The days passed quickly after that.  Kurt was given a coat and a pair of shoes for outside and theyd spends hours having make believe adventures in then go little playground by the factory or venturing into the five tree "forest" right by the factory parking lot.  One day theyd be pirates, the next princes, and Kurt finally felt like a child again lost in fantasy and fun.

When it got especially hot out during the peak of summer, theyd strip down to their underwear and bring buckets of water in from the factory washroom and dump it into a small, aqua bed in section of the sidewalk, turning it into a little pool for their feet which theyd inevitably end up kicking and splashing at one another.  

Of course, Blaine asked questions.  

"Why dont you just tell the people in charge that your mom couldnt help getting sick?"
"Why didnt you and your dad just run away?"
"How long do you have to work for?"
"What if you never see your dad again?"
"Do you still think Im a mean person?"

Kurt was good at deflecting most of the questions about his servitude, especially since he really didnt know the answers to any of them.  Blaine had such a black and white view of the world and Kurt was already well aware there were millions of shades of grey between and that was where life was lived.

But at least on the last question he had an answer.

"I dont think youre mean Blaine... I think you do mean things sometimes because no one has ever taught you better."

Blaine nodded to that. "Mom and dad are too busy to teach me stuff I should know."

"Maybe you should ask them to teach you."

"Maybe since youre my friend you could just teach me Kurt."

So Kurt did - or at least he tried to.  He talked about how everyone saw things differently depending on where they grew up and what their parents taught them and what theyd experienced.  He tried to explain how what Blaine had been doing to workers in the factory made them feel, and why workers didnt fight back or argue when Blaine came around causing trouble.  It seemed like Blaine had been taught a lot about history and math and writing, but not a lot about how people related to one another.

"Howd you learn this stuff Kurt?"

Kurt tried to think, only coming up I with a shrug, "Dont know.  My mom and taught just told me if what I was doing was right or wrong and why they thought so... Think that when I heard their reasons I began to think about what other people thought when I did something."

"You said its called empathy right?"

Kurt nodded.

"I want to be good at that one day too.  Like you."

That made Kurt's heart swell up like he didn't know he could.  No one had ever paid him a compliment like that before.  Usually all he got in terms of compliments was “Good work.” or “You made quota.  Good.”

Back at the factory, his friends still seemed to think he was being brutalized though.

“Bet he made you lay in the sun until you got that sunburn hey?” Noah said one evening as Kurt tried to focus on doing math and not rubbing at the reddened skin over his nose and cheeks.  They had played outside so long they hadn't remembered to reapply sun lotion and now he was a lobster all over.  It was brutal, but definitely not Blaine's fault.

Kurt had tried explaining to the group that Blaine wasn't actually a total brat, but more like a kid without parents to guide him.  That hadn't gone over at all.  Without them being able to see it, they didn't believe it, and so Kurt just ignored or tolerated their comments.

“Nice bruise on your forehead cupcake.”  Santana noted the week after.  “Kick or punch?”

It was actually because Kurt had tripped running through the sand in the playground and bonked his head on one of the play structures.  Blaine had been quick to fetch help even though Kurt had insisted he was fine.

“Oh Kurt…”  Sam said sadly as he watched Kurt limp around a couple days after that.  “What did that little butthead do now…?”

Kurt shook his head.  Blaine hadn't done anything.  Kurt was the one who had suggested they jump off their swings when they were swinging and he was the one that had landed funny.  The doctor said it would be fine, and lectured them both for what seemed like the hundredth time that summer on playing safe.

But the pain didn't really bug Kurt at all.  His days went so quickly, and he had so much fun.  The kids here - they couldn't understand.  It had been so long since they really played they had forgotten that bumps and bruises came with that.  Blaine was learning too.  When Kurt got hurt too badly now to play outside, Blaine was ready the next day with some of his movies from home that they watched in the playroom.  They also read books, made puzzles, and played boardgames.  Blaine had even introduced him to video games, and Kurt was proud to say that he could keep up with Blaine's skill level in Mario.  

“My mom's coming back right before school starts…”  Blaine admitted to Kurt softly one afternoon.  The mentions of school starting had been more frequent lately, and while Kurt didn't know still exactly when that was for Blaine, he was dreading it.  Back to the monotony of the floor.  Back to no play.  Back to bland foods.  No games, no books, no movies, no Blaine.

“That's good right?” Kurt asked, never really sure when it came to how Blaine felt about his parents at any given point in time.

Blaine shrugged, “Haven't seen her in like forever… I'm excited… but I'm worried she's forgotten about me.”

Kurt tutted, “Moms and dads don't forget their kids Blaine.  My dad and I have been away for much longer than you and your mom have and I know he hasn't forgotten me!”

“But that's different!  My mom CHOOSE to go.  Your dad didn't….”  

It was true, and Kurt knew that at least on that level he had it easier than Blaine.  He never had to wonder about his dad's love for him, or his mom's for that matter.  They had to be forcibly removed from him in one way or another.  He knew they'd never agree to just leaving him behind.

“Your mom loves you Blaine.”  Kurt tried to say to console him, but instead making Blaine just huff disbelievingly.

“I don't want summer to be done.”

Kurt agreed, though probably not for the same reasons Blaine did.  He didn't know why Blaine wouldn't want to go back to school though, be around friends all day, be able to socialize, play…. No matter how much Kurt tried to relate to him what his life was life, Blaine never really understood what Dents gave up when they entered into service.

Understanding took experience.

No matter how the pair tried to extend their time together though, the end came when Blaine's mother arrived and Kurt was shuffled back onto the floor with no word to reason to it.  Blaine didn't visit the factory anymore and the only information he got on him was when he heard Blaine's parents arguing up on the stairwell about letting a Dent play with him.  His mom was volatile.  Angry to no end, and Kurt could see where Blaine got his own troublesome behaviour from.  She had no problem insulting her husband in front of all his employees, Dent or otherwise, and telling him he was an idiot for letting her son get “mixed up with the wrong kind of kids”.  Kurt sunk lower into his seat as they fought, wishing he could make himself invisible, and worried that she'd find him and take out her anger on him.

She didn't though.  She ended the argument by spitting at her husband and walking right out the door as quickly as her short legs could carry her and that was the last Kurt heard of Blaine.  He didn't know whether he had gone to live with his mother, or had a nanny now, or was back in school, and after a month back on the floor, Kurt knew he couldn't expect to see him back or hope that they could be friends any longer.  Blaine was gone, and Kurt was left behind.

Always, left behind.