But after a week and a half without contact, he found himself again thinking about Kurt.

Blaine couldn't deny that he missed Kurt. He missed having someone to talk to about music and school and everything else occurring in his life. He missed having someone to turn to who he had a lot in common with, even if the other boy didn't know half of it.

Kurt had done a horrible thing – horrible because Blaine had once been on the receiving end of it. He still cringed as he remembered the blows raining down on him, the sharp pains in his stomach as they kicked him to the pavement and the cries of pain from the boy next to him. And it made him sad to think that Kurt – the boy who flirted with him, talked with him and became his closest confidant – had something in common with his perpetrators.

But Kurt had been bullied to the point where he had responded with violence. Would he had resorted to the same means had he received the same level of bullying, day in, day out, that Kurt had? Would he have fought back too? Would he have been punished for fighting back because he just couldn't take it anymore?

Then Blaine realized with a start what Kurt must have been going through during his absence. Kurt had probably never spoken about his crime since telling the judge in court, and had trusted Blaine enough to tell him. Kurt who had used his mother's watch to lure Blaine back to see him again, and in the end, letting him go because he knew Blaine deserved the truth, even if it meant Blaine would never want to see him again.

Kurt had stood up for himself and was punished. It wasn't fair.

He must feel so alone.

Blaine chided himself for not having returned to McKinley earlier. It had been a whole two weeks, and it had been far too long.

…

The first thing Blaine noticed about Kurt as the other boy walked into the meeting hall was the telltale dark patches under his eyes. They seemed to match with his messy hair, not wild and unkempt as Blaine had once witnessed it, but rather belonging to someone that did not care enough to style it.

Blaine waited until Kurt had caught sight of him. Kurt stopped in his tracks, blinking his eyes once in surprise. When he made his way over to the table he hovered behind the bench seat. The look in his eyes alternated between uncertainty and wariness, but when he spoke, his words expressed relief.

'You came back,' Kurt said softly. 'I didn't think you would.'

'I almost wasn't going to,' Blaine admitted. 'But after what you had told me, I realized it wouldn't be fair.'

He waited until Kurt had taken a seat opposite him. 'Kurt, there's something you should know about my history, too. I…haven't really told this to anyone.'

Kurt nodded slowly, indicating to Blaine that he was ready to listen. Blaine placed his hands on the table, clasping them together tightly.

'I wasn't always at Dalton, as you know. I went to a public school.'

He looked over to Kurt; Kurt was patiently waiting for him to continue. Blaine took a deep breath.

'I…um…I was bullied. Not to the same extent that you went through, but I was shoved around, spat at, had names thrown at me. Because…'

Because I was into guys, he wanted to say, but he couldn't muster up the courage to say it with conviction.

'….because I was into the arts and performing, and some people thought that was uncool. Some people had issues with it.'

He looked over to a table to his left, watching a McKinley boy with blonde hair laughing with his parents and younger siblings.

'My friend and I, we had just been to a school dance. He and I were both single at the time but we decided to go regardless. We were waiting outside on the sidewalk for his dad to come pick us up and…all of a sudden, I felt someone hit me on my side and I…fell down. And a group of guys…just began to beat us up. They started on me first, and then they went for my friend.'

Blaine moved his hand across to fiddle with the sleeve of his blazer.

'He was crying out in pain and I – I couldn't help him, so I begged for them to stop, but they wouldn't listen. My friend's dad…found us both on the sidewalk and took us to the closest hospital. We knew who these guys were, but the school wouldn't take responsibility, saying that the attack occurred off school property.'

He looked down at his hands, sighing.

'So I left. I enrolled at Dalton Academy where liking the arts was acceptable, even respected. Sure, it may be a little stuffy and traditional, but at least I know I won't get harassed there.'

He smiled bitterly; if there was one thing he could count on at Dalton, it was that he knew he would be safe.

'I'm so sorry, Blaine.'

Blaine looked up with a start; he had almost forgotten that he was telling his story to Kurt. The other boy's eyes were red and his breath was shaky.

'Kurt, are you…' Blaine's voice trailed off as he saw tears roll down the other boy's cheek. Blaine leaned forward, looking at Kurt in concern; this was not the reaction he had been expecting.

'I - I would never, ever hurt you like that. Never.'

Blaine felt his eyes widen as he understood the meaning behind Kurt's tears. They were as much for Blaine as they were for himself.

'You're…you're nothing like he was. He was mean and…and cruel. But you…you're nice and…and you listen to me and you tell me stories about Dalton…'

'Kurt - '

'And…you're so brave. After the way I behaved around you…the way I – I treated you…'

The tears were falling freely now, and Kurt tried to wipe them away on his sleeve.

'I didn't mean to hurt him so badly, I - I just wanted the bullying to stop…'

'I know,' Blaine replied softly, watching Kurt as he lowered his head to the table and sobbed quietly into the sleeve of his hooded sweatshirt. It seemed to Blaine as though Kurt had held back his tears for a very long time.

He was as a loss as to what to do; Blaine wanted to say some comforting words but he didn't know what comfort he could provide to stop the other boy from crying. His eyes fell on Kurt's free hand resting by the side of his head. Without hesitation, he reached for it across the table.

The effect was instantaneous; Kurt gasped and Blaine felt his breath leave him as his fingers touched the back of Kurt's hand.

It was as though a current of electricity had passed through them, sending a shockwave throughout both of their bodies. Blaine let his hand rest over Kurt's, clasping it gently. He felt Kurt's astonished gaze searching him to see if he had felt something too. But Blaine cast his eyes downward, observing Kurt's slender fingers as they curled underneath his hand. The back of Kurt's palm felt soft and smooth and he began to slowly caress his thumb over it in an effort to calm him down. The sobs from the other boy gradually subsided, replaced by the occasional sniff.

They sat that way for a while; Blaine noticed how Kurt was eyeing both their hands on the table. He observed the other boy's chest as it rose and fell slowly with each breath. Groups of people had started to exit the meeting hall as visiting time drew to a close. Blaine gently removed his hand away from Kurt's.

'I have my first exam tomorrow afternoon so I won't be able to make visiting hours on time,' Blaine said, watching Kurt carefully.

Kurt nodded solemnly.

'There will be a spare car in our garage on Saturday, so I can visit you then,' Blaine added reassuringly. 'Is that okay?'

He could not mistake the gratitude that glistened in the other boy's blue eyes as they looked over to meet his.

'That would be more than okay.'