Of course, having Blaine at Dalton made things so much easier. Blaine always made him feel connected to the world, even through the simplest of gestures. Kurt was slowly getting used to using his cane around the school and he had finally managed to open his locker without help from anyone, having memorised how many twists on his lock it took.

It was Friday afternoon and school had just let out. Blaine was coming over to spend the weekend – a common occurrence as of late – and was driving the two of them back to Lima. They made their way to Blaine's car and slid in, Blaine putting their bags on the back seat. He slid into the front and waited until Kurt had buckled himself up before starting the engine and pulling out.

"Carol and Finn are coming tonight too," Kurt said as Blaine drove.

"Cool," he beamed. "I like Carol, she seems nice."

"She is," Kurt nodded. "She makes my dad happy."

"Do you and Finn get along?" Blaine asked.

"Now we do, I guess," Kurt answered.

"You didn't use to?"

"Not really," Kurt shrugged. "Finn was a football player, I was the gay kid. There's not really much mood to bond there."

Blaine frowned and gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"Blaine?" Kurt asked when his boyfriend stayed silent. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Was he one of the ones who bullied you?" Blaine asked.

"Sort of. He never did anything to stop it. Most of the boys in the club had been a part of the bullying, all the boys have been on the football team," Kurt told him.

"Were you?" Blaine asked curiously.

"I was the kicker for one game," Kurt blushed. "It was the only game they won that season."

"You never cease to amaze me," Blaine chuckled and Kurt grinned. Blaine continued to ask Kurt questions about his time as a football player until they reached the house.

He pulled up and parked on the edge of the road before shutting off the engine. He jumped out and grabbed their bags, closing the door with his spare hand.

Kurt slid out and shut the door firmly. He tripped as he stepped away from the car and landed on the grass with an oomph.

"Kurt! Are you OK?" Blaine gasped, crouching beside his boyfriend.

"Fine," Kurt mumbled. "Bugger."

"Here," Blaine said, taking Kurt's hand gently and pulling him up. "Are you hurt?"

"Just my pride," Kurt sighed and Blaine gently stroked his cheek, smiling when Kurt leant into the touch.

"Come on," Blaine smiled. "Before your dad thinks I'm up to no good."

Kurt sniggered and let Blaine help him to the house. "Dad, we're home," Kurt called and Lucy came bounding up to him. "Hey girl," he smiled, patting Lucy's head.

"Hey kids," Burt greeted them as they came into the living room.

"Hi Burt," Blaine beamed.

"Good day?" Burt asked. Kurt nodded and Burt was happy to see a smile on his face. "Carol and Finn should be here soon," Burt told them and Kurt nodded.

"I'm going to change," Kurt announced and made his way downstairs, Blaine following. When they were downstairs, Blaine watched as Kurt moved to his wardrobe and chose an outfit with ease.

"How do you know what you're choosing?" Blaine asked, curiosity overtaking him.

Kurt smirked. "I can picture everything in my wardrobe. Fashion is one of my passions and I always know where I put my clothes."

Blaine chuckled, impressed. Kurt fumbled to the bathroom and slipped inside, shutting the door. Blaine took this opportunity to change out of his uniform also. He was dressed by the time Kurt came out of the bathroom, in stylish clothes as always.

"Carol and Finn are here," Kurt said, head cocked to one side as he listened intently. Blaine listened hard and could hear heavy footsteps on the floor above them.

Blaine chuckled, shaking his head and moved to Kurt, pulling his boyfriend into his arms and kissing him. Kurt gasped but melted into the kiss, moving his lips against Blaine's. Kurt knew he would never tire of the taste of Blaine. His boyfriend moved back and Kurt panted softly, hand coming up to Blaine's face and trailing a thumb over his lips. Blaine let Kurt explore his face with his fingers. Kurt leant forward and caught the side of Blaine's lips in a kiss.

"You're so beautiful," Blaine murmured and Kurt blushed.

"You are, too."

Blaine smiled and took Kurt's hands in his. "Are you ready?"

Kurt nodded and let Blaine lead him up the stairs and to the living room.

Dinner was going well up until Finn mentioned glee club.

"Dude, New Directions misses you," Finn said and Kurt dropped his fork. He blushed and Blaine leant down to pick it up for him, placing it in his hand. "We have something we want to share with you."

"What?" Kurt asked curiously.

"Just, can you come to McKinley?" Finn asked, not wanting to give anything way.

"No," Burt said firmly and Finn looked up in shock. "You want to talk to Kurt, you do it anywhere other than that school. They're more than welcome here."

"OK, we'll come here," Finn nodded. "Is tomorrow cool?"

"I guess," Kurt shrugged.

Finn looked to Blaine and bit his lip slightly. "It's kind of just for Kurt," he said, raising his eyebrows and Blaine frowned.

"Blaine stays," Kurt said firmly. "He's here for the weekend."

"Oh, OK then," Finn shrugged and went back to eating.

Carol smiled and looked back down at her food but Burt was watching Kurt carefully.

After dinner, the Hudson's didn't stay long and left with a cheerful goodbye. Burt shooed Kurt and Blaine away when they tried to help clean up and they went to a living room. Blaine slipped in a movie that Kurt had seen before – so he could visualise it in his mind while listening to the dialogue – and cuddled up next to him.

Blaine spent the movie watching Kurt as he played with the hair on the back of his neck, twirling a stray curl around his finger. When Kurt started yawning, Burt called it a night. Kurt kissed Blaine goodnight before taking Lucy downstairs with him to bed.

It was early when New Directions rocked up at the Hummel home. Finn was leading the group with Rachel by his side. Burt answered the door and grunted, pulling it wide so they could come in.

"You can use the backyard, I'll get Kurt." Burt said, indicating to the back door. The group nodded and headed outside, getting ready.

The door slid open and they gave a confused look to Blaine, who they had yet to meet.

"Hey hot stuff," Santana leered and Blaine shifted uncomfortably.

"Blaine," Rachel greeted, stepping forward. "I hope you won't use this performance as a basis of our talent and relay this to your fellow Warbler members."

Blaine shifted again, a pained expression on his face. "The Warblers don't condone spying. We work hard for the chance to compete."

Rachel huffed but nodded. The group turned as they heard footsteps and Kurt emerged. He had his shades on and was holding on to Lucy's rein as she led him outside.

"Blaine, I couldn't find my cane," Kurt frowned and Blaine came to him, slipping his hand to his boyfriends.

Blaine looked at the group and saw they had all turned eerily pale. Mercedes had tears in her eyes, mouth opening and closing in shock, no words able to come to her. Tina had her hands clapped to her own mouth, Mike's arm around her tightly. Even Santana and Puck looked horrified.

"I – I can't do this," Mercedes stammered, tears spilling down her cheeks and she started backing away.

"What? Mercedes?" Kurt asked, confused. Mercedes dashed past them, into the house and was gone. Everyone was looking at him with pity and Blaine's jaw hardened.

"Holy shit," Sam breathed and Kurt bit his lip.

"What's going on?" Kurt asked, clutching Blaine's hand tightly. "Blaine? I don't understand."

"We – we didn't think it was this bad," Quinn breathed, taking in the sight of Kurt and Lucy.

"What did you expect?" Blaine asked coldly, unable to keep his mouth closed any longer. "Didn't Finn and Rachel tell you that Kurt is now blind?"

"But it's, like, a temporary thing right?" Finn asked.

Blaine jaw dropped and Kurt scowled. "No it's not temporary," he hissed. "Really, Finn?"

"I – I think we should go," Rachel stammered, her confidence starting to fade.

The group agreed and quickly bade Kurt goodbye and Blaine watched with a furious gaze as they bolted, unable to handle the fact their friend was now blind. All except two for three.

"It's good to see you, Kurt," Tina smiled shakily, gently squeezing Kurt's arm.

"You look good, Kurt," Mike smiled, gently giving him a one armed hug. "I'm sorry about the others."

"I miss you dolphin," Brittany pouted, kissing Kurt's cheek. Blaine made a mental note to ask about that later.

"I – I don't understand," Kurt muttered, obviously distressed.

"Do you want us to go?" Tina asked softly. "We didn't mean to make you upset."

"I – I don't know," Kurt mumbled.

"We'll come back," Mike decided. "Just let us know when you're ready." Mike turned to Blaine with a smile. "It was nice to meet you. Maybe we could get together soon?"

"Yeah, of course," Blaine nodded, grinning. At least Kurt had some real friends amongst all his other, clearly incompetent ones.

"Do we have to go?" Brittany pouted.

"Come on, Brittany," Tina said.

"Bye dolphin," Brittany pouted.

"Bye boo," Kurt said softly.

The three of the left and Kurt reached out for Blaine, tucking himself into his chest. "Blaine? Why did they leave? I don't understand?" He whimpered. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not, baby," Blaine soothed and he blushed at the pet name; it had slipped out without warning. "They weren't ready to accept that your life had changed and they could have done something to help."

"Weren't ready to accept it?" Kurt hissed. "What? They thought this was a choice?"

"Don't think about it," Blaine instructed. "You don't need them."

Burt was furious. They had wanted to see Kurt but had barely stayed two minutes before bolting. What kind of a 'family' did that? The New Directions went on and on about commitment and love but at the first sign of trouble, they upped and left. Well, Burt thought, family my ass. It was certainly not a family that Kurt would have any further association with.