Today, Blaine was the one making drinks. Maddie had written Kurt's coffee order and handed Blaine the cup along with the marker, very well aware by this point that it was Blaine's job to write down the name. It never failed to amuse her and she would always shoot him a knowing grin before shaking her head. Snapping the lid onto the Styrofoam cup, Blaine slid the cup over to Kurt as he looked up and smiled at the boy. "There you are," he said, gaze meeting Kurt's. Unlike the last few days, that little spark that Blaine always saw in those eyes was gone and it was replaced with a red tint. As soon as Blaine's eyes found Kurt's, though, the boy was lowering his head, avoiding eye contact. This was the second time Blaine noticed that Kurt looked like he had been crying. This time, though, Blaine didn't hide the fact that he was concerned. Eyebrows pulled together in the slightest as Blaine lowered his head a little to look at Kurt's face. "Hey," he muttered. "You okay?"

Blaine watched as Kurt reached for the cup, holding on to it but not lifting it from the counter. He kept his eyes trained on the cup as he shook his head with a dry laugh. "Not exactly."

Blaine didn't know this boy very well. He had never seen him outside of work but throughout these past few weeks, he had grown to like this boy a lot. Blaine admired him for his charm and witty comments. He admired Kurt for the fact that his style of dress was very flashy and he didn't care. Kurt was very sweet and very cute. Blaine really liked Kurt and he cared about him. "Wait right here," Blaine said quickly before moving over to Maddie. It was a Wednesday afternoon and the coffee shop was pretty dead, having customers coming by once every fifteen minutes. He practically begged for her to cover for him so that he could talk to Kurt. Without hesitation, she urged Blaine to go ahead, telling him to take his time and that she would be fine holding the coffee bar down on her own.

Tugging his apron off, Blaine tossed it into one of the cabinets before moving around the bar and urging Kurt to follow him. He picked a table in the far corner, away from the other customers. Blaine took a seat and offered Kurt to do the same. Wordlessly, Kurt did so.

"What's wrong?" If he was under any other circumstance, Blaine wouldn't have done this. Offered to talk to this boy he barely knew. But there was something in Kurt's eyes. Something screaming for someone to just listen. Someone he could just talk to. And Blaine was more than willing to be that person because Kurt mattered.

"School." It was the only word that came from Kurt. Blaine said nothing, though, waiting for him to continue. "I am the only person out of the closet at my school. And…there's this…football player who's just…been making it his mission to make my life a living hell."

And suddenly, Blaine understood everything. Kurt didn't have to explain because Blaine knew what it was like. He knew what everything meant when Kurt mentioned a jock and being bullied. Kurt was being harassed for being gay and at that moment, Blaine felt his heart shrink deep into his chest. Blaine didn't say the typical, "I'm sorry" or "That's awful" because he had heard that from others several times before. The apologies and the pity. It wasn't what Kurt needed right now. It wasn't what he had needed a year ago. "I know what you mean…" Kurt's head immediately lifted from where his gaze was trained on the table. "Last year, at my old school, I was harassed. I tried talking to the principal about it, but she didn't seem to care enough to do something about it." Blaine shrugged. "It was like she expected me to take care of it myself." Which was exactly what he ended up doing by transferring the hell out of that damn school. He ran away from it all. The bullies. The rumors. The teasing. He just couldn't take all of the pressure and the taunting. "So I did. And ended up transferring to a private school."

By this time, Kurt was staring down at his untouched mocha once again. He said nothing.

"Now, I'm not saying you should run away," Blaine stated, lowering and twisting his head a little to catch Kurt's gaze and bring it back up. "Because that's something I definitely regret doing. You should call this kid out. Stand up to him, Kurt." Blaine offered the boy a little smile, though it faded a little when he spoke again. "What he's doing to you isn't fair and it isn't right. No body deserves that kind of treatment." Especially someone like Kurt.

Kurt just kind of stared back at Blaine for a few seconds before finally sighing and tracing his finger along the lid of the cup. Blaine knew that it was easier said than done. But he didn't want to watch Kurt make the same mistake he did. He didn't want Kurt to go on the rest of his life knowing that he had let these ignorant kids chase him away.

"Thank you," Kurt finally whispered. His voice was soft and genuine as those blue eyes lifted to meet Blaine's. "Really." And his mouth twitched into a weak little smile.

Blaine reached out, placing a hand over Kurt's with a warm smile. Kurt was in the same situation Blaine found himself a year ago and Blaine wanted him to be stronger. He wanted Kurt to face the things Blaine was too afraid face. "I should probably get back to work," he said, peeking over Kurt's shoulder to see that a line was forming at the register. He looked back at Kurt, withdrawing his hand as he stood. He jogged over to the coffee bar, grabbing some receipt paper and scribbling his phone number onto it. He hurried over to Kurt's table, setting down the paper. "If you ever need someone to talk to," he began, "you can call me." Kurt smiled up at him and nodded, pulling out his phone to add Blaine's number to his contacts. Blaine grinned at Kurt before jogging back to the bar and promptly getting back to work.

Once the little rush died down, Blaine glanced back over to the table where he had left Kurt to find that it was empty. He almost frowned, wishing he had a chance to wave Kurt good-bye when he left. And, as if on cue, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Tugging it out, Blaine glanced down at the message from an unknown number,

Hey :) It's Kurt. I tried waving good-bye I don't think you saw me. You seemed pretty busy. Thanks again for everything.

-K.

Blaine couldn't help the goofy grin that found its way onto his face as he quickly saved Kurt's number on to his phone and responded,

You really don't have to thank me. But, you're welcome anyway. ;)

-B.

Blaine would definitely call this progress in his friendship with Kurt.

-----

Blaine was hoping that since Kurt now had his number, he would be able to talk to him more often. Get to know a little more about the boy and tell Kurt more about himself. He was hoping for a nice text message saying, "Hey, what's up?" but he didn't get that. In fact, he didn't receive a text for the next few days, nor did he see Kurt at The Lima Bean.

It was on a Thursday, late in the morning when he got that text. Blaine was hurrying down the halls of Dalton, bag slung over his shoulder as he weaved through the crowd of uniformed boys. One hand gripped the strap of his bag while the other held his phone that he was about to slip into his pocket after checking the time. He was stopped half way there, though, when he felt the phone buzz in his hand. Glancing down, he saw that he had a message from Kurt which immediately made him smile. Stepping off to the side where a table and a few chairs were gathered, Blaine set his bag down as he tapped the screen of his phone to open the message. That little smile of his fell, though, when he read the contents of the text message,

We need to talk. It's important. Please, call me as soon as you can.

-K.

Pushing his bag aside, Blaine took a seat as he looked up at the students hurrying about. He had five minutes until his next class but he couldn't just go to class wondering what it was that Kurt needed to talk about. What was so important that he felt the need to send an urgent message to Blaine in the middle of a school day? Without a second thought, Blaine hit the 'call' button and raised the phone to his ear. He was almost certain that it was going to go to voicemail, but Kurt finally answered. He sounded a little out of breath, like maybe he had been running.

"Hello?"

"What's up? I just got your text." Blaine's voice was gentle as he spoke.

"Karofsky-The football player I told you about he…" Kurt trailed off and Blaine's stomach dropped.

"Are you hurt? Kurt, what happened?" Suddenly, Blaine felt so incredibly guilty. He was the one who had urged Kurt to stand up to the bully. He was the one who had told this innocent boy to stand up to some football player that was probably twice Kurt's size. Some guy who could very easily hurt Kurt.

"No, no. I'm fine," Kurt breathed and Blaine nearly sighed in relief.

"Then what happened?" he asked, voice free of the tension it held before.

"He kissed me." Kurt's voice was strained and he sounded like he was about to cry.

Blaine's eyebrows shot up and he felt like maybe he misunderstood what Kurt had just said. "He…kissed you?" Blaine asked slowly.

"Yes. In the locker room. I stood up to him, like you said-" guilt "-I confronted him. I told him I wasn't afraid-That he couldn't change me-That he could hit me all he wanted, but it would-" He heard Kurt choke back a sob. "And he just grabbed me and he kissed me."

Blaine breathed in slowly. Well, this was definitely something he wasn't expecting. The kid who was bullying Kurt turned out to be a closet case who was taking his frustrations and anger out on Kurt. "Calm down," Blaine said softly. "Just breathe, ok? Kurt it's ok. Listen. Are you still there?"

"Yes."

"I'll drive over there and we'll talk to him. It's obvious that he's having some serious issues. Maybe I can offer some advice. Convince him that it's ok to feel confused and alone. People like him…they just need to know that they have support. That they have someone who understands." Blaine fell silent, waiting for an answer, but got nothing. "Is that okay?"

"Yes. You really don't have to. I just-"

"Hey," Blaine interrupted with a little smile, "It's O.K., really. After my next class, I have a free period."

"Thank you, Blaine." It was the only thing Kurt said. He didn't argue and he didn't resist.

That little smile stayed on Blaine's face. "I gotta get to class now. Text me your school's name and I'll call you when I'm on my way. And just…take it easy, alright? Go lay down in the nurse's office if you have to."

"Alright…I'll see you soon."

"Bye, Kurt."

"…Bye, Blaine." And then the line went dead.

Slipping the phone into his bag, Blaine stood, lifting the strap over his shoulder and jogging down the hall.

--------

His confrontation with Karofsky hadn't gone as smoothly as Blaine would have hoped. Of course, he didn't expect the guy to admit that he was totally gay, take Blaine and Kurt's hand and skip off into the sunset. But, Blaine also didn't expect the guy to throw him into a fence and warn Blaine not to "mess" with him. Blaine had to admit, at that moment, his heart had nearly sprung out of his chest as his stomach dropped. It was a cruel reminder of what he had dealt with at his old school. The kind of harassment and violence he had been exposed to. It reminded Blaine why he decided to hide within the polished walls of Dalton Academy. He had simply held his hands up in defense, letting Karofsky know that he meant absolutely no harm and wasn't looking for any sort of fight. He saw something flash across Karofsky's face after Kurt had yanked him away from Blaine. He noticed the shifty eyes and the way he had quickly descended down the stairs, nearly tripping when he reached the bottom. He was the biggest closet case Blaine had ever seen and it was a little pathetic.

Currently, Blaine found himself sitting within a small caf�, Kurt sitting across from him. Blaine watched Kurt in silence, who was sitting with his elbow on the table, chin in hand, eyes cast out the window. They hadn't really said much to each other on the short drive here (Blaine had offered to drive, telling Kurt he shouldn't drive when feeling upset.) Kurt looked as upset as ever, those eyes focused outside.

With a little tilt of the head, Blaine finally spoke. "You still with me?" he asked carefully watching as Kurt dropped his hand onto the table a straightened up, looking at Blaine.

"Yeah. Sorry."

"It's fine. You just seem…really out of it." Blaine offered him a comforting little smile. Then again, Kurt have every reason to be "out of it." Especially after he had revealed to Blaine that he had just gotten his real kiss stolen this morning from a confused bully who was struggling with his sexuality. That, however, was a subject Blaine didn't want to touch. He wasn't even sure what to even say about it.

"It's just been a stressful day," Kurt admitted. "How long is your free period?" he asked suddenly, arching a brow.

Blaine lowered his head, looking a bit like a kicked puppy. "An hour," he admitted. He had definitely been gone for much longer than an hour. "Don't worry about that, though," he added quickly. This was more important. "One day isn't going to kill me. And you're not allowed to get on my case about it because you're skipping class, too." Blaine winked.

Kurt offered him a small smile. "Fair game."

"So, McKinley, huh?" Blaine asked with a smile. "I don't know why, but you strike me as the type of person who would be in the Glee club. New Directions?"

Kurt's eyes went a little wide. "Have you been stalking me?" he asked with a little laugh. "I don't know if I should be flattered or creeped out."

"Hey. No. Neither." Blaine laughed nervously. "I haven't been stalking you. I'm actually a member of the Dalton Warblers and we've done research on our competition. So, that doesn't count as stalking."

"Well, then, Blaine Warbler. I just thought I'd let you know that you have your work cut out for you. Because the New Directions are pretty awesome, especially since they have me." Kurt grinned and that just melted Blaine's heart. It was the first time he had seen Kurt smile so genuinely all day. He hated seeing Kurt so upset. And he hated knowing that he was upset because he had something a precious as a kiss stolen from him in some dirty locker room from a jock who seemed to be constantly fighting between the urge of kissing Kurt and punching him. He hated knowing that Kurt was going through the same thing Blaine had faced. He hated knowing that Kurt was constantly pushed into lockers and made fun of for being proud of who he was. It was something Blaine wished he could change, but knew he couldn't. He couldn't stop people from being ignorant and he couldn't stop the hate. He couldn't keep Kurt safe from bullies.

What he could do, though, was give Kurt support. Let Kurt know what he wasn't alone and that he had someone he could always talk to. Someone he could always call. Someone who understood how he felt. And that was what Blaine would do. He would be more than just "that nice barista at The Lima Bean." He would be Blaine Anderson, Kurt's friend. Kurt's support. Kurt's mentor.