Part three

November

For the first two weeks of high school Blaine stubbornly uses the boys' bathroom openly and whenever he pleases, ignoring the looks and the sly comments, but by October he has to admit that it isn't worth it just to make a point. Now he avoids the school bathrooms as much as he can, and if he does have to go, he either uses the disabled bathroom (which part of him hates doing because he is not disabled) or excuses himself in the middle of a class and slips into the boys' bathroom when no one else is around to give him grief about it.

Today he's in the middle of a History pop quiz, when he has to admit defeat and ask to be excused. He passes Sara on his way out and carefully avoids looking at her – the two of them don't talk at all anymore, both aware that Sara's brother is watching them closely, ready to tell her parents if she steps a toe out of line.

In the bathroom Blaine heads for the stalls as usual (he has read a bit about STPs, but they all seem rather expensive and/or not very good, and Blaine doesn't really feel like spending a fortune only to end up peeing on himself in public), but before he reaches one, he hears the door swing open behind him.

'Hey, sweetheart!' a voice calls, and Blaine vaguely recognizes it as belonging to one of the older boys who like to make his life miserable. 'Think you got the wrong bathroom here.'

Blaine sighs, and doesn't turn around as he responds, 'No, actually I think I'm exactly where I need to be.'

Suddenly the boy is right next to Blaine, crowding him and standing far too close to not appear threatening. 'Really?' he says, and Blaine freezes with his hand on the handle. He can feel the other boy's breath on his cheek and out of the corner of his eye, he sees a second boy standing by the urinals. Blaine forces himself to appear unfazed.

'Really.'

'Prove it,' the boy by the urinals says, and Blaine looks up despite himself.

'W-what?'

'Prove it,' he repeats, gesturing at the urinals. The boys grin wickedly at each other. 'Prove that you belong here.'

'I- I... I don't- I'm just gonna-' Blaine stammers, feeling a blush creep into his cheeks, but then he takes a deep breath, steeling himself. 'No,' he says firmly. He will not let himself be intimidated. 'I don't have to prove anything. Least of all to a couple of Neanderthals like you.'

As soon as the words leave his mouth, Blaine knows it's a mistake, but before he can form another thought, the boy next to him has grabbed him by the shirt and is shoving him violently against the wall. The hard impact causes Blaine to let out an involuntary 'oof' sound, but otherwise he stays stubbornly unaffected.

'You gonna hit me now and prove me right?' he says, staring calmly into his assailant's eyes, and for a second Blaine thinks the boy might actually hit him, but then the pressure against Blaine's chest is eased a little so that Blaine can breathe properly again.

'No. I don't hit girls.' Blaine wants to roll his eyes but decides not to push his luck. 'Troy, get over here,' the boy calls to his friend before turning back to Blaine. 'But I am gonna teach you a lesson, Anderson. Troy, take the other arm.'

Blaine yelps in surprise as he is pulled forwards effortlessly by the much stronger boys, their grips around his upper arms far too tight to make resisting a viable option. They stop in front of the sinks, and the first boy lets go of Blaine and moves to stand in front of him. He seems to be appraising him – or contemplating his next move maybe – and for half a second Blaine allows himself to think that nothing more is coming, but the next second the boy's eyes narrow.

'Hold her still,' he says, and behind Blaine, Troy reacts quickly, pinning both his arms behind his back, his grip tight enough that Blaine can barely move, let alone get free.

'Stop. Whatever you're doing, just stop,' Blaine says in a surprisingly steady voice given his increasing heart-rate. He looks at the boy in front of him, and he doesn't like the smirk on his face one bit.

'Are you a boy, Anderson?' he asks, leaning casually against a sink, his arms folded across his chest.

'Yes,' Blaine replies, and the boy cocks his head as though Blaine is saying something vaguely interesting.

'Are you really, though?'

'Yes. Now, let me go,' Blaine demands as he struggles uselessly against Troy's hold on him. The other one steps closer, crowding Blaine again, and suddenly he's kneeling in front of Blaine, a hand coming to rest on Blaine's belt.

'Let's check anyway, shall we?' he says, smirking up at Blaine, and all at once Blaine understands where this is headed.

'No. Don't. Please,' Blaine begs, his voice shaking for the first time.

'Consider it a lesson in biology,' the boy says from the floor as he undoes Blaine's belt, and Blaine tries to kick but finds all strength in his legs gone, the only thing holding him up being Troy's strong grip on his upper arms. He wants to scream, but all that comes out is a pathetic whimper, and it's all happening so fast that Blaine doesn't have time to form a coherent thought beyond no, no, no, this is not happening.

'Doug,' Troy says, sounding a little unsure about the situation, but his friend – Doug, apparently – is determined, and a second later Blaine feels fingers hook under the waistband of his underwear. Sucking in a sharp breath, Blaine looks away as Doug in one swift motion pulls down his pants and underwear along with his packer, which flops out onto the floor in a way that might have been comical if Blaine wasn't so horrified and embarrassed.

'There.' The boy sounds satisfied. 'Move in front of the mirror,' he orders. Troy maneuvers Blaine a few steps to the left, and with – oh god, is this really happening – his pants being around his ankles, Blaine stumbles a bit, but Troy makes sure he doesn't fall.

'Wow,' Troy says stupidly, and Blaine realizes he must be looking at Blaine in the mirror. Exposed. Blaine flinches when a hand forces his head straight.

'Look into the mirror, sweetheart. Tell me what you see.'

Blaine stares vacantly into the mirror, refusing to look at himself and refusing to say what they want him to. Long, silent moments pass, but the boys just seem to grow more amused by the second.

'No? I'll tell you what Idon't see: Dick. And, well, I may have flunked biology but I'm pretty sure dudes are supposed to have dicks. Therefore.' He steps in front of Blaine again, crouching to pull his pants up for him. For some reason this gesture feels almost worse than anything else that has happened, and Blaine's bottom lip begins to tremble as Doug's face grows hard again. 'Get the fuck out of my bathroom.'

Two minutes later Blaine makes it to the disabled bathroom, and he closes the door behind him, shaking and collapsing against it. He takes a deep breath, fighting to get his breathing under control. It's done, it's over, and he never ever has to think about it again.

Except every single time he goes to the bathroom at school from now on.

For a long time Blaine just sits there, trying not to think and concentrating on his breathing – In. Out. In. Out. – until he loses track of time. By the time he finally stands up, he isn't sure if it's been five or fifty minutes, and he doesn't really care either. He remembers dully why he went to the bathroom in the first place, and he quickly does his business before taking one last steadying breath and leaving the bathroom.

Immediately he is confronted with Sara leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom, and Blaine sees that she's carrying his things in addition to her own.

'You never came back,' she says quietly, answering his unasked question and holding out his things. Blaine takes them wordlessly. 'I went to the boys' to look for you. I found your...' She flicks her eyes towards Blaine's crotch. '...on the floor.'

'Oh.' He completely forgot about that in his rush to get away his harassers, and he blushes now in mortification, but quietly thankful that Sara of all people found it.

'It's- I put it in your bag.'

'Thanks,' Blaine says, and he does mean it, but he can't be dealing with Sara now on top of everything else, so he turns to walk away from her. Before he can even take one step, however, he feels her hand on his shoulder.

'Are you okay?'

'I'm fine.'

'I'm not stupid,' Sara says, walking around Blaine to face him again. 'I know something happened.'

'Nothing happened,' Blaine says fiercely, and he wonders if maybe he's trying to convince himself as much as her. 'I told you, I'm-'

'I know you, Blaine,' Sara cuts him off. 'And you're not fine. So just tell me.'

Blaine huffs out a humorless laugh and shakes his head at her. 'You don't get to demand honesty from me anymore. We're not friends, remember? I'm "a bad influence."' His voice is heavy with sarcasm. 'So go find someone else to bug.'

Blaine walks past Sara, leaving her looking shocked and hurt. He thought brushing her off might make him feel better, but instead he just feels guilty. It isn't her fault after all. But all this – these people so uncaring and unwilling to understand – is starting to wear on him, and she was conveniently there to take his frustration out on. He vowed patience on his first day of school, because he knows the world isn't used to someone like him, but it's been over two months now. Shouldn't things be getting better instead of worse?

It has to get better soon, right? The whispers. The looks. The comments. And now the borderline assaults. He can't keep being that fascinating to them, can he? Aren't people fundamentally good? They will learn to understand, Blaine tells himself, or else not care that they don't. It's just a matter of time.

The question is how much longer Blaine is willing to wait.

Blaine spent the weekend in alternating states of anger and anxiousness. He was angry and disappointed with the Warblers for abandoning their ideals so easily. Even Trent, Blaine's oldest and best Warbler friend, seemed to think that Blaine was overreacting and that a bit of friendly competition between choirs was only healthy. He pointed out when Blaine spoke to him on the phone that it wasn't like Sebastian had gone to great lengths to figure out the New Directions' plans – Blaine had told him himself – and Blaine struggled to explain exactly why this felt so wrong.

When Blaine got tired of pacing angrily around his room, he tended to collapse onto his bed with a sigh and from there it was only a few minutes before his stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought of facing his teammates on Monday. The four at the Lima Bean had been bad enough, but all of them in one place with only one visible person to take their anger out on? Blaine shuddered to think about it. And he had just started to feel like one of them.

When Kurt came over on Sunday, he did his best to soothe Blaine's anxiety and convince him that no one was going to hate him, and if they did they would have Kurt to deal with. Blaine, however, wasn't so easily convinced.

'They're gonna think I did this on purpose,' Blaine whined for the umpteenth time, pacing while Kurt sat on the bed. 'That I'm spying for the Warblers or something.'

'Come on, Blaine,' Kurt said, and Blaine could tell he was getting a bit tired of this argument. 'I'm sure they won't.'

Blaine stopped pacing and stood in front of Kurt, pouting dramatically. 'They will.'

Kurt rolled his eyes. 'Well, then stop feeling sorry for yourself and figure how to make it better.'

'Yes. Of course,' Blaine said as he flopped down on the bed next to Kurt. He sighed and lay back on the bed, pulling Kurt with him after a moment. 'You're so smart. Why are you so smart?'

Kurt smirked and poked Blaine's nose, teasing, 'Because someone's gotta make up for what you lack?'

'Hey!' Blaine said indignantly, suppressing a smile.

'Come on, you set yourself up for that one.'

'True,' Blaine admitted. He gazed absentmindedly up at the ceiling for a moment before he added, 'It's not fair though.'

'What?'

Blaine looked back at Kurt and reached a hand to fix a tiny strand of his hair, smiling softly at him. 'You got the brains and the beauty.'

Kurt blushed and buried his face in the mattress. When he looked up again, his expression was tender and he reached to cup Blaine's cheek. 'I think you're selling yourself short.'

Blaine actually rolled his eyes. 'Have you looked at yourself? Trust me, I'm not the hot one here. Hey now,' he said, cutting Kurt off before he could speak. 'Don't argue. Now can we please concentrate on coming up with a plan for tomorrow, so your friends don't skin me alive?'

The plan wasn't really a plan as such. It was more of an attitude. Blaine went to school on Monday morning with his head held high, and every time he spoke to one of his teammates, he drew a deep breath, putting on a mask of optimism and fake cheer, insisting that what had happened wasn't so bad, that they would find something even better than Michael to do for Regionals. When glee club rolled around, he pointed out that much worse things had happened to New Directions before, and they had come out on top. At least this time they had some forewarning.

Both Blaine and Kurt had, however, underestimated just how pissed off everyone was. They were positively fuming and Artie point blank refused to let go of "his Michael". Convincing the New Directions that the loss of Michael was not the end of the world, was clearly not going to work. So Blaine had to change tactics. If they were going to fight to keep Michael, then he was going to fight harder than any of them.

'I know what Michael would do,' Blaine spoke up, responding to Mr. Schue's "lesson" on the board. 'I think he would take it to the streets.'

If Blaine hadn't been so fixated on getting back in his teammates' good graces, he would have thought twice about a suggestion like this, and he might have realized what a bad idea it actually was.

Blaine reacted on pure instinct.

He saw the large, red paper cup in Sebastian's hand, and he saw Sebastian's eyes fixed on Kurt next to Blaine as he raised it.

Hell.

Freaking.

No.

Sebastian was not going to take whatever his issues with Blaine were out on Kurt. Blaine wouldn't allow it. As he dove in front of his boyfriend, he just had time to think that had he not ducked down a little, the slushie would have likely just hit his chest, before the freezing liquid collided with his face.

His first thought as he landed on the parking garage floor was Okay, this is really, really cold, and then Why would anyone throw this in another person's face? His third thought was that his right arm hurt after landing awkwardly on it. It wasn't until he reached his fourth thought, after the initial shock of the cold had subsided, that he registered the pain in his eyes.

Blaine heard someone scream, and it was a short moment before he realized that it was coming from himself. His eyes were burning, and he couldn't open them properly, only barely aware that a crowd was gathering around him. He felt a pair of hands on him, attempting to soothe him, but it couldn't distract from the searing pain in his eyes.

'Blaine. Blaine, honey,' Kurt said beside him between unsuccessful attempts to pry Blaine's hands from his face. 'Take it easy. I know it's cold. It'll pass in a moment.'

Blaine's screams quieted to a series of loud groans. It wasn't passing though. Shouldn't it be passing? In all his stories about slushies Kurt had never mentioned this amount of pain. Why wasn't it passing? It just kept getting worse.

'What's wrong with him?' came Brittany's voice somewhere above him, quiet and concerned.

'Oh, he's just being a baby,' Santana said rather more harshly, continuing, her voice closer to Blaine's ear now, 'Listen, Anderson. Snap out of it. We've all taken a slushie to the face, and it sucks but it's not that bad.' She pulled at his hands with such force then that Blaine finally relented. He still couldn't open his eyes properly and only saw his surroundings through the barest sliver. Kurt and Santana on the ground next to him. The rest of them standing and crowding around him. 'Rise and shine, princess.'

'Blaine, can you open your eyes for me?' Kurt asked gently, and Blaine tried a few times, but each attempt only gave him a few seconds worth of blurry vision, before his eyes were forced shut again.

'Kurt, it hurts,' he whimpered. 'It really, really hurts.'

'Something's wrong,' Kurt said, now speaking to the people around him. 'He's not a baby about pain. You don't know what he's been- He's just not.'

'Do you think that Sebastian guy put something in the slushie?' Finn asked, sounding confused. 'Like something toxic or something?'

'I wouldn't put it past him,' Kurt muttered as he tugged on Blaine. 'Come on, Blaine, we're going to get you to the hospital, all right?'

'No, not the hospital,' Blaine protested weakly as he was forced into a sitting position. Even through the intense pain that was making his brain increasingly fuzzy, Blaine didn't like that idea. Hospitals meant hospital gowns and medical records and doctors that tried and failed to treat him like he was normal.

'Don't be silly, Blaine,' Kurt said sternly. 'We need to get you checked out. Come on, stand up for me.'

Blaine gave in and let Kurt help him up, because of course Kurt was right, and a moment later he was led to what he assumed was Kurt's car.

'Finn, can you drive, please?' he heard Kurt say, car keys jingling nearby. 'I don't think I should right now. I'm too...' Kurt's voice was tight, and he seemed to hold Blaine a little closer.

'Sure, dude. Just give me the keys,' Finn replied, and the next moment Blaine was being helped into the backseat of the car. Kurt climbed in next to him while Rachel, declaring that she was coming too, claimed the passenger seat, and then they were on their way. Blaine let out a low groan as he let his head fall back, and he lifted both hands to rub at his eyes.

'Hey, stop that. You'll only make it worse,' Kurt scolded gently, tugging at Blaine's arms, and Blaine whimpered in frustration. 'Come here.'

Kurt maneuvered Blaine into a lying position, letting his head rest in Kurt's lap. A hand caressed Blaine's cheek softly, and Blaine murmured appreciatively at the distraction.

'How're you feeling?' Kurt asked. 'Does it still hurt a lot?'

'Mm,' Blaine hummed, and he automatically lifted his hand again, his instinct telling him to rub at the pain, but Kurt stopped him wordlessly. Blaine groaned again. 'It's like it's spreading. My entire head is throbbing.'

'Hang in there. We're nearly there. I'm sure the doctors will fix you up in no time,' Kurt said, doing his best to sound reassuring, but Blaine could tell by the tightness in his voice that he was worried. Blaine wanted to offer reassurance back, but he was finding it increasingly difficult to form coherent thoughts, let alone words, so he stayed quiet as they drove, only letting out an occasional groan or whimper.

'Kurt?' Blaine said quietly after a few minutes, and he felt Kurt tense around him. 'Do you think they'll know now?'

'Who? Know what?'

'That I really am playing for your team.'

Kurt let out a breath of air that might have been the beginning of a laugh, and he stroked Blaine's hair softly as he responded. 'Yes, honey. I think they'll know now.'

Kurt was angry. Angry at Sebastian for being a sociopathic jerk, and at the Warblers for playing along with him. Dalton was supposed to be free of that kind of stuff. He had gone there last year when he was being bullied, and although he had truthfully never felt like he really fit in with the Warblers, he had always, always, felt safe in their midst. It didn't feel that way anymore.

He was scared. Scared because Blaine was in the hospital, and they hadn't heard anything since a doctor came for him nearly two hours ago, and for all Kurt knew, Blaine may be losing his eyesight because of whatever Sebastian had put in that slushie.

He was sad. Sad because his Blaine was in pain, and people that were supposed to be his friends had done this to him. Furthermore Kurt had left a voice-mail for Blaine's mother when they had first reached the ER, but that was hours ago, and she hadn't showed up or even called back yet. What the hell kind of parenting was that?

He was anxious. Anxious because what was taking so long? Why hadn't they heard anything yet? And was that a good sign or not?

And he was tired. Tired because it was late on a school night and so much had happened today, and Kurt kind of just wanted to curl up around his boyfriend and sleep and pretend this wasn't happening.

'Kurt?'

'Mm?' Kurt looked up to see Finn standing in front of him, holding out his hand.

'Your phone.'

'Oh, right. Thank you,' Kurt said, taking the phone from Finn. 'What did Dad say?'

'Just, you know, he's worried,' Finn said, taking the seat next to Kurt. 'He offered to come down here, but I said we'd manage and stuff. And Blaine's mom's gotta be here soon, right?'

'Mm.' Kurt chose not to voice his concerns about Mrs. Anderson.

'Anyway, Burt said to keep him and Mom updated, and to not worry about waking them when we come home. He really cares about Blaine, I think.'

'We all do,' Rachel piped up on Kurt's other side. She squeezed Kurt's hand in hers. 'He'll be fine, Kurt. I know he will.'

'You don't know that,' Kurt said, his best friend's words empty to him. 'We don't know what was in that slushie. The damage it could have done.'

'But Sebastian wouldn't do anything really dangerous and illegal, would he?' Finn said, frowning and sounding vaguely optimistic. 'I mean, he can't be that stupid, can he?'

'Look where we are right now, Finn! I think he can,' Kurt snapped, but a moment later he sighed. 'Sorry, I'm just- I'm going crazy not knowing.'

'Oh, this is ridiculous,' Rachel exclaimed suddenly, getting to her feet. 'I'm going up there and demanding they let us see him.' And without a glance back, she strode off towards the front desk, presumably to go harass one of the nurses there, leaving the boys to stare uncertainly after her.

'Should we go save the poor nurse?' Kurt asked after a while. Finn seemed to consider for a moment.

'Give her another minute,' he said. 'I think this is sort of her way of coping. Besides, that nurse looks like she's holding her own well enough.'

Kurt followed Finn's glance towards the front desk where Rachel was having an animated discussion with a nurse, who looked stubbornly unaffected by her pleas.

'True. I'm going to intervene though. I need to stretch my legs, anyway,' Kurt said, standing up and sighing a little.

'For the last time, miss. The patient is underage, and until I hear consent from a parent or guardian, I can't just hand out information all willy nilly,' Kurt heard the nurse reel off as he approached.

'It's not willy nilly,' Rachel sputtered. 'We're his friends. His- his boyfriend,' she said and gestured at Kurt when she saw him.

'Rachel,' Kurt said, putting a calming hand on her shoulder. 'Come on. Let it go.'

'But she's being mean and unreasonable,' Rachel insisted and threw a filthy look at the nurse who all but rolled her eyes.

'I know,' Kurt said tiredly as he began to lead Rachel away. 'But you're not helping us by...'

Kurt trailed off as a short, dark-haired woman passed them in a hurry, and he looked around to see her approaching the front desk.

'My son,' she managed, a little out of breath, but doing her best to appear composed. 'I need to see him. Where is he?'

'And your son's name?' the nurse asked, looking bored, clearly too experienced to be moved by the woman's urgency.

'Blaine. Blaine Anderson,' Mrs. Anderson said, and the nurse typed something into a computer.

'Right. Your... son.' Kurt didn't like the slight mocking tone to her voice, nor the little quiver of her lips, like she was amused somehow.

'Oh, spare me your judgment,' Mrs. Anderson snapped. 'I have no use for it. Just tell me where he is.'

'Mrs. Anderson?' Kurt said, stepping forward finally, and the woman turned around to face him. She sighed in soft relief, and some of the urgency seemed to leave her.

'Kurt? You're here. I'm sorry, I didn't see you.' She gestured towards the front desk, and Kurt nodded, understanding that she had been in too much of a hurry to notice him. 'How is he? Is he all right?'

'I don't know. They won't let us see him,' Kurt said, his voice breaking for the first time tonight and forgetting his annoyance with the woman for taking so long to show up. 'Because he's underage or something.'

'Right. I see. You can come with me.' Mrs. Anderson squeezed Kurt's shoulder briefly. She glanced behind Kurt, where Finn had come over to join Rachel, watching them from a few feet away, before continuing in a low voice, 'Your friends, I assume Blaine hasn't...'

She trailed off, but Kurt caught her meaning and shook his head. 'Just me.'

'Okay, best leave them here then. Better safe than sorry.'

Kurt nodded his agreement, and while Mrs. Anderson made the nurse explain where Blaine was, Kurt turned to Finn and Rachel, explaining that he was going with Blaine's mother and for them to just go home, that he would text them any news. Rachel hugged him twice before he went, telling him to pass one on to Blaine, and Finn sent him an encouraging smile. Five minutes later and three floors up, Kurt and Mrs. Anderson were greeted by a young doctor outside Blaine's room.

'You're Blaine's mother?' he asked as he shook Mrs. Anderson's hand.

'Yes, Blaine's my son,' she replied, and Kurt suspected she slipped the "son" in there purposely to dispel any lingering doubts about correct pronouns. Although it should be obvious to anyone with a working brain that Blaine wasn't a girl, Kurt thought savagely, almost missing the moment when Mrs. Anderson turned to him. 'This is Kurt. His boyfriend.'

Kurt met the doctor's gaze, nodding politely, and there was a brief moment in which everyone seemed to be wondering what the doctor's reaction was going to be (they might not be at McKinley, but it was still Lima, Ohio), but then the doctor simply smiled warmly and led the way inside the room.

The room was bland and cold like any hospital room, and Blaine seemed to be the only occupant despite it being a two-person room. He appeared to be asleep, lying in the bed farthest from the entrance, and his right eye was patched up. At the sight Kurt was torn between wanting to cry and wanting to find Sebastian and rip his head off. What was wrong with him that he would do this to another person?

'We gave him something for the pain and a mild sedative to help him sleep through the night,' the doctor explained, speaking mostly to Mrs. Anderson whose usually dark skin seemed drained of color.

'But his eye... Is he gonna...' Kurt's voice shook a little. Blaine had taken that slushie for him. If Blaine didn't get out of this without permanent damage...

'The left eye will be just fine. It may feel a little tender for a few days, but it should heal up just fine on its own,' the doctor explained in that calm, impersonal doctor voice. 'Now the right one is a bit more tricky. We're having our specialist come take a look at him in the morning, but for now, I wouldn't rule out surgery as a necessity.'

'Surgery?' Mrs. Anderson appeared shaken by this news. 'But he'll be okay? I mean, his eyesight...'

'Any surgery is risky of course, but this one has a pretty high success rate, and if we are successful it should fix the problem and allow the eye to heal. All in all we're hopeful that your son will get to walk away good as new. No permanent damage.'

Hopeful. Pretty high. Should. Kurt wasn't sure what to think of the doctor's word choices, and as the doctor finished talking about Blaine and moved on to discuss more practical matters with Mrs. Anderson, he fell into thought. Did those words mean there was still a chance this could turn out horrible, but they were trying to stay positive? Shouldn't a doctor sound more confident than "hopeful"? Or was he maybe not allowed to, just in case?

'Kurt?' Mrs Anderson jolted Kurt out of his thoughts, and he looked around to see that the doctor had left the room. 'You look exhausted.'

'It's fine, I can stay,' Kurt said, catching the hint. He stifled a yawn. 'My parents know where I am. I can stay.'

Mrs. Anderson smiled softly as she looked between Kurt and her son. 'There's nothing you can do for him now, anyway. Go on home and get some sleep. I'll stay with him.'

Kurt bit his lip as he looked over at Blaine's sleeping form. She was right of course, that there was no real point in staying while he slept, and it wasn't like this was anything life threatening, but Kurt's instinct was still to stay as close to Blaine as possible.

'I'll call you in the morning as soon as we get an update,' Mrs. Anderson went on when Kurt didn't respond.

'Okay,' Kurt breathed out, giving in. 'I'll just...say goodbye.' Kurt walked to Blaine's bedside and stood watching his sleeping boyfriend for a moment, before leaning over him and kissing his forehead. 'Don't worry,' he whispered. 'I won't let Sebastian get away with this.'

The next morning Kurt got a call from Blaine, who explained in dull tones that the specialist doctor had just been to examine him, and he now officially needed surgery because of a "deeply scratched cornea". Blaine was to be released from the hospital that morning with a prescription for painkillers and instructions to take it easy until they would be doing his surgery the following Wednesday.

'Are you okay?' Kurt asked carefully.

'Kurt, I just told you I'm having surgery,' Blaine replied evenly.

'No, I know. I just mean, you sound... I don't know.' Kurt couldn't quite find a word for the the vibe he was getting from Blaine, but he seemed different – as if a light had been turned off inside him.

'I'm just tired,' Blaine said. 'And the painkillers they gave me haven't kicked in yet.'

Kurt thought there might be more to it, but he was already late for school and didn't have time to argue, so he left it at that, saying goodbye and promising to come over as soon as he was finished with school.

Around midday Kurt got a text message from Mrs. Anderson, telling him that he was allowed to spend the night if he wanted, and that in fact she hoped he would. Kurt was confused by this offer until that afternoon when he arrived at the house, where he was greeted by a stressed-looking Mrs. Anderson, who told him that she was headed out for work but had left money on the kitchen counter for food. She led Kurt upstairs to Blaine's bedroom, knocking gently on the door before pushing it open. Blaine, sitting pajama-clad in bed, looked up from his laptop at their arrival, and Kurt noted that he was wearing a black eye-patch over his damaged eye.

'Blaine, sweetie,' Mrs. Anderson said, nudging Kurt inside while she stayed in the hall. 'Kurt is here. He's going to stay with you tonight.'

Blaine gave an irritated sigh and looked back at his laptop as he responded. 'I'm fine, Mom. I don't need a babysitter.'

Kurt's eyebrows shot up in surprise at Blaine's tone, and he looked at Mrs. Anderson in silent question.

'Don't worry, it's not you,' she told him. 'He's been like this for a few hours now.'

'Don't talk about me like I'm not here,' Blaine grumbled from the bed, still not looking at either of them. Mrs. Anderson watched her son for a moment, looking like she was about to say something but then she shook her head, seemingly thinking better of it.

'Right, I'll leave you to it then. Bye, sweetie,' she said, shooting Kurt an apologetic look before finally turning and leaving.

Kurt lingered uncertainly by the door for a few moments before he finally dropped his bag into the armchair and joined Blaine on the bed.

'Hey,' he said lightly, trying not to be concerned that Blaine hadn't met his eye since he arrived.

'Hey,' Blaine said, markedly less enthusiastic.

'You're wearing hair gel just to stay in bed all day? That's an interesting fashion statement,' Kurt teased and bumped his shoulder lightly against Blaine's, hoping to get a smile out of him.

Blaine simply shrugged in response.

'Are you mad at me, or something?' Kurt asked then.

'What? No.' He sighed. 'No... I'm sorry, I just...' He looked away again, playing with a loose sticker on his laptop. Kurt stopped Blaine's fidgeting with a hand over Blaine's.

'It's okay, I get it. I'm angry too,' Kurt said, feeling the rage bubble inside him again. 'God, I can't wait until Sebastian's expelled and goes back wherever he came from.'

'He won't be,' Blaine said, speaking to his computer screen, and Kurt stared. He might have expected the words but not that calm even tone Blaine uttered them in. 'I spoke to my mom, and we're not pursuing this.'

'What? No, hold on.' Kurt snapped the computer shut and pulled it from Blaine's hands, putting it aside on the chair and positioning himself on the bed to better be able to see Blaine. 'What? Why?'

'We're just not,' Blaine said with a shrug, meeting Kurt's eye only briefly.

Kurt made a series of incoherent noises in his throat before he way able to form words. 'But Blaine, this is serious, you do realize that, right? He landed you in the hospital. That's not just expulsion material. That's- that's police material, Blaine, especially if he actually did spike that slushie. And you wanna just let him get away with it?'

'Kurt, just let it go,' Blaine said tiredly.

'No, I won't,' Kurt said defiantly, but not quite yelling. 'Don't forget that slushie was meant for me. What if the roles were reversed? Would you be telling me to just roll over and play dead?'

'That's... It doesn't matter. I'm the one he hit, so it's my decision to make,' Blaine said emphatically.

'But-'

'Kurt, please. Stop it. We're done discussing this,' Blaine said, and Kurt had never heard him sound quite so forceful. He opened his mouth to point out that strictly speaking they hadn't actually "discussed" anything, but before he could say anything Blaine had slid off the bed. 'I have to go pee. I'll be right back.'

Kurt watched disbelievingly as Blaine disappeared into the hall, and when he heard the bathroom door snap shut, he let himself fall back onto the bed. He lay staring up at the ceiling minute after minute as Blaine took an uncharacteristically long time in the bathroom, and he wondered what on earth was up with Blaine now. And hadn't they agreed on no more secrets? Sometimes it frustrated Kurt how often he had to drag truths out of his boyfriend; how little Blaine still – even if he was getting better at it – talked openly and willingly about things that bothered him. How was Kurt supposed to help then?

When Blaine finally returned, Kurt propped himself up on his elbows and looked seriously at Blaine as the latter approached the bed. 'There's something you're not telling me here,' Kurt said calmly but firmly. 'And I know you don't want to discuss it, but I really think we ought to-'

'Shh.' Blaine held a hand over Kurt's mouth to stop him talking, and when he spoke his voice was low and a little rough. 'Just stop talking.'

Blaine removed his hand and crawled up on the bed, and Kurt watched him confusedly as he positioned himself above Kurt, straddling his hips.

'Blaine, what're you-' Kurt began, but his words were once again cut off, this time by an insistent kiss.

'Shh, please, not now. Just kiss me.' Blaine was practically whining, and his continued kisses seemed desperate almost.

There was a part of Kurt that still thought they ought to talk more about Blaine's lack of talking, but well, kissing Blaine was nice (really nice), and the hands on his body were sure and hot. So, so hot. Kurt felt heat pool between his legs, and a soft whine escaped his throat when a hand brushed over his straining jeans.

'God, Kurt, you're so gorgeous.' Blaine placed a kiss at the edge of Kurt's mouth, one hand tangled in Kurt's hair while the other continued to palm him. 'Beautiful.' A kiss at Kurt's jaw. 'Stunning.' Another kiss further up, and one with each word as he went on. 'Amazing. Breathtaking. Hot.' Blaine's breath was warm against Kurt's neck, and he nibbled lightly at his ear.

'Please,' Kurt moaned, unaware of what he was asking for exactly except more, because god, this felt good.

'I really want to fuck you,' Blaine whispered into Kurt's ear, and Kurt shivered involuntarily. Blaine pulled back to look at Kurt properly. 'Can I?'

Kurt considered the situation for a short moment. These weren't exactly the circumstances he had imagined for their first time at this – following a stifled argument and with Blaine wearing an eye-patch and loaded on painkillers – but Kurt couldn't deny being extremely turned on right now. Maybe he ought to let go of some of that romanticism, he tended to cling to, and just let things happen.

'Yes, I want you to,' Kurt managed between shaking breaths. 'Just, do you, uh...have what we need?' Kurt blushed a little. This was new territory for them after all.

Blaine smiled fondly and placed a finger over Kurt's mouth. 'Shh, I have it all under control. Up,' he said, indicating that Kurt should sit up, and before Kurt knew it, they were both shirtless although Blaine kept his binder on as usual (how Kurt wished he would take it off more often), and Blaine was running his hands appreciatively across Kurt's naked torso. 'Gorgeous. Absolutely stunning.'

Blaine pushed Kurt onto his back, and they shared a messy kiss before Blaine moved quickly downwards until he was staring at the growing bulge in Kurt's pants. With a brief look at Kurt, he unbuckled the belt and deftly unzipped and pried off the pants.

'You've gotten better at that,' Kurt remarked with a grin, when he was fully naked a moment later.

'I've had practice,' Blaine responded, winking as he pulled off his own pajama pants. Through his briefs Kurt could see the outline of Blaine's cock (he had taken to calling it that because, well, it was a cock and it was Blaine's, and the technical words seemed too impersonal for the situation), and his head spun for a moment with the thought of where it would be soon.

The next moment Kurt gasped as he felt Blaine's warm mouth around his cock, and Blaine gave it his full attention, working Kurt over almost frantically, and stroking him into full hardness as though his life depended on it. It was incredible what Blaine had learned in a month an a half; how he knew exactly the right way to touch, the perfect amount of pressure, how to suck and where to lick for maximum effect. Although he knew it was Blaine's choice, it made Kurt feel bad about how little he still knew of how Blaine's body worked, when Blaine knew Kurt's so well. And he was about to get even more intimately acquainted with it.

It wasn't long before Kurt was breathing heavily and whimpering with each touch, and he was right near the edge, feeling his orgasm building second by second until-

'What, no. Blaine,' Kurt whined at the loss of Blaine's mouth, drawing out Blaine's name to three times its normal length.

Blaine simply smiled cheekily and swallowed Kurt's complaints with a kiss. 'All in good time, sweet. We're just getting started.' Blaine indicated the bottle of lube now suddenly in his hand, which Kurt hadn't even noticed him getting out with how far gone he was. Blaine moved back between Kurt's spread legs, pushing at them until Kurt caught his drift and bent his knees, his feet flat against the mattress. Blaine frowned for a moment before scrambling for a pillow and turning back to Kurt, touching a hand to his hip.

'Up,' he said, shoving the pillow under Kurt's hips when Kurt obeyed and crawling back to his earlier position. 'Nice view,' he remarked with a smirk and Kurt, even though he was sure his entire body was already flushed, felt his cheeks burn in a blush. They had never even done this first part before. Kurt had never been quite so on display before, and Blaine had never looked quite so full of desperate want. Kurt wondered briefly if they were moving too fast in covering so much new territory in one night, but then Blaine's lubed finger was circling his hole, and Kurt gasped at the sensation, forgetting his wondering for the moment.

'Ooh,' Kurt said in a high voice, when Blaine slid the first finger inside, the sensation so new and different from when he sometimes did it to himself. A second finger was added not long after, stretching him further, and Kurt moaned at the increased pressure. He looked down at Blaine who seemed to almost not be aware of Kurt, which was a strange thing to think of course, since it was his ass that Blaine was currently focused on, and Kurt wasn't exactly quiet anymore either. Blaine seemed to be in a world of his own, however, like he was concentrating so hard on something that everything around him disappeared. Kurt wanted to call out, remind Blaine that he had a face too, but then Blaine added a third finger and Kurt lost all chance of coherency for the moment.

'Look at you,' Blaine said as he finally looked up, and Kurt met his gaze through heavy-lidded eyes. 'So flushed and debauched just for me.'

Blaine pulled his fingers out, smirking at Kurt as he whined the loss, before sliding off the bed and slipping off his underwear. As Kurt watched Blaine, back turned as he fumbled with the final preparations, he couldn't help feeling like something was different about Blaine tonight compared to every other time they had fooled around. Through his current fog of arousal, however, Kurt had a hard time pinpointing what exactly, and neither could he decide whether it scared him or turned him on.

'Ready, darling?' Blaine asked in a low voice when he was ready and positioned at Kurt's entrance.

'Kiss me first,' Kurt said, and Blaine obliged with a fond smile, leaning over Kurt, and Kurt gasped as Blaine's cock brushed against Kurt's own, lying hot and heavy against his stomach. The kiss was brief, and then Blaine was back in position, Kurt nodding his okay for Blaine to go ahead, and Blaine pushed forward.

It slipped.

It slipped again.

The third try was more successful as Blaine wrapped his hand around the base and guided it inside, and Kurt let out a soft moan. For a while, as Blaine pulled out and back in in careful movements, it seemed like it was going to work.

But then the device slipped again, and Blaine groaned in frustration.

'It's fine, honey,' Kurt said, reaching and caressing the skin on Blaine's abdomen. 'Just try again.'

Blaine did so wordlessly, but with the same result, and he let out a violent noise of frustration. He looked mortified, and he made to pull away entirely, but Kurt grabbed his wrist and held him in place.

'Hey hey, honey. Relax, okay? It's just me.' Blaine said nothing, just sat there with a dark look on his face. 'Do you want to try a different position?'

'It's not working, Kurt,' Blaine said, tension in his voice. 'I don't- I don't think it's meant for anal. It's too soft.'

'Oh.' Why hadn't Kurt thought to check that before he bought the thing? 'But maybe if we just try with-'

'It's not working, Kurt!' Blaine snapped, yanking his arm free of Kurt's grip.

'Hey, don't yell at me,' Kurt snapped back. 'I'm just trying to help.'

'Yeah, well. You're not,' Blaine muttered, and he groaned again as he slid off the bed.

'Blaine,' Kurt said in a quiet even voice, hoping the sound of his name would calm Blaine, but Blaine was already ripping off the harness that held the device and throwing both angrily across the room. 'Take it easy, honey. It doesn't matter. We can finish without it.'

Blaine, however, didn't seem to be listening and was instead yanking his underwear back on.

'Please,' Kurt begged, a little freaked out at Blaine's behavior. 'Just come back to bed. I don't care about that.'

'Well, I do!' Blaine yelled, his one unpatched eye wild and livid. Then he seemed to catch himself and shook his head a little before walking around the bed and picking up his pajama bottoms and putting them on.

'I know. I know, okay?' Kurt said in what he hoped was a calming tone. 'But it's not the end of the world. We'll find something that works.'

Blaine didn't respond for a long moment, but just stood half turned away from Kurt, buttoning up his pajama shirt.

'You should go,' he said finally.

Kurt's mouth fell open. 'Blaine. Seriously?'

'Just go.'

Kurt didn't move from his spot on the bed. 'You don't think you're being a little irrational right now?'

'Don't really care,' Blaine said almost coldly as he moved around the room, picking up the thrown items from the floor and stuffing them into his dresser. Kurt swung his legs over the edge of the bed, but didn't otherwise move to follow Blaine's command.

'I was supposed to stay with you tonight, remember?'

'Do I look like I need a babysitter?'

Kurt thought Blaine kind of did, but he resisted the urge to say so, doubting that it would help his cause.

'What is this really about?' he asked instead, watching as Blaine began picking up Kurt's clothes from the floor. Was he really this upset about a strap-on that didn't work? Blaine ignored him, however, and simply held out Kurt's clothes to him.

'Go,' he ordered. Kurt looked disbelievingly up at Blaine, but his boyfriend's face was hard and determined, and in the end Kurt accepted the clothes with a sigh, admitting defeat. Whatever was going on with Blaine, Kurt wasn't getting it out of him tonight.