The moment of silence was just awkward. Kurt didn't want Blaine to shut down completely, but he didn't want to force the truth out of him either. He carefully chose his next question so that Blaine might finally give him some answers.

"I can't see what they did, Blaine. Not yet..." Kurt said softly, hinting Blaine that he needed him to talk.

"You can't see what they've done because I'm broken from the inside, Kurt, not from the outside... Not anymore, anyway...

"You can always tell me..."

"It's a long story..."

"We actually have plenty of time, honey." Kurt responded, daring to sit next to Blaine on the bed. The curly haired boy still had his back to Kurt, looking out the window instead of at the door. Kurt laid his hand gently on his boyfriend's back and waited for him to begin his story.

"Part of it might get repeated... I just can't make the difference between what you know and what you don't right now ..."

"That's alright, just take your time, honey, okay?"

"Mkay..."

Blaine was getting ready. He had on his suit, and a bright red flower was attached to his boutonniere. He also had another one, in a box, waiting to be worn by his date. He'd gelled his hair down carefully, knowing that his date didn't really appreciate his untamed curls. He took a glance at the clock on his dresser; it was 7:26. In thirty four minutes, his date would be here to pick him up.

Butterflies were flying freely in his stomach. Their wings were tickling and fluttering all around; it really felt funny. This was the first time he was going out with someone. He was glad his parents weren't there, though. Blaine knew that they away on some business trip... or that's what they told him. He was not ready to let them see him getting ready for his first date. He was a still a shy boy around his family. This was his sophomore year, and his schoolmates knew everything about him. His parents didn't.

When he was satisfied with his general appearance, he went downstairs. He then proceeded to take his coat and matching scarf from the wardrobe near the front door. He took the lint brush from the closet and made sure that no more cat hair was visible on his dark coat. When no evidence of Pistachio was left on the coat and the scarf, he put them on, along with his very chic leather boots. He took a final glance at himself in the mirror and stepped out into the January cold.

A car was already parked and waiting for him in the driveway. He greeted his date's father, who was driving. Once he was settled in his seat, at the back of the black sedan, the person who was in the passenger seat turned around and spoke:

"So, Blaine, honey, ready for the big dance?"

"As long as I'm with you, Anthony, dear, it should be fine," the normally curly haired boy answered with a dashing smile.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine!" Kurt said, unable to keep his apology for himself. He was looking at Blaine with a confused and lost look.

"What for, sweetie?" Blaine asked softly, even though he already knew the answer.

"The honey thing... I didn't know! I swear! It was just – hum – natural, I guess!"

"It's fine, Kurt... You didn't know... And I didn't ask you to stop calling me that! If it had bothered me, I would have told you from the very beginning".

"But it must have been reminding you of him! He was your first date, Blaine!" Kurt said, alarmed. "And probably the first guy you liked," he added with a hint of jealousy

"At first, I let you because it reminded me of him and it was comforting... But now, it's only because it seems so perfect coming from you..."

Blaine was still lying on his bed staring at the wall. Kurt was watching the opposite wall, sitting, his back to Blaine's. Having a conversation without looking at each other was weird, but both boys felt like looking at each other would invade the other teenager's privacy.

"You shouldn't have said it was because your parents never called you with endearment terms, though..."

"Part of it is because of that, Kurt. I didn't lie... I guess I just partly hid the truth".

"Right" the blue eyed said, ending this bit of conversion "You can go on," he added, "if you want".

The night was just perfect. Blaine and Anthony entered the room hand in hand, not ashamed of whom they were. Blaine had to pull Anthony a little, but he was really happy; after all, he was proud of who he was and proud to bring a guy to the Sadie Hawkins dance.

The night was a blast; they were dancing together, never feeling shy holding each other. Blaine was fond of Anthony, and Anthony seemed to quite like Blaine, too. Nobody pointed at them or laughed at them, and if anyone did, they never found out.

Anthony was a shy boy, though. He was a senior, and he'd only come out because Blaine did, and it gave him courage to say who he was. The only thing that was different was that Anthony also told his family he was gay, and they were really supportive. Blaine didn't dare come out to his family. His parents were conservative and very strict.

Despite everything that might have gone wrong in his life since his coming out, Blaine still enjoyed himself. His old friends-turned-bullies were all there, watching him enjoying himself, and they didn't dare make a foul comment. Blaine happy and nothing would be able to change that.

When the night was over, they went outside to wait for Anthony's father to pick them up again. It would only be a few minutes.

"So... Tonight was great!" Blaine said, letting his head rest on his date's shoulder

"Yeah... It was," Anthony responded, shaking his shoulder slightly so that Blaine's head would stop resting on it.

"What?" Blaine asked, as he set his hazel gaze into the green ones of the other boy.

"Nothing... There's just something missing..." the taller boy answered, still looking into the depth of his friend's eyes.

"Oh... Did I forget something? I'm sorry! I thought I had everything! I just –"

Blaine was stopped when he realized that Anthony's lips were less an inch from his. It was the first time he had a pair of lips so near to his own. It was a thrilling feeling. They were immobile. Neither of them dared to close the space between them. Slowly, Anthony raised his gloved hand and cupped Blaine's cheek. Blaine picked up the mood and spoke encouragingly:

"I think that this could be a wonderful way to end the night, actually, Anthony dear."

"I think I quite agree with you, Blaine, Honey" Anthony answered, very slowly closing the tiny gap they had between their now cold lips.

"Wait... I thought I was your first kiss!" Kurt couldn't help himself but to cut Blaine. He knew Blaine must not have been completely honest with him, but if he lied on this, their relationship would take a hard hit.

"You are... We never kissed... Never had the chance to..."

Before their lips could even touch, they heard a voice shouting:

"Hey! Fairies! Neverland's that way!"

They didn't have time to find who spoke when they were already on the ground, both of them, not able to breathe from the first punches they'd received. Blaine was immediately unable to move. He closed his eyes. Unable to breathe, he couldn't call for help or for his dear Anthony.

He felt a foot kicking his stomach. He felt a fist colliding with his jaw. He felt some kind of bat breaking his leg. He felt his rib cage breaking at some point. He felt a piercing pain inside his chest.

He was desperately trying to protect himself. He was curled into a ball on the cold and snow covered concrete. He didn't even try to open his eyes; he didn't want to see what would be coming at him. But he tried to call for Anthony again, with a broken voice; he wasn't able to make a sound without the stabbing pain in his chest reminding him it was there.

He knew those guys were hitting him again and again and again. He just couldn't feel it anymore. His body had shut down completely, and he was just enduring the blows now, waiting for them to stop, while hoping he could fall into unconsciousness soon. Or die.

Kurt was crying now. He, himself, had endured some bullying, but he never imagined that in 2010 someone could get beaten up so badly for being openly gay.

"I – I'm sorry Blaine..." Kurt said, faintly.

"What for?" Blaine said, turning around to look at Kurt. He had to keep emotions away, to not let his façade crack, if he didn't want to lose it completely

"I- I don't know..." the chestnut aired boy answered

"Then don't apologize." Blaine said softly, looking straight into his boyfriend's eyes.

He didn't know how he came to the realization, but Blaine had a body... and it was in pain. Breathing was painful. His entire chest was in pain, and every time he tried to inhale or exhale it just made it worse. He then realized that he had limbs. He was able to wriggle his fingers and his toes but everything else seemed to exhausting.

Slowly, he was able to feel he had a head too. He could feel his heartbeat pounding in it. Oh! That meant he still had a heart... he told himself that was good. His mouth felt like it was filled with sand, though. He tried to make a sound, but he couldn't. He slowly moved his head to the side and tried to open his eyes. Slowly, he saw fuzzy lights and vague shapes around him. Some machine was at his side, and it was beeping. At least he still had ears.

After blinking several times, he was able to tell he was in a room. Everything seemed white. There was a chair in the corner, but nobody was sitting in it. He saw a cast on his left leg; the bed sheet was not covering it. He saw an IV planted in his left hand. He tried to look around, to see if he was alone.

Nobody was in the room with him, he realized soon enough. The steady beeping sound was his only company. When he processed that information, the beeping sound became slightly faster. He could feel tears prickling in his eyes. He really was alone...

He then thought of Anthony. Where was he? Was he alright? Was the other boy in a better shape than him? Or maybe he was in worse shape? Worse shape than this would mean death, in Blaine's book.

The beeping sound increased its pace again. It increased as the pounding in Blaine's head was louder and faster. He then made the connection with the beeping and the pounding. His heart was beating faster and faster. A door opened and someone came in.

It was a woman, wearing a blue uniform. She took Blaine's right hand and spoke softly:

"Blaine? I'm Hannah. I'm here to take care of you, okay?"

Blaine saw her doing something with the IV and he almost immediately felt at peace, his heartbeat decreasing.

"Do you know where you are?" The kind voice said

Hospital, he tried to say. But his voice wasn't cooperating.

"You've been in a coma for a week, Blaine. Just nod, okay?"

The boy nodded in understanding.

"So, do you know where you are?" the nurse asked again.

Blaine nodded again.

"Do you have any memories of what happened?"

On this, he didn't know what to answer. He had flashes, remembrance of stab of pain, but no accurate memories. Starting to panic, he inhaled sharply, causing more pain to his chest.

Seeing his distress, Hannah spoke softly again.

"It's okay. I'll just let you sleep again, okay?"

He nodded and calmed down, the medication having more effect on him now. As Hannah went away, Blaine managed to speak, or at least, make some actual sounds.

"Wa...er"

"Water, sweetheart?"

He nodded, happy to see that the nurse actually heard him.

"I'll be right back"

Once Blaine throat felt less like the Sahara desert, he was able to settle in bed again, not caring about the thousands of questions rising in his head. His brain was getting really fuzzy, as if it was tired of coming up with interrogations. He shut out everything and fell back to the blissful oblivion of sleep.

"Did you really say that nobody was there when you woke up?" Kurt asked, still shocked

"Yes... I was alone..." Blaine responded, still not allowing emotions to show.

"Oh..." Kurt didn't allow himself to ask any more questions. He knew the answers were coming. Slowly, but still, he would know about everything by the end of the night.