spending the night with him". There was venom in his voice when he mentioned Blaine.

"Guys, it's 6. We've really gotta get going, classes start in an hour and a half." Wes spoke up from the group by the door.

"Then go." Jeff didn't take his eyes off of Kurt when he said it.

"Jeff, you need to chill out. Nothing happened, trust me." Blaine said.

"Trust you? You? You just want him for yourself." At that, the other boys raised their eyebrows. No one had really told them everything.

"Jeff, I'm still his friend."

"Friends don't hold each other like you guys did." Jeff looked like he might cry, his clear blue eyes full of pain. What he had seen when he walked in hurt him more than he wanted to admit; Blaine and Kurt looked like they just belonged with each other. They fit together perfectly on that couch, and Jeff didn't want to see it. He turned to walk away, but stopped when Blaine started to speak.

"Jeff, I'm serious, we're just frie-" he was forced to stop talking when one of Jeff's fists landed on his jaw, the other in his stomach. He buckled over, and heard Kurt's cry of 'no!', followed by a kick to his side.

He was kneeling on the ground, trying to stop from falling over when Jeff was pulled away from him by Wes and David.

"Fuck you, Blaine! Fuck you!" Jeff was yelling as he was dragged out of the common room, probably to his dorm.

"Oh, god, Blaine, are you okay?" Kurt knelt next to him, running a hand over the spot on his jaw where Jeff had hit him. "Guys, can you get me a couple ice packs, please?" Nick and Eric nodded and left, both feeling more than a little uncomfortable.

"I'm fine." Blaine answered, then tried to get up.

"No, sit down. They'll be back with the ice packs soon, just relax." Kurt put his hands on his shoulders and helped him sit back against the couch, then sat in front of him.

Blaine sighed, then winced when he moved wrong and pain shot through his side. "Sorry." He apologized to Kurt, hoping he wasn't too pissed.

"For what?" Kurt asked, his voice gentle.

"Here you go, Kurt. I'll see you later, okay?" Nick had brought Kurt two instant ice packs and a towel.

"Yeah, thanks. See you." He smiled at his roommate, who left, then took one of the ice packs, wrapped it in the towel and held it to Blaine's jaw.

"I'm serious, Kurt. I'm sorry." Blaine looked at Kurt, who wasn't showing any emotion.

"Again, 'for what'?"

"I shouldn't have let you fall asleep down here. I should have woken you up and made you go back to your room."

"If you hadn't noticed, you fell asleep, too. It's not your fault, we were tired." He shrugged.

"We really hurt Jeff, didn't we?" Blaine asked.

"No." Blaine looked at him, confused. "I did. I told you, Blaine. I already pushed him, then I follow it up with sleeping on the couch with someone who likes me? I keep screwing everything up." He looked sad now, his blue/gray eyes beginning to pool with tears.

"Kurt, it'll be fine. Jeff's head over heels in love with you, he's not going to let this get in the way." He didn't want to say it, but he needed to. He needed to reaffirm how Jeff felt in his mind just as much as Kurt's; one night cuddling didn't change anything, he was still with Jeff.

Kurt was quiet for a little while, slowly moving the ice pack over Blaine's jaw. They kept looking at each other, both of their heads filled with thoughts that they didn't want to say out loud for fear of how the other might react.

"Blaine…" Kurt started. He looked like he was going to say something, but thought better of it. "You feel okay enough to stand and get to your room?" he had a fake smile on his face.

"Yeah." Blaine was quiet, his face blank. He let Kurt help him up, and he didn't let any of his pain show. Kurt picked up the blanket that had fallen during the night, and placed it back on the back of the couch before accompanying Blaine out of the common room and up the stairs.

They had gotten to Blaine's room before Kurt said anything. "Blaine, I need a day or two, to figure some things out." He stared at the floor as he spoke. "I'm not mad at you or anything, I just have a lot of things to think about. And I need to be alone for a bit to do that." He looked up. "Is that okay?"

Blaine's eyes glanced at Kurt's, seeing the confusion and hurt that was there. "Anything you want, Kurt. Just let me know if you need me." He didn't smile, but he let Kurt give him a light hug.

"I always need you." It was quiet, quieter than a whisper, but Blaine was sure he heard Kurt say it.

.....

Next: Kurt has some thinking to do...