The rest of the week flew by for Blaine as he got to spend more time with Kurt, eating lunch together, meeting between classes, and of course at glee practice.  Blaine continued wearing his contacts and let his hair remain curly since this seemed to be Kurt’s preference.  Kurt wore his Cheerios uniform every day and Blaine felt a jolt of pure desire every time he saw the tall, hunky object of his affection.

“Hi there.” Kurt said coyly as he came up behind Blaine’s open locker.  Blaine jumped, slightly startled as the Karofsky incident from his first day was still fairly fresh on his mind.  He quickly relaxed though, and smiled lovingly at the angelic face behind his locker door.

“Hey.”

“So, what are your plans for the weekend?”

“Um…” Blaine began, suddenly ashamed as his usual weekend plans included internet, video games, books, and solitude.

“Because I was thinking we could do something tomorrow.” Kurt said as he reached out to give Blaine’s hand a quick caress before anyone noticed.

Blaine blushed.  He and Kurt had avoided physical contact at school and hadn’t seen each other after school since their date.  It wasn’t that they didn’t want to touch, they simply wanted to avoid instigating trouble from Karofsky’s crowd and so far it seemed to be working. 

But it wasn’t easy.

Kurt, who enjoyed the thrill of the tease, didn’t mind so much as Blaine.  Blaine began craving the physical contact as he and Kurt stood so close to each other.  He could smell Kurt’s peach shampoo.

“So you…don’t have plans?” Kurt asked after Blaine took too long to respond.

“No.” he said as he looked from Kurt’s eyes down to his lips, wishing he could just plant one on him right then and there.

“In that case, would you care to accompany me to the fair tomorrow evening?”

“The fair?” Blaine said as his face lit up.  “Yeah!  I haven’t been to a fair in forever.  It sounds like fun!”

Kurt smiles at Blaine’s sheer adorableness.  His face is glowing like a little kid in a candy store and that’s just another thing to add to Kurt’s list of reasons to love this boy.

“The fair?” said a voice Blaine recognized from the glee club.  He had been so entranced by Kurt and the thought of another date that he failed to notice Noah Puckerman walk up behind him.

“Hey, Puck.” Kurt said.  “Yeah, Blaine and I are going to the fair tomorrow.”

“You know, I haven’t been to the fair in a few years.  Maybe I’ll go check it out.  Ladies love the Ferris wheel.” Puck said with his signature eyebrow raise and smirk.

“Maybe we’ll see you there.” Blaine said.  He had been trying all week to get over his social anxiety and talk to the other glee members.  He was actually starting to make a few friends, having already exchanged numbers with Tina, Rachel, and Mike.

“Yeah, cool.  Peace, bros.” Puck said absently as he turned and began following a Cheerio that just walked past.

“So I’ll pick you up this time.  Tomorrow at seven.” Kurt said.

“I can’t wait.”

Kurt and Blaine exchanged smiles and stares as the hallway cleared and class time drew closer.  Neither one of them wanted to move.

“Your eyes are beautiful.” Kurt said, breaking the silence and eliciting a shy smile from Blaine.

“You’re beautiful.” Blaine slipped before thinking.  It was difficult to resist praising Kurt.

Kurt bit his lip and grinned, looking down at his feet and back up at Blaine through those devastating lashes and Blaine no longer felt any embarrassment about what he said.  This was the second time he said these words to Kurt, and it was only getting easier.  Blaine imagined himself saying those words for a long time.

The bell finally rang and the boys knew they had to get to their respective classes.  They said they’re reluctant “see you laters” and went their separate ways.

Blaine had an extra spring in his step as he thought about his upcoming second date with the beautiful cheerleader.  He had to keep reminding himself that not only was Kurt real, but he was slowly becoming Blaine’s, and Blaine was more than willing to give himself to Kurt.

Blaine turned the last corner before the hallway that led to his classroom when he saw Karofsky walking in his direction.  He froze in his tracks, looking desperately for another person, preferably an adult.  Nobody else was around and Blaine instinctively backtracked to avoid walking past the behemoth bully.

“Hey, queer!” Karofsky called.  Blaine winced at the harsh voice, but stopped to face his demon. He remembered how brave Kurt had been in the parking lot earlier that week and wanted not only to emulate Kurt but to make Kurt proud.

“Can I help you?” Blaine said with a little more sass than he meant to.

“Yeah, you can go back to wherever the fuck you came from, fag.”

Karofsky stopped within a couple of feet of Blaine.  Both boys planted themselves firmly in their positions, neither one wanting to back down.

“Sorry, but I’m here to stay so you’ll just have to get over it.” Blaine said defiantly.

“Well maybe you and Hummel should stop butt-fucking each other and spreading your shit all over my school.”

“What I do is my business, and I don’t care what you think about it.  You need to stop being such an ass to me when you don’t even know me.  What did I ever do to you?”

Karofsky leaned in so close to Blaine that Blaine could smell the cafeteria hot dogs and fries Karofsky had for lunch.  Blaine grew nervous as he knew he would be unable to beat the bully in a physical fight.

“Leave Hummel alone.” Karofsky said simply before backing away and strutting around Blaine down the hallway.

“Why, you want him for yourself?” Blaine called after him and immediately regretted it.

Karofsky halted and spun around.

“The fuck did you just say?”

“I-“ Blaine began but was quickly cut off when Karofsky grabbed him by the shirt collar and slung his body roughly against the concrete wall.

“Listen, faggot, you ever say anything like that to me again and I’ll kick the shit out of you, you understand me?” Karofsky said through gritted teeth.

“David!” yelled a voice from down the hall.

Karofsky dropped Blaine and backed away.  Blaine was beyond relieved.

“What’s going on here?” Mr. Schuester asked as he reached the students.

“Nothin’ Mr. Schue.” Karofsky said, trying to sound as innocent as he could.

“Yeah, it’s nothing.” Blaine agreed.  He had been through this type of thing at his other schools and he knew complaining about Karofsky would only make matters worse.

Mr. Schue looked and both of them with disbelief and concern.  He was aware of Karofsky’s nature and knew that Blaine was probably too scared to say anything.

“Okay, but you two are both late for class.  I suggest you run along.” Mr. Schue said more to Karofsky than Blaine.  Karofsky nodded and quickly walked off.

“Blaine, are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” Blaine lied.

“Okay, well, listen:  if you ever need anything you can talk to me.  I know being new at a school is tough, but everyone deserves to feel safe, you know?” Mr. Schue said as delicately as he knew how.

“Sure.” Blaine said with a fake smile.  “I gotta get to class.”

“Right.  I’ll see you in the choir room?”

Blaine could only nod.

Mr. Schue gave Blaine another concerned look and an encouraging smile before going on his way.  Blaine spotted the boys’ bathroom and ran inside.

The tears came pouring out as Blaine dropped to his knees on the bathroom floor.  He didn’t have time to make sure he was alone before he began sobbing into his hands.

Blaine was tired of being scared.  He was tired of dealing with people like Karofsky everywhere he went and being helpless against them.   It wasn’t right and it wasn’t fair.  Blaine was a good person and he never did anything to deserve this.

He cried for a few more minutes, releasing his anger in the form of tears and getting angrier because of it.  He didn’t want to cry or be upset; he wanted to be furious and get even.  Every person that ever harassed or assaulted him became Karofsky.  Every hateful word, every laugh at his expense, every humiliation ever suffered at the hands of another person took physical form in Karofsky.

Blaine felt a surge of something he had never really felt before:  hatred.  He hated Karofsky and everything he represented.  He hated Karofsky for hurting him.  He hated Karofsky for calling him names.  He hated Karofsky for saying anything about Kurt.  He hated Karofsky for even speaking Kurt’s name.

Blaine Anderson underwent a transformation as he kneeled on the hard tile of the boys’ bathroom floor.  He made an important decision as he cried his last humiliating tear:  he wouldn’t be a punching bag anymore.

Blaine eventually picked himself up and walked over to the sink.  The splash of cool water soothed his burning face and eyes.  He faced his reflection with determination.

“I will not be afraid.” he said aloud.  “I will fight.