But Blaine didn't go to sleep. Because someone else was in it.

Kurt was lying in his bed, sleeping, for god knows how long. He responded quickly by sleepily wrapping his arms around Blaine's waist to rest his head on Blaine's shoulder.

"Kurt? Kurt, wake up. What are you doing here?" He put his hands to Kurt's shoulder to try and push him away with the hope that he could wake him up.

It was hard to say if it worked, because Kurt just strengthened his grip on Blaine's waist - and cried into his chest. Blaine could feel the tears rolling down his naked ribs, and the shaking sobs from Kurt vibrated through his body.

"Kurt - god, baby, you gotta wake up and talk to me," Blaine tried again, his grip a little firmer on his arms now. Until he noticed the new bruises on Kurt's arm where the sleeve of his t-shirt had slipped up his skin. The bruises were completely black and were a perfect print of a big set of hands.

"Kurt? What the hell happened? Please talk to me!" He tried, this time with a wild urgency coursing through his body.

"Blaine? Oh god, Blaine. I am so sorry. I didn't think you'd be home until tomorrow and I just needed you so much. I should've..." Kurt sobbed suddenly and fell to lie next to Blaine instead. He was completely curled up and his face was wet from tears.

"No, no. It's okay. I just need you to tell me what happened. Please don't shut me out anymore," Blaine cooed as he wrapped an arm around Kurt to pull him close and kiss his forehead. He waited and waited, but all Kurt did was sob against him.

"Shhh, just tell me everything. You're safe with me, doll-face," Blaine assured him.

By the sound of Blaine's name for him Kurt's sob cracked. He dug his fingers as hard into Blaine's ribs as he could with unsteady breathing before he forced himself to calm down.

"It just got too much. I just needed you. But - and they always say those things. And he just grabbed me - and it hurt," Kurt stammered out before he was crying hopelessly again.

What Blaine really wanted to do was wrap himself around Kurt and never let him go again to make sure he would always be safe - but reality wasn't as simple, and he knew that this might be his only shot to get to the bottom of the problem with the bullies. He sat up and awkwardly made Kurt follow so he could cup his cheeks and stare into his eyes.

"Kurt, I want you to tell me everything about these bullies. Who they are, how long it's been going on and what they're doing to you," he said firmly, watching his words reach Kurt and slowly fall into place.

"It's just jocks. I don't know them. They call me things and push me around. Throw me into dumpsters and... touch me, when no one else is around," Kurt cried, face flaming with shame and eyes avoiding Blaine's as his hands were still locked on his face to show that he couldn't get out of it.

"They... touch you? How? Where?" Blaine asked uncomfortably and let his hands fall to Kurt's hands instead. He was pretty sure Kurt wouldn't try to back out anymore.

"Just... they grab me and drag me into the locker room or a closet and - grab my ass, or... front - and say stuff," he mumbled, voice thick with tears and shame.

"Oh baby - I am sorry. What do they say to you?" Blaine burst out in shock.

"They call me stuff like... lady or Homo Hummel and... laugh at me and say that I have a - small dick, because there's nothing there when they touch me. And they ask me if I watch them, if I wanna do stuff with them –" Kurt was shaking. His face was filled with terror and his fingers were twisting nervously in Blaine's hands so he pulled him into his arms and dragged him closer.

"Kurt. Baby. You should have told me. I am so sorry. Those jerks should just stay away from you. No one can touch you. You're mine," he tried comforting, but knew he was doing a terrible job, so instead he clenched Kurt close to his chest with kisses pressed to his hair.

"I'm sorry. I should've said - I'm sorry," Kurt whimpered against him.

"Yes. You should! But it's fine," he assured him as softly as he could while trying to fight off the horrifying images of jocks feeling up Kurt while they said degrading things to him.

Little by little Kurt eased up. He was drained of energy after having cried for an unknown amount of time, and Blaine figured he only really had one thing to do. As soon as Kurt had cried himself to sleep he grabbed Kurt's phone off the nightstand and went to the living room.

"Kurt? Where are you?" Kurt's dad's voice sounded after the phone only had been ringing twice.

"Mr. Hummel? It's Blaine Anderson -" Blaine started to say but was immediately cut off.

"Kurt is with you? I want him home now! The deal was that he told me where he went when he went somewhere," Mr. Hummel thundered from the other end of the phone, making Blaine wonder how long Kurt had been gone. It wasn't until then he noticed Kurt's school bag on the floor next to the couch which meant that he hadn't been home since early morning when he had left for school – if he hadn't been there since the previous day.

"Sir, I am very sorry for the inconvenience. I have only just returned from New York to find Kurt asleep in my bed. He's in a pretty bad state," Blaine said, feeling guilty, but he felt like Kurt's dad should know, so he decided to tell him what Kurt had told him but choose his words wisely.

"What do you mean he's in a bad state? What's wrong with him? Put Kurt on the phone."

So Blaine told him. About the way he had come home to find Kurt in his bed, and the things Kurt had told him – only, he settled for saying that jocks had been harassing Kurt with mean words and pushing him around. He didn't say what they had called him or how they had groped him - he felt like that was Kurt's personal business.

"I want Kurt home now," his dad said, and it was obvious that he was very upset.

"Sir, with all due respect: Kurt is really messed up. I have no idea how long he has been here before I came home, but I have finally talked him down and got him to stop crying. He is asleep now, and I really don't wanna wake him up and have him miserable again. I can take him to school tomorrow, but please just let him sleep and get some distance from this," Blaine practically begged from Kurt's dad. There was a long time of silence and Blaine nearly jumped when the man spoke again.

"Alright then. But I want your number and address so I know how to get a hold of you. I will check with his teacher that he gets to school tomorrow," Kurt's dad agreed and Blaine felt some sort of relief - at least he didn't have to drag Kurt into the real world until the next day.

Blaine hurried to give the man his number and address before thanking him and receiving the message that he would be held responsible if anything happened to Kurt while they were together. Blaine expressed his gratitude once more and hung up so he could return to the bedroom.

"Blaine? Where did you go?" Kurt asked weakly as he crawled back into Blaine's arms.

"It's okay. I'm right here. I talked to your dad and you can just sleep. I promised I'll take you to school tomorrow," Blaine assured him with kisses to his temple.

"You talked to my dad?" Kurt asked, suddenly turning stiff in Blaine's arms.

"Yes. But it's fine. I just told him that you came here after a rough day of school, but you fell asleep so you couldn't keep track of time and I didn't want to wake you up," Blaine told and ran his fingers through Kurt's hair.

"Was he mad?" Kurt's voice was small and sad, piercing into Blaine's ears.

"He was really worried about you. At first he was a little upset - but I think he understood when I explained it to him, though. I just had to give him my number and address. But it's good. That way he can get a hold of me if - necessary," Blaine said and cursed himself away. He was just about to say "if something happens to you" and with the thoughts of those bullies in the back of his mind this definitely wasn't something he wanted to bring up.

"I love you so much," Kurt said weakly, his voice cracking.

"I love you too, doll-face. I love you too," Blaine assured him and tugged him closer.

xXx

In the morning it was a pain to talk Kurt into going to school. He cried and locked himself in the bathroom, but Blaine kept telling him that his dad had said that he would check with his teacher. In the end Kurt unlocked the door and found some clothes in Blaine's closet that he could borrow. It wasn't his size which made Blaine wonder how he could make it work that much better than Blaine could himself.

"If you need anything just call or text me. I'll be here waiting when you get off so I can take you home," Blaine assured Kurt when they were in the parking lot in front of the school. Kids and teachers were streaming towards the entrance and Blaine felt more misplaced than he ever had.

"Please don't make me go in there. Please, Blaine -" Kurt cried scared, his fingers clinging to Blaine's like his last string of life.

"You'll be fine. You're strong, doll-face. All you need is a little courage," Blaine said and was startled as the bell chimed and they both knew that this was last moment.

"You have to go. Now kiss me with those beautiful lips," Blaine smiled and brushed his thumb over Kurt's.

They pressed their mouths together, a need from Kurt he hadn't felt before and it was painful to know what it was born from.

"I love you," Kurt whimpered, trying to force his voice calm.

"I love you too," Blaine promised and had to watch Kurt cross the parking lot along with a crowd of kids that potentially could be the ones making him so scared, but there was nothing to do about it.

So Blaine drove to his office in town where he walked up and down the floors, playing a little with a ball he had in his drawer, checking his phone constantly and when he found nothing had to tell himself that it was a good sign, and sent Kurt a short message simply saying "Courage".

He didn't get much done, but it was more than expected. For a brief moment he considered driving to Kurt's dad's tireshop to talk to him about the situation with Kurt, but knew that he shouldn't, so instead he finished his report on colors of the year's summer fashion.

Around three he closed up and got in his car to pick up Kurt. He waited in the parking lot for half an hour without the slightest sign of Kurt showing. He tried texting and calling him but there was no response, so he made a decision that he would possibly regret: he had to go in there.

He had never set foot in a public school before and was very surprised that the interior was still intact considering how the news always made public schools appear to be trashed and filled with lousy furniture.

He walked down the nearly deserted halls, all students he passed staring at him like he was on fire, but he didn't care until it hit him that he had no idea of where to look for Kurt.

In the end he stopped a petite woman with wide eyes and asked if she could tell him where to find Kurt. Her cheeks reddened when he addressed her and she fumbled a little with her words when she offered to show him the way to the choir room with the message that glee club would have been dragging out since they had a competition the next day.

"So are you Kurt's - uncle or?" She asked as they walked down the halls and Blaine caught himself chuckle at the question, making the woman stare curiously at him.

How was he supposed to respond to that? Should he lie and say yes, or should he be honest? Kurt's dad knew about them and so did Kurt's brother. They didn't exactly try to hide it, but they hadn't discussed what to tell his teachers.

"No. I'm his friend... boyfriend," Blaine said, the last word hidden under his breath, but the woman still stopped and stared at him.

"I'm... I mean - aren't you a little... Kurt's only 16, you know that, right?" She stammered awkwardly, her eyes now even wider, making her resemble a lemur greatly.

"I am aware of that. Kurt's father has given us his blessing so that should be all needed to deal with in terms of 'permissions' and what else," Blaine said, just wanting to shut her up before getting a lecture of how wrong this was.

He looked around himself and to his relief they were standing a bit away from a room with open door and voices streaming from there in eager discussion, so he walked over to see if he discretely could check if Kurt was among the students.

"Hey dude. That's your boyfriend," Kurt's brother said when he caught a glimpse of Blaine in the door and everyone stopped talking to rush their heads in the direction of the door - even the teacher.

"What is that, Hummel?" A Hispanic girl laughed and the lemur-woman had found her way into the room, whispering something to the teacher. Kurt was on his feet, running towards him with urgency all over his face, and the room buzzed with voices behind him.

"Blaine! What are you doing here?" He asked, bouncing nervously on tiptoes with a light hand on Blaine's arm to lead him away from the door when the woman hurried past them.

"We agreed that I should pick you up, and when I had been waiting for almost forty minutes I kind of started to get worried, considering everything. I called and texted you a billion times to make sure you were okay," Blaine said, a little annoyed that this was Kurt's reaction to him being concerned after his revelations the night before.

"I'm sorry. Mr. Schuester held us back to discuss the set for tomorrow and I couldn't sneak my phone out -"

Before they could continue the conversation the kids were streaming out of the room behind them, everyone staring and whispering as they came to a halt a few feet down the hall.

"Hey come on, give them some privacy," Kurt's brother said and took a firm grip around his girlfriend who was staring just as much as everyone else despite the fact that she had been present at the dinner at Kurt's house a week earlier.

"When people said you had a boyfriend I thought it was a rumor you had started yourself, lady-cheeks. Wouldn't have picked you for one to get the mature hotties," the Hispanic girl smirked.

"Shut up, Santana -" Kurt snapped and grabbed Blaine's hand to lead him into the choir room where he picked up his bag. They were just about to leave when the door was closed behind them and the teacher was standing in front of them.

"Kurt, I think you and your... friend - should sit down. Miss Pillsbury will be right back," the man said and gestured for them to take seat on the red plastic chairs. The teacher introduced himself as Will Schuester and Kurt pursed his lips, but Blaine could feel that he was more nervous than he was annoyed.

No one said anything for a long time, but when the lemur-woman returned she was followed by Kurt's parents. The woman introduced herself as Emma Pillsbury and sat down next to the other teacher. The first one to talk was Kurt's choir teacher.

"Mr. Hummel, Burt - were you aware that Kurt was seeing this man - romantically?" the man asked Kurt's dad and Kurt shifted a little in his seat.

"You damn right I was. They've been at it for a few months now," Kurt's dad said in a way that Blaine was sure only Kurt's dad could.

"Excuse me, but don't you think it's a little inappropriate for a teenager to be involved with a man this much older than himself?" Miss Pillsbury asked nervously. By now Blaine figured all she could do was appear nervous.

"We've had Blaine over for dinner a few times and he has always come to say hi whenever he has picked Kurt up or dropped him off after dates and we've never had any problems. He's a very nice young man," Kurt's stepmother said.

"That might be. But he's gotta be at least twice Kurt's age," Mr. Schuester commented.

"Age has nothing to do with this," Kurt suddenly burst out and had everyone staring at him.

"Kurt - are you two having ssss..." Miss Pillsbury started asking, but apparently she couldn't get the word out, which Blaine was happy about since Kurt's face turned scarlet.

"With all respect here, I am not comfortable about my sex life being the subject of a parent-teacher conference," Blaine said and reached over to take Kurt's hand with a hope that it would calm him down.

"You should have thought about that before engaging in - activities - with a minor," Miss Pillsbury mumbled.

"Listen, first of all: I am not comfortable about my son's sex life, or hopefully lack thereof, being the subject of a parent-teacher conference. I will take that talk with Kurt myself, but I have confidence in him - and in Blaine - that they are being responsible. I wasn't the biggest fan of this myself when I first heard, but I knew that if I forbid him to see Blaine he would find a way to do it anyway - he's young and in love. It could've been worse. The only thing I'm worried about here is how much Blaine spoils him with expensive presents and trips to New York," Kurt's dad broke in and Blaine's stomach rolled when Kurt squeezed his hand a little tighter at his dad's words.

"Okay. If that is how you feel there is nothing we can do about it. Although I have to recommend that Kurt might have a few talks with Miss Pillsbury about this," Mr. Schuester said, and that was what broke it for Blaine.

He knew he didn't have any right to it but he couldn't hold himself back anymore.

"So this you get all on ends for? Kurt finally being happy and appreciated, for someone to love him - where have all this fuss been during the time he's been used as chewtoy for the football team?" He growled and Kurt turned stiff next to him, all eyes glaring like he had just exploded in his seat.

"Blaine, please - no," Kurt whimpered next to him, but he couldn't stop it. He could feel Kurt shrink and he was now squeezing Blaine's wrist.

"Chewtoy? What the hell are you getting at here?" Kurt's dad burst out in confusion.

"Kurt - show him," Blaine said softly to Kurt who was shaking his head with eyes full of tears.

"No. No, please, Blaine. Can't we just leave now?" Kurt tried but he obviously didn't think it was a possibility.

"Show me what?" Kurt's dad asked, very clearly upset now.

"Doll-face, you have to show him. He deserves to know so we can get this stopped," Blaine said, voice as soft as possible but desperation filling his insides.

"It's okay, babe. It'll only be a minute and it will be over so they can see that they need to do something about it," Blaine whispered into Kurt's ear as he leaned his forehead against Kurt's cheekbone.

To Blaine's surprise Kurt moved away and got to his feet. He removed the sweater vest he had borrowed from Blaine before he started unbuttoning his shirt with tears rolling down his face to streak the porcelain skin.

Slowly Kurt let the soft fabric of Blaine's shirt slide down his shoulder and further down to reveal his arms and chest all the way down to his ribs; the black, purple and yellow marks a strong contrast peppered all over the milky white canvas of Kurt's skin.

It felt like all air was sucked out of the room. Everyone turned speechless, Miss Pillsbury expressing a quiet gasp, Kurt's stepmother letting her hands clasp over mouth. After a second that felt like eternity Blaine pulled himself out of his hypnosis and started pulling the shirt back to cover Kurt's body, buttoning it before pulling him closer.

"It's okay, Kurt. You did good. I'm proud of you, doll-face," Blaine cooed as he held him close and could feel the people around them slowly starting to come to their senses about what they had just seen.

"Kurt? What is this? Who did this to you? Why didn't you tell me?" Kurt's dad was next to them within seconds. He was upset, but not angry and Blaine was grateful: right now the last Kurt needed was his dad going mad at him.

"I'm sorry, dad. You have so much yourself, and I didn't wanna have you worry about me," Kurt cried. He was resting his head on Blaine's shoulder, holding Blaine close and seemed more tired than Blaine thought he had ever experienced him.

"Kurt, I have to worry about you. It's my job. How can I help you if you only tell me the smooth version of what's going on?" He sighed and let a bear paw brush down Kurt's back.

They sat back down and took a few moments to mentally turn it all over. Kurt was now sitting so close to Blaine that he was practically in his lap and Blaine knew that it wasn't appropriate but he had no intentions on pushing him away because he knew that Kurt needed him.

"I think Kurt should transfer. I can get him a spot in Dalton, a private school in Westerville. I went there myself and my family has been going there for generations. They have a strong zero tolerance policy. Kurt will be safe there," Blaine said after the silence had become too heavy.

"That would be pretty neat but I don't have that kind of money. I can't afford to send him to some fancy school," Kurt's dad said heavily.

"But I can. I can pay for Kurt's tuition in Dalton. You can't let him be here for another two years of this torture," Blaine growled, not caring about what he knew was going to come.

"As much as I appreciate the offer I'm afraid we have to say no. You can't guarantee that you will be together for the next two years and then we will just have to take Kurt back here," his father said firmly, but Blaine could sense that it was paining him to have to say no.

"Blaine," Kurt whispered and when Blaine looked at him his eyes were wide and full of wonder, but he was happy to find that the tears had stopped. Blaine put an arm around Kurt's shoulder and pulled him closer.

"Look, I'm not suggesting that Kurt should run away from his problems. Of course I would much rather see him stand tall and fight for himself - because Kurt is that strong. But you have been letting this happen right under your nose and you haven't even seen the signs," Blaine said with an angry look in the direction of the teachers. The lemur-woman had started to look embarrassed and guilty where, on the contrary, the man looked offended.

"We haven't exactly had a chance. Kurt haven't said a word about it," Mr. Schuester argued.

"He didn't tell me either. I've had to pick up the signs when he refused to tell me. When his dad mentioned bullies and Kurt brushed it off as teasing I could've just accepted it and pretended it was fine. But I didn't, because I care about Kurt and I want him safe -"

"I knew that Kurt was being teased, but he told me to take it lightly. When I tried digging into it he didn't want to discuss it. I admit that I should have tried harder but he clammed up whenever I tried talking to him about it, and I never knew about the bruises," Mr. Hummel suddenly said regretfully, sounding like he really was trying to meet Blaine halfway.

"The bruises are a new addition. I never noticed anything before you mentioned his bullies at our first dinner. After that I started paying more attention and noticed Kurt being sadder when I saw him after school even though he pretended he was okay. He didn't want to talk to me about it, but I kept going. A week ago, when I stayed the night in Kurt's room he was apprehensive and wouldn't really let me get too close. Saturday night I saw the bruises the first time. It was an accident, I came into the bedroom while he was getting ready for dinner with my brother. He tried telling me it was from a rough gym lesson, but of course I knew it wasn't. We fought about it all night, but he wouldn't give in. It wasn't until yesterday when I came home to find him sleeping in my bed and I noticed that there were more bruises and they were much worse that he finally cracked and told me everything. You've been in Kurt's life for years, I've been in his life for five months, and still none of you have seen or done anything to get to the bottom of this. I find that distasteful and irresponsible," Blaine exclaimed, a disgusted look filling his face.

"As much as I like you I really think that you're crossing the line here, Anderson -" Kurt's dad huffed.

"As parents and teachers it's your responsibility to make sure that he is safe and being taken care of. I am the only one who has really done that and still you have been keeping me back here with the arguments that I should be some pedophile creep taking advantage of a kid."

"Blaine, enough now," Kurt peeped weakly before he sat straight and cleared his throat.

"I understand that I haven't exactly made it easy for you to know that something has been up. I've kept it from you, from all of you. But I have been shoved into lockers and called degrading things in the filled halls of this school. Not once did one of the students stop to help me. How is it that no one has taken up bullying in this school?" Kurt said, all eyes on him now.

"Kurt, we couldn't really do much when we didn't know. But I assure you that we will now. You need to tell us who has been doing these things to you so we can stop them," Miss Pillsbury said in her strangely careful voice.

"I just - wanna go home with Blaine and curl up and not think about this for the rest of the weekend," Kurt whined and hid his face in Blaine's shoulder.

"Just tell them who's been harassing you and I promise I will take you home and get you take-out and cuddle you all weekend," Blaine said into Kurt's hair.

"Don't make promises that aren't yours to make," Kurt's father said from the side.

"It was... some jocks. Some guys from the football team and some from the hockey team. I don't know their names. Tall broad guys. Always grabbing me and shoving me around," Kurt said, clearly exhausted, but got to his feet.

"I just wanna leave now," he sighed and looked back.

"Listen - how about we schedule a meeting next week? You find out who these guys are and have a talk with them or I will personally go through every sports team myself. There needs to be some consequences for these kids," Kurt's father said firmly and stood up himself.

"Okay. How about Wednesday next week?" Miss Pillsbury suggested.

"I'll clear my calendar for all of next week for Kurt," Blaine immediately said.

"I don't know if it would be appropriate for you to be present - it is a parent-teacher-thing after all," Mr. Schuester said.

"I don't give a damn. This involves Kurt so I will be there. I'm not backing down on this," Blaine snapped and stood up to grab Kurt's hand.

"It's alright. If it wasn't for him we probably wouldn't have known about this," Mr. Hummel interrupted and Kurt took a step closer to Blaine.

"Good. If that's settled I will leave. Just - give us a time and we'll be there. See you at the competition tomorrow, Mr. Schuester," Kurt sighed and started walking towards the door where he waited while Blaine stiffly shook hands with the teachers.

They walked down the empty halls and over the parking lot to Blaine's car where Kurt's parents stopped, obviously planning on talking to them.

"I think you should stay home tonight, Kurt. Blaine, you're welcome to stay as well," Burt Hummel said, his wife nodding in agreement next to him.

"Dad, please I really -"

"It's okay, sir. I'll drive Kurt home, and then I'll leave it to him whether he wants me to stay or not," Blaine cut off Kurt with a squeeze on his hand to tell him that it was okay.

"See you at home then," Mr. Hummel grunted and started walking towards his own car when Kurt's stepmother came over to throw her arms around Kurt.

"We'll work this out, honey. We'll make sure to get you safe again," she cooed and kissed his cheek before she walked away herself.

Neither Kurt or Blaine said a word, they simply got into Blaine's car and drove to Kurt's house where Blaine parked in the driveway and Kurt got ready to leave.

"You're coming in with me, aren't you? You're staying, right?" Kurt asked nervously when he saw that Blaine still had his seat belt on.

"If you want me to. I didn't know if you just wanted me to go home," Blaine shrugged, a little uncertain.

"I'm not sure I'll get through this weekend without you." His voice cracked and his lower lip trembled, his eyes drifting away from Blaine's in insecurity.

"Alright. Alright. I just want what you'll feel best about," Blaine smiled sympathetically and took off his seat belt so he could follow Kurt inside.