Chapter 23

Blaine laid down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Muffled yells crept through his walls, the distance between him and the downstairs battle ground almost enough to filter the obscenities.

Almost.

Another loud yell broke through the barrier of his room and Blaine rolled over on his side, pulling the covers up over his head to try and block out some of the noise. It was a standard fight. His dad his probably had one drink too many. His mother was probably too exhausted and spent to put up with him anymore. Though he wasn't sure what triggered it this time; work, money,

Me.

He took in a breath, slightly flinching as some sort of china or glass shattered; just another casualty in this seemingly ongoing war.

I wish Cooper was still here.

He parents never fought when Cooper was home, not since Blaine had woken up at the hospital. Instead the house was just completely silent.

No one would tell him why or what, but Blaine knew something happened between Coop and their dad. Enough to make them not even acknowledge each other in passing. Cooper, if even home, would rarely eat dinner with them or spend any time with them whatsoever. In fact, the only reason he ever was home was to see his brother. He spent most of his time in L.A.; doing what, Blaine wasn't sure.

His father's voice echoed through the walls and he heard another crash, almost positive it was a wine bottle hitting the wall.

Blaine shut his eyes tight and curled himself into a ball, trying keep from shaking too horribly, trying to stay calm.

He heard another shout, this time from his mother, and a sense of longing washed over him. He desperately reached out for his phone, fingers trembling as he scrolled through his phone, quickly clicking call when he found the name he was looking for.

"Hello?"

Blaine's face instantly lit up, his mind tearing itself away from reality and concentrating solely on the soothing voice on the other end.

"Hey, Kurt!"

"Hey! Hold on a sec… Okay, I'm good. What's up?"

"Not much, just-"

Blaine shut his eyes as the iron grip of his mother's voice, or what was left of it, began to rip him away from his sanctuary. He took a breath, once again focusing on the thought of Kurt's smile.

"Just chilling. Hanging around. Missing you. What are you up to?"

"I miss you too! Um, I'm at Rachel's house. We were just about to start watching Phantom of the Opera."

"Oh…"

As hard as he tried, Blaine couldn't fight the feeling a disappointment that swelled inside him.

"That's, um…that's awesome! I…I'll let you go."

"No, it's fine. They can wait. It's not like I haven't seen it a dozen times already."

Blaine sighed, taking comfort and relief in sound of Kurt's laughter.

"Are you okay?"

But his mind had already returned to the fight below him, which seemed to be reaching a climax. Blaine cringed for a second at his father's voice, forcing himself to bring his attention back to Kurt.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

"Blaine."

"It's nothing…"

The whole house shook as his father stormed out and slammed the door.

"…Parents are just being weird."

"Do you wanna come over?"

Blaine paused a moment, head clearing now that the house was silent.

"To Rachel's? Would she be okay with that?"

"Blaine, I can honestly tell you that I am one hundred percent positive that Rachel Barbra Berry will have no problem whatsoever with you coming over."

Blaine laughed, still unsure.

"C'mon. You haven't had a movie night with us for months. You're due."

Blaine heard the door to his parents' room shut as his mother retreated into their room.

"Okay, okay. Fair enough. Text me the directions. I'll be right over."

"Great, I can't wait!"

Blaine stepped out of his car, checking the address on his phone one last time to make sure he was at the right house.

With a bit of a nervous breath he walked up to the front porch, not even having the chance to ring the bell before Kurt opened the door and pulled him into a hug. Blaine clung tightly, head resting on Kurt's shoulder as he hung on to what little bit of alone time they had.

"I'm really glad to see you, Kurt."

"Sa-"

"Blaine!"

Their moment was halted by Rachel's loud, echoing voice. They immediately pulled apart; the brunette's small feet quickly pounding down the stairs as she skipped over, heading straight for Blaine and burying him in a Rachel-sized bear hug.

"We are going to have so much fun! This movie is perfection!"

"Hi, Rachel."

Blaine couldn't help but laugh as he hugged her back, just happy to be with friends who loved him. Mercedes appeared at the top of the stairs, bowl of popcorn in hand as she called down to them.

"Rachel hurry up, I wanna get my phantom on!"

Rachel quickly shouted back.

"I was having a moment!"

Mercedes laughed as she watched Rachel drag Blaine up the stairs arm in arm, Kurt giggling as he followed close behind.

They all settled in for the movie, shutting off the lights and laying on sleeping bags on the floor, all of them on their stomachs so they could stare up at the TV screen. Blaine was on the farthest side, with Kurt on his right. Rachel was laying next to him, followed by Mercedes, the four of them in a straight line as Rachel hit play.

There was a collective sigh when Raoul came on the screen, each and every one of them all swooning at the sight. Rachel was practically drooling as she gazed at the TV.

"He's so beautiful."

Kurt had his head resting in his hand, pinky finger playing with his bottom lip as he grabbed a few pieces of popcorn and popped them in his mouth.

"Yes. Yes he is."

Mercedes nodded in agreement.

"That boy is downright attractive."

Kurt sighed as he ogled Raoul.

"Christine's so lucky. If a man ever sang All I Ask of You to me I…I honestly don't even know what I'd do."

The girls and Kurt giggled for a second, Blaine's voice meek and quiet when he spoke.

"He's very…handsome."

Rachel and Mercedes kept discussing just how amazing Raoul was as Kurt turned to Blaine with an amused smile on his face. He was greeted with the sight of Blaine's puppy dog eyes and a look that said 'I want to fawn over him too…'

He laughed again and Blaine sighed, leaning his head down on Kurt's shoulder. The Cheerio gently nudged him and whispered into his ear.

"Um, Blaine, there are people here. You may not want to…"

Blaine lifted his head, giving Kurt a quick shrug and a small, warm smile before nuzzling his head back down onto Kurt's shoulder. It was dark in the room except for the TV, and neither Rachel nor Mercedes could see when Blaine took Kurt's hand in his own or when he placed the lightest of kisses on Kurt's cheek.

The movie continued on for a little bit, that is until Christine sang Think of Me and Rachel burst into her much expected monologue.

"I am so perfect for the role of Christine."

A collective groan went up as Rachel continued her squeaky little lecture.

"No, really I am. The role was pretty much written for me. We're both delicate, petite brunettes with amazing bone structure. I mean, this movie is practically my life story. A beautiful, young, amazingly talented girl, always being ignored and shoved away from the spotlight."

Mercedes went monotone, her words oozing sarcasm.

"Oh yes. Of course. You're also a French orphan, just like her."

Kurt's voice was amused as he pointed out just how unlike the two were.

"And you have a mysterious, disfigured teacher who is twice your age and lusting after you from the catacombs beneath your house."

Blaine laughed and added the cherry on top of the 'you are so wrong' ice cream cone.

"And don't forget the long lost childhood love!"

Rachel pouted, rolling her eyes at their suggestions.

"Well, fine. But I could play Christine better than anyone else. My vocal range couldn't be more perfect."

Kurt smirked and turned to quietly whisper to Blaine.

"My vocal range is better for Christine than hers is."

Blaine had to quiet his laughter to avoid the wrath of Rachel. The movie played on and everyone cringed the second Christine took the Phantom's hand and decided to follow him down into his lair. Kurt immediately threw some popcorn at the screen.

"Oh c'mon, Christine! Don't go down into the chamber with him!"

Mercedes shook her head and then gave Rachel a little nudge.

"Dumb bitch never learns. You know, Rachel you're right. You would be perfect to play Christine."

Rachel's jaw dropped and she glared at Mercedes.

"Oh, ha ha. You know, you laugh now but you just wait. I'll have you know…"

As Rachel explained just how wrong Mercedes was, Blaine took this chance to flash a bright smile at Kurt, almost kissing him before suddenly standing up.

"Hey, Rachel? Is it okay if I go grab a glass of water downstairs?"

"…On Broadway!"

Rachel looked up from her little tirade.

"Huh? Oh, water, right! Yeah, sure, that's fine."

She smiled and he gave a quick nod before leaving the room. A few seconds later Kurt's phone vibrated, he glanced down to read the text, pulling his best poker face when he spoke.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go…make some more popcorn."

He sped out of the room, not even hearing Rachel when she shouted.

"But we have a full bowl right here!"

The door closed behind him and Mercedes looked at Rachel, eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face.

Kurt walked down the hall, trying to be as quiet as possible as he cautiously called out.

"Blaine? Blaine where are-"

The door to the hall bathroom opened and Blaine reached out to pull Kurt in.

"Blaine, you do know Rachel has a bathroom in her room, right?"

Blaine shut the door and turned around to face Kurt, an impish grin on his face.

"Yeah. But I wouldn't be able to do this."

Blaine grabbed his arms and pushed him up against the wall, his mouth cover Kurt's, kissing him hungrily like he had wanted to do all night. Kurt's eyes went wide, but he almost immediately calmed, relaxing into the kiss as Blaine let his hands drift down Kurt's arms, clasping their hands as his kisses slowed, becoming more tender and gentle; more loving.

Blaine finally pulled away, and Kurt's eyes blinked open, his face flushed and lips bruised as he spoke in a breathless whisper.

"Blaine…"

Kurt placed a hand on Blaine's chest and the other on his cheek as the jock explained himself.

"I'm sorry. I just, I'm so happy being here with you and I…I just needed to kiss you-"

Kurt silenced him with a kiss, walking forwards until Blaine was pressed up against the sink. His hand fisted in Blaine's shirt as Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt's back, pulling him in close and making his toes curl.

"You taste so damn good."

Blaine dragged his fingers through the back of Kurt's hair as his tongue eagerly slipped between his lips. Kurt pushed himself even closer, causing Blaine to fall back a bit and knock the hand soap off the counter.

Kurt pulled back, breathing heavily as spoke.

"We…uh….we should get back to the movie."

Blaine licked his lips and nodded.

"Yeah. I don't want Rachel and Mercedes to get…"

He found himself staring at Kurt's lips, only one delicious inch away.

"…suspicious."

Kurt smiled and gave him a peck on the lips before disentangling himself and leading Blaine back over to Rachel's room.

They opened the door and immediately froze. The movie was paused, the lights were on and Rachel and Mercedes were standing in the middle of the room, staring at them with raised eyebrows and knowing smirks. Kurt took a little side step away from Blaine.

"Wh- um…Why is the movie paused? You didn't have to wait for us."

Mercedes shrugged and crossed her arms with a laugh.

"Oh, no reason. Rachel and I just decided to do some…talking while you two were away."

Rachel grinned and began walking very slowly towards Kurt.

"And you know, we realized…we never got properly introduced to your…"

She spun to look straight at Blaine.

"…Mystery Man."

Kurt froze, every single muscle in his body locking up. Within a split second, though, he had jumped back into action.

"I…uh…what? Blaine and I are…no. We are definitely not-"

Blaine watched as Kurt babbled on, red faced as he tried to explain everything away. He looked over at Rachel's certain gaze and then at Mercedes' confident smirk before shutting his eyes. Blaine took a deep breath, pausing for a second as he realized there was no way out and then he made the decision.

He reached out and took Kurt's hand in his own.

"Kurt."

The Cheerio whipped his head around, eyes full of panic as Blaine continued on.

"It's fine. They know."

Kurt looked utterly shocked, staring over at Blaine with his mouth hanging open.

"B-Blaine?"

He sighed and squeezed Kurt's hand, feeling a certain weight lift off of his shoulders as he explained the sudden change of heart.

"We knew we couldn't keep this a secret forever, I'm just glad that they were the ones who found out and not like, Finn or someone."

Kurt blinked a few times, regaining what was left of his composure before turning his head back around the glare at the girls.

"You cannot tell a single person. Blaine had some…"

Kurt glanced back at him, and he nodded his approval.

"…trouble at his old school and he's not comfortable with coming out just yet."

Mercedes gave a sincere smile, happy for Kurt and Blaine.

"We won't. We promise."

Kurt flashed a quick grin before looking over at Rachel, eyeing her suspiciously as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Rachel?"

She gave a tight lipped nod without looking him in the eye.

"I promise"

Kurt let go of Blaine's hand to cross his arms and gave Rachel the classic 'bitch glare'.

"Rachel."

She shrugged, trying to sound innocent as she held her gaze on the floor.

"What? I said I promise!"

"Rachel, you tell a soul and I will burn all of your sheet music."

She snapped her gaze up to him and gasped, a look of pure horror crossing her face.

"You wouldn't…"

Kurt just raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I would."

Rachel spoke so fast in her haste to reply that her words ran together.

"I swear on Liza Minnelli's life I won't tell a soul about you and Blaine! There. Happy?"

Kurt laughed as he took hold of Blaine's hand and smiled back at him.

"Very."

Mercedes and Rachel squealed, the both of them fawning over the adorableness of the newfound couple. Blaine blushed, ducking his head as he held tighter to Kurt's hand.

"C'mon, Blaine."

Kurt gave Blaine a quick kiss on the cheek before leading him back over to their spot on the floor. They leaned up against the side of Rachel's bed, intertwining their hands as Blaine once again let his head rest on Kurt's shoulder.

"Ohmygod! You guys are so cute!"

Rachel was nearly jumping up and down as she watched the little scene play out so naturally and Mercedes just had her hands clasped together, beaming at the couple.

"So adorable!"

Kurt raised an eyebrow at them.

"Are you guys gonna be like this for the rest of the night?"

Mercedes chuckled as she hit the lights and sat back down.

"Would you really expect any less?"

Rachel giggled as she took her seat on the floor and hit play. Within seconds Raoul was on screen and Blaine took his chance.

"He is so hot."

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Well, I just figured I could say it now…"

The rest of them laughed and Rachel spun herself around to speak with Blaine.

"You know, Blaine, I'm actually really glad that you're gay. I don't think I would have had the heart to turn you down."

Blaine looked at Rachel awkwardly before smiling.

"Um…Thank you, Rachel, that's very…considerate of you"

Rachel nodded understandingly.

"I know. It's just…I'm a handful, you know?"

Kurt let out a little snort of a laugh and Rachel shot him a look.

"Shut up! I'm talking about my talent!"

Mercedes gave a skeptical grin.

"Mmmhmmm."

Rachel said nothing in response, but instead she slowly reached the popcorn bowl, took a hand full and, in one swift motion, chucked it at Mercedes. She grinned widely as Mercedes carefully plucked a piece of popcorn from her shirt and flicked it on the ground.

"Oh girl, you did not just do that."

"Funny, 'cause I think I…did."

Rachel's last word was punctuated by another hand full of popcorn thrown in her friend's direction. However, this time Mercedes just forced a smile, lightly licking her lips as she, too, took a hand full and threw it in Rachel's direction. The shorter girl anticipated the attack and ducked, causing Blaine to take the hit instead.

Kurt let out a thunderous laugh at Blaine's shocked expression and Blaine turned to him, not nearly as amused as he was.

"Oh, you thought that was funny?"

Kurt was still laughing as Blaine reached out, taking the entire popcorn bowl and dumping its contents onto Kurt's head and causing his laughter to stop cold. The girls let out an audible gasp.

"My. Hair."

Rachel broke the tension, giggling as she threw some popcorn at Kurt. He immediately got a handful of popcorn and threw it right back. Pretty soon everyone was throwing popcorn and laughing, but Rachel, as always, took it too far. She stuck her finger into a bowl and picked up some of the leftover butter. And then, as if she had a death wish, wiped it in Mercedes' hair.

"You got butter on my WEAVE!"

Before Kurt or Blaine could do anything to prevent it, Mercedes had jumped on top of Rachel. She wrestled her to the ground, shoving popcorn into her mouth and shouting;

"Eat the popcorn! Eat the popcorn!"

One of Rachel's dads nonchalantly walked into the room.

"Hey guys, everything o-…kay?"

Kurt, Blaine and Mercedes all immediately backed away. Rachel stood up, brushing herself off and spitting popcorn out of her mouth.

"Yep! Just messing around!"

She gave a huge smile and her dad just nodded slowly, backing out of the room and shutting the door with a soft click; everyone bursting into laughter the second he was gone.

Blaine: Hey!

Kurt: Hey! Lol. Youre texting me during class.

Blaine: Yes. Yes I am :) How are you?

Kurt: Great!

Well, now I am. :)

Blaine: :)

I swear all this lady does is talk.

Whats that face?

Kurt: Nothing. I just really missed this.

Whats *that* face?

Blaine: I just really did too. :)

The guys were all standing in a group in the hall when Puck smacked a fist against one of the lockers.

"This freaking sucks!"

Finn looked over at Puck, giving him a quick pat on the arm.

"Hey man, nothing's for sure, okay?"

Blaine crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall.

"Might as well be. There's no way we're winning Friday's game at this rate."

He shut his eyes and let his head fall back, yesterday's movie night had made him completely forget everything that was going on with the team, but now all of this junk was flooding back, every aggravation pronouncing itself loud and clear. He heard familiar footsteps and as he opened his eyes, a smile came over his face.

"Hey, Kurt."

Kurt gave him a smile back, getting used to Blaine's friendship in public once again.

"Hey."

Sam just groaned and slumped forwards, leaning so his forehead was up against the lockers.

"I feel like a pig waiting to be slaughtered!"

Kurt looked around and raised an eyebrow, finally noticing that each and every one of the guys seemed to have a dark cloud of doom looming over their heads.

"Why? What happened?"

Finn gave his brother a shortened version of their current issue.

"The guys think we're gonna lose the game Friday."

Kurt scrunched his brow, clearly confused.

"Wait, what? Why?"

Mike had a sort of pout on his face when he spoke.

"Karofsky."

Kurt heard that and had to take a deep breath, Karofsky's name making him feel sick to his stomach. The last time he had heard from the jock, he was drunkenly asking Kurt to go out with him.

"He's pretty much got the entire team divided."

Sam stayed in the same position, forehead resting against the cool metal.

"And a divided team means no team."

Puck crossed his arms, clearly getting more upset as the conversation continued.

"Which means we're gonna be the school jokes after we get our asses kicked tomorrow."

Finn tried to reason with them, but it was no use.

"C'mon guys. It's not that bad. We can still pull it off."

Sam quickly flipped around to face Finn, scoffing at his optimism.

"That's easy for you to say."

A frown came over Finn's face as he looked towards Sam.

"What's that supposed to mean."

Sam shook his head.

"It means that maybe if you actually stepped up as a leader instead of standing by doing nothing, things wouldn't be this bad."

Finn took a step forwards, but Mike grabbed his arm, stopping things before they had a chance to begin.

"Guys, stop. We don't need to be turning against each other."

The pair of guys glared at each other a bit before Finn broke the stare and mumbled what could pass for an apology, Sam grudgingly doing the same. Kurt rolled his eyes at the tension between them, he was all to use to their little spats.

"So what are you guys gonna do?"

Blaine took in a deep breath through his mouth, shaking his head in a desperate attempt to figure it out but unable to get any words to actually surface. And, as if the fates were watching and just plotting the best way to screw up his day, Blaine saw Karofsky storming down the hall, heading straight towards the group.

"You sodomy sisters wanna stop blockin' the hallway?"

Karofsky made a point to shove his way through them, and as Sam's body making rough contact with his own; Blaine snapped. It was small and typical, but he was tired of all of it. And this was the very last straw.

He gripped tightly onto the strap hanging on his shoulder, glaring down the linoleum floors. The gears in his head were turning, until something finally clicked. He let his bag drop to the floor with a loud thud, speaking in a quiet growl.

"I've had enough."

He marched out into the middle of the hallway, taking his stance.

"Hey!"

Kurt up until now had been silent, but he didn't want Blaine to start a fight and he sure as hell didn't want Karofsky around him.

"Blaine, stop. Just let him go."

The short jock whipped his head back at Kurt, almost unsure if he actually heard those words from him. But his attention was quickly drawn back to the brute in front of him.

"You want somethin', homo?"

Blaine was a bomb, waiting to explode, his anger was boiling and that comment just brought him closer to the edge.

"Do you even realize what's going on? We're going to lose tomorrow. Because of you! Because of you and these ridiculous rumors you're making up!"

Karofsky rolled his eyes before shooting a quick glare at Kurt, who froze in place, practically praying that neither of them would do anything stupid. He hadn't even realized a small crowd had built up until the large boy started to walk away from them, the Cheerio finally allowing himself to breathe again.

But Blaine was far from done. He needed this to be over with, to finally make this all stop so he could move on with his life. All the hard work he put into this new life, into starting over, into making new friends and keeping Kurt; this one guy stood in the way of all that.

"You don't want to settle this? Fine! Walk away like a coward!"

The crowd, who by now had suddenly and drastically increased in size, chanted out a small "ooooooh". Kurt still stood by the lockers, trying to stop this mess before anyone got hurt.

"Blaine. Leave him alone."

But Kurt's comment was lost when Karofsky suddenly turned back around, his jaw clenched.

"I'm not afraid of you, fag."

Blaine wasn't smirking, no semblance of easiness on his face as he practically snarled out his words.

"You keep throwing out those same words over and over again, but that just makes you the pathetic loser who got his ass kicked by someone as 'gay' as me."

Karofsky immediately became defensive, trying to come up with some sort of an excuse.

"You didn't kick my ass! You caught me off guard! If you weren't such a pussy and faced me like a real man, I would've destroyed you."

Triumph flashed across Blaine's face, it was just the challenge he had been looking for.

"Really? Prove it!"

Kurt called out, becoming increasingly worried as the tension skyrocketed.

"Blaine!"

Karofsky glanced over at Kurt and the Cheerio shook his head, the remembrance of their little agreement throwing the jock off guard.

Don't you dare.

Karofsky looked back over to Blaine.

"W-what?"

Blaine nodded, taking a step or two towards Karofsky with his arms spread out wide.

"You think you're so tough? Prove it. Fair fight. Right here. Right now."

Karofsky glanced over at Kurt again.

"I…"

Kurt was still glaring daggers at Karofsky as he spoke to Blaine, his voice sounding like a warning.

"Blaine…"

The shorter jock was now standing right in front of Karofsky, staring him dead in the eye, his voice low and dangerous as he spoke the one thing he knew to be true.

"Or maybe you really are a coward."

Karofsky had nothing to say, no response or retort and Kurt intervened, knowing he had already let this get too far.

"Blaine! That's enough! Stop it!"

Karofsky grabbed onto whatever leverage he had.

"Yeah, listen to your boyfriend, Anderson!"

Blaine's face twisted as he shouted loud enough from the whole hall to hear.

"He's not my boyfriend!"

Blaine finally exploded, the time bomb going off as he let his fist fly, punching Karofsky right in the jaw. Karofsky used the momentum to his advantage, spinning around full circle, fist clenched as his hand smashed into Blaine's stomach, knocking the air out of him and making him double over in pain. Karofsky took his chance, not letting up anytime soon as he put his hands on Blaine's shoulders, kneeing him in the face. The shorter boy's head flew up from the force and he stumbled backwards until he was up against the lockers.

There was a huge crowd surrounding the two of them, egging them on, not caring who won or lost just so long as there was blood shed. Kurt was frantic, panicking as he looked to the guys for help, but they just shook their heads, shrugging; it wasn't their battle to fight.

Karofsky grabbed hold of Blaine's shirt, almost throwing him as he flung him towards the other wall, causing him to hit against the lockers with out loud bang. He was dazed, but he knew what was going on, he saw Karofsky walking towards him, feigning confusion as he prepared for the right moment. When Karofsky got close enough, Blaine kicked forward, giving Karofsky a harsh kick in the crotch and getting him to back off.

Kurt could see this was going nowhere; nothing good would come of it. No one was doing anything and he knew he would have to be the one to try and stop the fight.

Blaine watched as Karofsky stumbled backwards and he reeled back his arm, about to release a jaw crunching hit when Kurt jumped in, reaching out for Blaine to hold him back.

Kurt was fast, he knew what was coming, ducking Blaine's fist with no time to spare to avoid broken bones.

"Kurt!"

Blaine called out in horror at what could have almost happened, quickly pushing his boyfriend out of the way when he saw Karofsky prepare to dole out another blow. Blaine closed his eyes, waiting for the hit to make contact, but he felt hands wrap around his arms and tear him away.

Sue was blowing her whistle, kids already running from the hall. Mr. Schue had pulled him away just in time and Beiste had her arms around a vicious Karofsky.

It had happened in a blur, too fast for Blaine to even register what was happening before Sue was blowing her whistle again and shouting

"Figgins' office! Now!"

Twenty minutes of shouting, bargaining and pleading and Figgins let them off with just a warning. Sue was the first out of the room, angry that they hadn't been suspended and screaming her battle cry as she tore the books from some student's hands, pushing another into a locker as she stalked off through the hall. David was next, passing by Kurt without so much as a second glance. Mr. Schue and Coach Beiste left shortly after, joking around as the picked up the carnage of Sue's rage. Blaine was last, closing the door gently behind him as he readjusted the pack of ice on his cheekbone.

"Hey-"

Blaine just rolled his eyes and kept on walking right past Kurt.

"Blaine-"

He spun around, hurt in his eyes.

"You could have stood up for me back there. After all that guy has put you through, and you take his side?"

"What? Blaine, are you insane? I didn't take his side!"

"Really? Because definitely weren't on mine."

"You brought that fight on yourself! I told you-"

"Yeah and you just sat there and watched as he kicked the crap out of me!"

"I tried to stop him-"

"No. You tried to stop me. I-…"

He took a deep breath, the last thing he need now was a fight with Kurt.

"Just…forget it. I'll see you later."

Kurt watched as Blaine made his way down the hall, pulling his Letterman jacket a bit tighter.

I am not wrong. He shouldn't have done that in the first place. And I didn't-

But he did. He did just stand by. This entire time he had been standing by, letting Karofsky ruin Blaine life; ruin their relationship. And all this, just for the sake of Blaine's safety; just for the sake of something that happened anyways. And Kurt realized he had been kidding himself all along. He knew he couldn't out Karofsky, he could never do that to anyone. And he and Blaine went through all of that.

All for nothing.