I can’t believe I ran like that. I can’t believe I hit Blaine’s hand away either. What’s wrong with me? I can’t go around thinking that everyone who gets close to me is going to hurt me. But I can’t help it, not after what happened. When that boy knocked me down, it’s all I could think about. Memories of jocks shoving me into lockers flooded my head, on top of the locker room incident, so I ran. I ran away just like I ran away from McKinley to Dalton. I really am a worthless coward. But then again, standing up for myself go me hurt. I’m so conflicted about what to do, but I don’t want to talk to someone about it. What will they think of me when they find out, especially Blaine? That conversation would ruin any chances I had with him.

Where am I anyway? I looked around the room I had fled to and noticed couches and chairs. In the back of the room near the windows was a large, black piano. I walked over to the piano and began to play. I thought that if I played a song to inspire me to let people in and stop running, then I’d stop crying or something. Maybe it’d even make me feel better. So, I sang.

Tears are forming in your eyes
A storm is warning in the sky

The end of the world it seems
You bend down and you fall on your knees
Well get back on your feet yeah

Don't look away
Don't run away
Hey baby it's only life
Don't lose your faith
Don't run away
Hey baby it’s only life
Yea it's only life

You were always playing hard
Never could let down your guard

But you can't win
If you never give in
To that voice within
Saying pick up your chin
Baby let go of it

Don't look away
Don't run away
Hey baby it's only life
Don't lose your faith
Don't run away
Hey baby it’s only life
Yea it's only life

I finished playing, and I heard clapping from behind me. I quickly wiped my eyes so they wouldn’t see my pathetic crying.

“Kurt!” Jeff yelled as he ran over to the piano bench. “I had no idea you could play the piano!” He concentrated on the keys and folded his arms in frustration. “I’ve always wanted to know how to work one of these things. Maybe you could give me a lesson sometime.”

Thad laughed at Jeff and ruffled his hair. “You’re such an idiot, Jeff,” he said.

“Don’t fall for his puppy dog face, Kurt,” Nick said.

“It’s all an act. I play piano and guitar, and I have tried on numerous occasions to give him lessons. He’s awful. He gets distracted easily, and he won’t sit still long enough to show him anything.”

“Hello!” Wes shouted. “You guys are missing the main point. Kurt can sing!”

“Yeah,” David said, “Wes is right. Plus, he’s a countertenor! He’s exactly what we need for sectionals this year.”

They all nodded in agreement. I looked passed them to Blaine who had been silent the whole time. Maybe he was quiet because he didn’t have anything nice to say about my voice. He noticed me staring, so I quickly looked away embarrassed.

“Kurt,” Blaine finally said. “I’ve never heard anyone sing the way you do. It was breathtaking. You should definitely audition for The Warblers.”

“Um, thanks,” I said, “but what exactly are The Warblers?”
Wes jumped up looking completely bewildered and started to shout, “What?! You’ve never—”

David grabbed Wes around the stomach to keep Wes from launching himself at me, and he placed his hand over Wes’s mouth. “The Warblers is the name of the glee club here at Dalton,” David said calmly despite the fact that Wes was struggling with all his might. “We are a very traditional glee club, so we usual don’t have instruments behind us as we sing like most glee clubs now-a-days. We would love to have you audition this Friday if you have the time.”

“Audition?” Thad said. “Please, Kurt, you’re practically in. Wes has been searching like a mad man for a countertenor.”

I heard a loud bump and looked over to see that David was on the floor and Wes had broken free. “Well, yes, Thad, if it were just up to me, then, he would be in right now. But in keeping with the honorary traditions of this club, Kurt must have a formal audition in front of the club. We will vote and notify him afterwards,” Wes said coolly. I’d never heard him so serious or stern before. It was different. I looked to see what David had made of Wes’s new found authority in his voice, and he just sat there still on the ground with a smile on his face looking up at Wes.

“It would be really great if you auditioned, Kurt,” Blaine said. He moved right in front of me looking down with his perfect smile. I looked up to meet his gaze, and I just about melted right there. I couldn’t bring myself to smile, but I quickly closed my mouth and nodded. I probably looked like a complete idiot to Blaine.

“If you’re still skeptical, we are giving an impromptu performance outside the cafeteria later this week,” Nick said. “If you don’t like what you hear, don’t audition. If you do like it, then we will see you on Friday.”

I smiled at Nick. I bet some people think him being so blunt and straight forward was rude or that he was trying to get rid of them. But I’m pretty sure that’s just how his brain worked. He was always so busy with school and other things that he must have to think of things in short, to-the-point sentences. I liked it though. I hate it when people drag things out and “beat around the bush.”
“Alright,” I told them, “I’ll think about it.”

Everyone instantly shouted, especially Wes. Jeff who was still sitting next to me grabbed both my shoulders and gave them a tight squeeze in the midst of the shouting. Then he patted my hurt shoulder as he stood up to join the others. I immediately cringed in pain. I looked up around to make sure no one noticed, but, of course, Blaine was looking straight at me. He walked over to me and asked,

“Hey, um, are you okay? I’m really sorry about earlier. I don’t know what I did, but I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” I said quickly standing up to face him.

“I shouldn’t have slapped your hand away like that. You were just trying to help me. And I shouldn’t have run away
like that. I’m really sorry, Blaine.”

“It’s fine,” he said, relieved. “I was just worried is all, and you never answered my question: Are you okay? What happened with that guy really shook you up. I know you were bullied at your old school, but it looked like more than that. You can’t keep that in, Kurt. You need to talk about it. If you ever want to talk about it with someone, you can come talk to me anytime.”

I blushed immediately. “Oh,” I said looking away. He was worried about me. I thought that I may have freaked him out or something, but he was worried. I can’t believe he apologized to me. I’m the one who hit him and practically shoved him away from me. Then, I ran away from him leaving him on the floor. I was awful and after all that, he apologized. Blaine was really something. I think I could trust him with my secret. I could see that he cared about me and if I wanted to be with him, then I couldn’t keep a secret like this. Even if he doesn’t want to be with me after I tell him, at least, I will have talked about it with someone. Then maybe I will be able to get close to people again without freaking out. “I do need to talk to someone. Can we talk about what happened later? ”

“Yeah, I can come find you after Warbler practice, okay?” he said.

“Okay, I’ll be in my room,” I said. He smiled at me again, and I did the same.

“Okay,” Thad said from across the room, “enough flirting, you two. It’s almost time for the meeting to start.”

Blaine and I turned completely red. I turned around to see that David, Wes, and Thad had taken their seats at the table at the far side of the room near the entrance. Jeff and Nick were sitting on the love seat next to the table. Other students were starting to come in as well. I’m assuming by meeting, he meant for The Warblers. Since I’m not officially a member, I should probably leave. I grabbed my bag off the floor, and looked to Blaine.

“We were not flirting!” Blaine shouted to Thad as we both made our way across the room.

“Oh, that sucks,” Thad said to him. “I was hoping you were.”

I gave Blaine a questioning look, and he blushed even harder, which I didn’t think was possible. I walked over to the table to tell them good-bye, but something Wes had in front of him distracted me.

“Wes, you have a gavel?” I asked, reaching out to touch the glass casing it was kept in.

“Don’t you touch Christine!!!” Wes shouted. My hand recoiled instantly and I looked down at him giving him a shocked expressed. “I mean, um, yes I have a gavel to keep order at the meetings.”

I looked at the glass casing again quickly. The bottom had a golden tag that said, “Christine.” He had named it. Well, this was getting too awkward for my taste. “I’m going to go eat dinner, and start on some work,” I told them. “Bye.” I waved as I exited.

I expected the dining hall to be a bit empty by now, but alas it was full of boys. There were so many people here. Blending in here shouldn’t be a problem with or without Blaine, if Blaine still wants to be with me after our “talk.” I’m actually kind of regretting promising him that talk. How would I start it? What would I say? I liked him a lot. I didn’t want that asshole Karofsky to ruin every aspect of my life. I grabbed a tray but had no idea what to put on it. I ended up grabbing an apple. The old woman swiped my I.D. after looking at me skeptically. I guess all the boys here normally had appetites like animals.

I grabbed a table near the back and pushed my apple around the tray. I watched it roll around while buried deep in thought about what to do about Blaine. A hand reached down stopping the apple. I looked up to meet a pair of deep brown eyes. It was a rather tall, thin woman with purple glasses that matched the silk scarf around her neck. My eyes wondered to her clipboard. “May, I help you,” I asked.

“If you are Kurt Hummel, then yes, you can,” she replied.

“I am,” I said slowly. “Who are you?”

“I’m Ms. Clemmings, the guidance counselor here at Dalton,” she said. “We had a meeting scheduled for today during your lunch period. I’m assuming you forgot about it.”

Holy crap! I had forgotten about her completely. I got an email last night about meeting with her about my class schedule and to see if I was “adjusting properly.” “Yes, I did,” I said. “I’m so sorry. Is there any way we can reschedule it to another day?”

“How about now?” she asked. “After all, it doesn’t look like you’re too interested in dinner.”

I sighed looking at the apple. “I suppose you’re right. Now would be great.” I tossed the apple and followed the woman back to her office. Her office was on the third floor above the dining hall. I had never been up here, but it looked to be where all the teacher offices were. We reached a dark brown door labeled “Guidance Counselor” and entered. Instead of sitting behind her mahogany desk, she took a seat in a green lounging chair. She stretched her arm toward the couch silently inviting me to take a seat. I sat down, crossed my legs, and stared at her waiting to be asked a bunch of irrelevant questions about how my day went.

“So, Kurt,” she said looking at her clipboard, “how do you like Dalton so far?”

“It’s nice,” I replied.

“Even the uniforms?” she asked still looking down. “Most students who transfer from public schools tend to complain about that a lot. I would if I were you.”

I smiled. “Well, at first I was disappointed that I couldn’t wear anything fashionable, but I think it’s better this way. It’s safer.”

“Why is it better this way?” she asked putting her pen down.

“No one can judge you if they are wearing the same thing as you,” I said.

“It says you were bullied at your old school, and that’s why you transferred,” she said. “Is that why you feel that it’s safer?”

“I guess,” I replied. I was hoping she wasn’t listening to me mumble, but she heard every word.

“You do know that no one will hurt you or judge you here, Kurt?” she asked.

“I know,” I said, “because of the no-tolerance bullying policy.”

“No,” she said. “it’s because here at Dalton we’re like a family. We treat everyone the way that we would like to be treated if we were in that situation.”

“Psh, please,” I said. “You can’t expect me to believe that every student and teacher at this school is just open-minded and accepting to everything.”

“No, but the majority are,” she said. “And those who aren’t keep it to themselves and at least show you respect. Here, no one is going to impose their beliefs upon you by trying to beat them into you or anything like what you’ve gone through in the past. I just want to let you know that you are safe here, Kurt. Don’t get to busy fitting in that you lose yourself along the way, okay?”

“Okay,” I said. “Thanks.” I’ve never had a pep talk from anyone like that. She’s right though. I shouldn’t be afraid anymore. After all, didn’t I transfer to Dalton so I could be myself somewhere safe?

“Any time,” she said. “I’m sure we will see each other again, and if you ever need to talk you know where to find me.”

“Thanks, Ms. Clemmings,” I said as I stood to leave.
She reached her hand out to shake mine and said, “Nice meeting you, Mr. Hummel.”

I smiled and shook her hand. “Nice meeting you, too.”

“Hmm,” she said, “your hands are rather clammy. Were you nervous this entire time?”

“Oh no,” I told her, “it’s just a little warm in here. Anyway, thanks again, Ms. Clemmings.”

I finally left closing the door behind me. As I walked outside, the cool fall breeze was wonderful against my skin. The heat was turned up too high for my taste in that building. Hopefully it’d be cooler in the dorm. By the time I got to my room, I was so tired that I wanted to just sleep, but I couldn’t stop thinking about everything. On top of school, this thing on my shoulder, and making new friends, I had to audition for The Warblers. I had no idea what song I would sing. Something that inspires me, maybe. I’d have to ask Finn for advice about it later because right now I couldn’t stand up straight, let alone think about song choices. I couldn’t shake the tired feeling. I felt ill, and my shoulder stung with intense pain. I went to the bathroom and took my blazer and shirt off to take a look at it. I carefully unwrapped the bandages and noticed that it had gotten worse. It was red, puffy, and purpler. I guess I needed to talk to Nick about how to clean this thing properly, but not at that exact second. He was probably still at Warbler practice and I had to talk to Blaine first anyway, so I decided to shower. Hopefully the shower would cool me off because it was so warm everywhere. The pressure of the water against my wound stung but the coolness of the water felt nice against it. I reached up quickly to grab some shampoo hurting my arm. The pain was awful so I just decided to try not to move it anymore than I had to. I got out of the shower and put on black sweat pants and a large white shirt. I definitely was not about to go anywhere for a while so it didn’t matter what I wore. I barely made it to the bed when my body just gave out on me and I passed out on top of the covers.

When I woke up, I felt as if I was still sleeping. I was still so warm and my vision was blurry. I stood up slowly and walked over to my mirror. I looked so tired and felt it too. A shooting pain went through my entire arm starting at my grotesque shoulder. I grasped my shoulder tightly which helped hinder the pain, but it was still there. The pain continued with throbs vibrating through my shoulder blade. I looked over at my alarm clock. It was 6:15pm so Warbler practice should be over with, and the boys should be returning back to their rooms by now. At least, I hoped Nick was in his room because I really needed his help with this thing on my arm. I grabbed my phone and keys shoving them into my pockets and headed towards Nick’s room. I walked forward slowly still tired and it was getting harder to breathe. I was right outside of the door when the shooting pain started up again. I reached up to knock just as Jeff was opening the door to leave.

“Hey, Kurt,” he said. “What’s up? You look a really pale. Are you sick?”

“Oh, um, no. I’m fine. I’m actually looking for Nick,” I answered. “Is he here?”

“Oh,” he said giving me a confused look. “No, he’s still in the academic building. He had to pick up a book from the library or something. But he should be back soon. I’d say 10 or 15 minutes tops.”

“Oh, okay,” I said, awkwardly. “Well, I guess I’ll just come back then.” I should have texted him or something before I just walked down there like that.

I turned to leave and Jeff grabbed my hurt arm. “Kurt, wait,” he said. I gasped in pain, but it was quiet so that he wouldn’t hear. “Kurt, you are welcome to just wait in the room for Nick if you want.”

I turned and stared at Jeff with thankful eyes. I didn’t want to walk all the back to my room in my current state, nor did I want to walk back whenever Nick got here. I was so glad at the offer that I smiled at him. “Thanks, I will if you think that would be okay with him.”

“Yeah, he won’t mind,” said Jeff. “He’d love to see a visitor that’s not here for homework help or something. Just don’t destroy the place or touch his calendar thingy. Look Kurt, are you sure you’re okay? Your hands were really warm and clammy. You don’t have a fever or anything, do you?”

I looked away unsure of what to say. No, I wasn’t fine. I was actually in a great deal of pain, but I really wouldn’t consider a bruised up shoulder sick either. “I’m really fine Jeff. I’m just a little warm and very tired.”

“Hmmm,” Jeff eyed me. “Alright, Kurt. I’ll be back later. See ya!”

“Bye, Jeff! Thanks!” I said as I came into the room, and he closed the door behind him.

I looked around and instantly knew which side of the room was Nick’s and which side was Jeff’s. Nick’s side of the room was closer to the bathroom door than Jeff’s. It had a neatly made bed, a desk with a printer, a computer, and a book shelf full of school books and medical books. Above the desk was a giant dry erase calendar. I walked over all of Jeff’s dirty clothes and books that were sprawled out all over the floor to make my way over to the calendar. It had so many things carefully written everywhere. It even had sticky notes on some days where things looked like they were over loaded. Poor Nick. This is so much stuff to think about every day. I’m getting tired just looking at it. I felt so dizzy. Maybe I just needed to sit down. My legs started to give out just as I reached the dark haired Warbler’s bed. I lied down, completely exhausted and waited for Nick to return.

Nick’s POV

I hate running especially when it was so dark outside. I could barely find my way back to the dorms even with those random lights on the trees. It was only 6:30pm, and it was like pitch black thanks to Daylights Savings. Yaye. Not. But it was my fault for forgetting to check this book out before dinner. Running into Blaine completely distracted me. Blaine looked so worried about Kurt, but it wasn’t my place to explain to him that some guy really fucked Kurt up. He never told me what happened. All I knew was that some guy left tons of bruises on Kurt and a pretty hideous mark. It looked like a bite mark, but that’d be ridiculous and mean that Kurt might have been abused, sexually. I didn’t know if I could help him deal with that. I wondered if he had told anyone, and if he was doing okay after today. The incident Blaine described probably brought up horrible memories for Kurt. I’d have to go check on Kurt and then go to the study rooms in the basement and start tutoring. Hopefully, I had time for both if not, then, the kids in the basement would have to wait.

I finally got to the dorm and quickly ran up the stairs. I stopped by Kurt’s room and knocked a few times, but no one answered. I went to my room to drop my things off and call Kurt to see where he was. My door was unlocked so that meant Jeff was in there messing up something as usual.

“Jeff,” I said as I opened the door wider. “You better not be fumbling with my bookcase. I don’t want you to knock it over like last time.”

I hung my coat up on the rack near the door and looked around. Kurt was curled up in a ball shivering on my bed. I threw my book bag down so hard that everything fell out of it scattering across both sides of the room. I kneeled down on the floor on the bed and started shaking Kurt awake. “Kurt…Kurt!” I shouted. “Are you okay?”
He stirred a little from his sleep. He looked so pale and tired. His eyes were a little red, and he was sweating which means he had a fever before he fell asleep because it’s freezing in this dorm all the time. “Kurt, how long ago did your fever start?”

“Fever?” he finally said. “I don’t know. Nick, I have to talk to you about that thing on my shoulder. I think it’s getting worse and I promised you I’d come see you remember?” He spoke so slowly and raspy.

“I remember,” I said. “Can I see it?”

“Yeah,” he said. He started to sit up to take his shirt off to show me the mark, but it looked like it hurt him to raise his arm.

“Stop,” I said, “let me help you get it off.”

He had already gotten the shirt off his good arm, so I raised it over his head and slowly dragged the shirt off of his hurt arm. “Oh, my gosh, Kurt,” I said shocked.

“Is it really that bad?” he said weakly as he leaned back against the headboard.

“Yes, Kurt it is,” I said sadly. It had definitely gotten infected. It was inflamed and red and bruised up. The coloring had taken over his entire shoulder. And like I thought, there was a huge bite mark. What did this guy do to Kurt? I placed his shirt back over his head and helped him adjust it. He started to shiver again. He was really sick from this thing. “Kurt, we’re going to the doctor now,” I said as I grabbed my coat and wrapped it around him. His eyes went wide as if to protest. “It’s not a hospital or anything. We have an on-campus doctor. He’s across campus, but people will drive us there.”

I picked Kurt up in my arms and headed to the door. He was lighter than my backpack. “Nick, no, I’ll be fine. I just—”

“Kurt, you look awful, you’re shoulder is infected, and you had a fever that could come back. You need help, okay?” I said pleadingly.

Kurt nodded his head and allowed me to continue out the door. I know you’re not supposed to take the elevator in an emergency, but I was not about to risk dropping Kurt down like 5 flights of stairs. Nor was I about to let Kurt walk down those stairs. He might have passed out or something if he did that. When we got to the main lobby, it was empty, which was wonderful because there was no way to explain this. I was holding a boy in my arms who was wrapped in my coat. Kurt was so small that it looked like kidnapping to me. I turned to the receptionist who gave me the strangest look in the world.

“I need a golf cart to take us to the health center,” I said.

“Right, okay,” he said nervously. “There’s one out front now that just got back from an errand. I’ll get the door.” He jumped over the front of the desk, and scurried to the door. “Hey, Bug!” he yelled to the golf cart driver. “These two kids gotta go to the health center. Hurry up, this kid looks pretty sick.”

“Alright,” the driver said whose name was apparently Bug. That had to be a nickname or something because no one in their right mind would name a boy Bug. I didn’t think anymore of it because Kurt could barely keep his eyes open anymore.

The receptionist turned back to me. “Hey, I’ll let them know you’re on the way so, they’ll be prepared to help you guys out. What’s his name?”

“Thanks. His name is Kurt Hummel. He might have a fever and he’s got an infected wound on his left shoulder,” I told him.

“Alright,” he said as he ran back inside to the phone.
I set Kurt down in the golf cart and sat down next to him. He leaned on my shoulder, and closed his eyes. Damn. He was tired. “Okay, we’re ready,” I told Bug. He sped off so quickly that I to grab the side of the golf cart for support and wrapped my other arm around Kurt so he wouldn’t fly out.

We got to the health center in record time, and a nurse was standing outside ready for us. I thanked Bug, and got out of the cart. Kurt slid out on his own.

“Kurt, I can carry you again,” I told him. “It’s not that big a deal.”

“No, I couldn’t let you do that,” he said. “It’s only a few feet from the door. I’ll be fine.”

The nurse came over and helped Kurt start walking toward the door. I let out a sigh of relief. I hoped he would be okay. I could stay with him. I should stay with him. I went to the door and held it open for Kurt and the nurse. We all went inside and she led us to a room for Kurt.

“Kurt is it alright if I stay here with you, and make sure everything is okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, you can stay, but don’t you have things to do?” he asked. “I saw your calendar.”

I smiled. “Kurt, you are more important than anything on that stupid calendar. You’re my friend, Kurt,” I said cheerfully. The nurse started taking Kurt’s blood pressure and temperature. “Not only would I be a jerk if I left you here, but if I had left, I would be worrying about you anyway.”

He gave me a strange look. Kurt was interesting. Of course, I needed to stay with him especially since he offered. Did he not consider us friends at all? Did no one really care for him at his old school?

“Mr. Hummel,” the nurse spoke up. “Your blood pressure is normal, but you have a fever of 100.1. I’ll go get the doctor so he can take a look at your wound and see what’s going on, okay?” Kurt nodded. Only 10 seconds passed before a middle aged, dark haired man came in. He wore a dark green shirt, khaki pants, and glasses. Oh god. I recognized him.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Hallen,” he said turning to Kurt holding out his hand. Kurt shook it lightly.

“I’m—” Kurt started, but Dr. Hallen cut him off.

“You are Kurt Hummel, the sick kid with the wound. And your friend here is the famous Nick Duval, the boy genius, who never gets sick. It’s good to see you again Nick, but not in these circumstances, of course.”

“Of course,” was all I said. I hated that guy. He was a douche bag. He was in charge of the boys’ physicals that we have to get every year, and he was such a jerk to us. Well, I think I’m the only guy who thought so. Everyone else just thought he was being funny or something.

“Okay, Kurt,” he said. “When they called they said you hand a bruise or scar or something on your shoulder. Can you show me?”

Kurt nodded and proceeded to take off his shirt. I glared at Dr. Hallen. I really couldn’t help it though. I just couldn’t stand the guy. I didn’t have any good reason either besides the fact that he was a douche bag, and I think that’s reason enough. Dr. Hallen put on some gloves and started prodding and poking at Kurt’s shoulder. He winced in pain, but the doctor kept going. Jerk. He grabbed some wipes and started cleaning it. Kurt gasped in pain some more.

“I know it hurts Kurt, but I need to clean it up more so I can see it better,” he said. “It’s really infected. It looks like you’ve been cleaning it, but have you been covering it up with something?”

Kurt nodded. “I’ve been putting bandages on it.”

“There, all done cleaning,” he said as he made a strange face. “There are a lot of bruises on your back, and, Kurt, is this a bite mark?”

He looked away. “Yeah, it is,” Kurt answered.

“Who did this to you?” Dr. Hallen asked. I didn’t like his tone at all.

“Does it matter who gave it to him?” I asked angrily. Did it matter? He could leave Kurt alone. I’m sure he doesn’t want to go through what happened. It was a little personal after all. Maybe I should leave.

“Oh, why so touchy, Mr. Duval?” the doctor asked. “Did you get a little too aggressive with little Kurt here while you two were being intimate?”

“No!” I shouted and stood up. “A, I’m not gay, and B, I would never hurt Kurt!”

“Calm down, kid,” Dr. Hallen said. “I was only joking.”

“Yeah, whatever,” I said sitting back down.

“What did happen, Mr. Hummel?” he asked again putting a hand on Kurt’s knee. If Kurt had been assaulted, then, I’m sure touching him probably wouldn’t make him feel comfortable. “I need to know if someone is hurting you.”

“I can leave if you want, Kurt,” I said looking at Kurt worried.

“No, it’s fine. Stay Nick,” he said. He looked back at Dr. Hallen, and said, “At my old school there was this bully who bothered me. He gave me the bruises on my back and the bite mark. My dad found out about the bullying so I transferred here.”

“Oh,” Dr. Hallen said. I guess he was in deep thought like me. I mean why would the bully bite him? But I just didn’t want to keep jumping to the conclusion that he was sexually assaulted when I didn’t have the whole story. I also didn’t want to pressure him to tell me, and I hoped Dr. Hallen wouldn’t either. He looked so uncomfortable just telling us that much.

“Okay, well, Kurt, there are two options for treatment of this thing,” Dr. Hallen finally said. “I could give you two shots of antibiotics, one in each hip, and send you home with some medicine for the fever and infection or I could put you on an IV drip and keep you here until tomorrow.”

“Which one is cheaper?” Kurt asked worried. Was he serious? I wanted to know which one was better for him. Who cares about the cost? He was sick.
Dr. Hallen also gave Kurt a strange look and said, “The option of the two shots of antibiotics and the medicine is cheaper.”

“Let’s do that,” Kurt said happily with a smile.
Dr. Hallen returned the smile. “Okay, well, I need to call your parents to have them—”

“No!” Kurt said so loud that the doctor and I gave him a shocked looked. “I mean I just don’t want to worry them, especially my dad. I don’t want him to stress out because it’s bad for his heart…”

“Kurt, your dad will be fine,” Dr. Hallen said. “He has a right to know that his son isn’t feeling well. I’m sure if you weren’t away from home it would have been him bringing you in here and not Mr. Duval.”

“Okay,” Kurt said sadly.

“Great. I’ll have the front desk call him for the insurance information,” Dr. Hallen said. “I’ll be back with the shots momentarily.”
Kurt put his shirt back on and I walked over to help him. When I was done, I sat down on the bed next to Kurt.

“It’ll be okay, Kurt.”

“I just hate bothering people for things,” he said.

“You’re not bothering your dad when you get sick. You can’t help it,” I said. “It’s not even your fault; it’s that bully’s fault, Kurt.”

Kurt nodded and hugged me. “Thanks for everything, Nick.”

“No problem, Kurt,” I smiled and hugged him back.

Neither of us heard the door open. “Aww, isn’t this just touching,” Dr. Hallen said. “And you told me you were straight, Nick.”

I really can’t stand this guy. “I am straight. I was just giving my friend, Kurt, a comforting hug.”

“Sure,” Dr. Hallen said as he winked at me. I really fucking hate this guy. I was tempted to punch him, but Kurt interrupted my thoughts.

“What did my dad say?” Kurt asked, worried.

“Your dad was really worried when the nurse and I told him what was going on, but I think we were unsuccessful in convincing him not to drive down here tonight,” Dr. Hallen said sadly.

“Terrific,” Kurt said sarcastically. “He always over reacts when it comes to me. I’m sure he’d drive here if you told him I had a cold too.” He laughed. I smiled. I think it’s pretty cool that Kurt’s dad cares about him so much. “You came back pretty fast though.”

“He said that you weren’t answering any of his phone calls tonight so, he and Finn, who ever that is, were really worried about you. He said he would have a woman named Carole call over with the information, and he hung up quickly. I called the dorm and told them that because you were ill, you and Mr. Duval would not be present for study hours,” the doctor explained.

“Finn is my step brother, and Carole is my step mother,” Kurt said. “But I didn’t feel my phone buzz at all.” Kurt reached in his pocket and stared wide eyed at his phone. I leaned over his shoulder to see what had him so shocked. Kurt had 10 missed calls and a voicemail all from “Burt,” 5 missed calls and 3 texts from Finn, and 2 missed calls and 1 text from Blaine. I also noticed that it was already a little before 8pm.

“Wow,” I said to Kurt. “So, who’s Burt?”

“My dad,” he said still staring at his phone.

“Well, time for your shots!” shouted Dr. Hallen happily. He’s such a weirdo. “Kurt, I’m going to have to pull down your pants a bit to give you the shots.”

“Oh,” I said, “well, I’ll wait outside. I think I’ve seen enough of your body today, Kurt. Mind if I borrow your phone to tell Jeff where I am. I kind of left mine in the room,” I said laughing.

“Yeah, the battery is pretty low, so could you tell my dad I’m fine, too?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure,” I said taking the phone and going into the waiting room.

I scrolled down the contacts list until I hit “Jeff.” It rang maybe twice and he answered in a panic. “Kurt, there you are! Blaine has been freaking out because he can’t find you anywhere and I can’t find Nick so we are freaking out together. Where—”

I laughed. “Jeff, breathe. I’m—”

“Nick, where the hell are you?!” he shouted cutting me off. “These kids that you are tutoring keep coming up to the room asking where you are. I had to put on a note on the door saying you were out today. Are you okay? You’re not somewhere having a break down or something are you? Why do you have Kurt’s phone? Nick? Say some—”

“JEFF!” I shouted over him. “I am fine. Kurt and I went to the health center because he’s not feeling too well. Tell Blaine where he is so he stops freaking out too. I have to go. I have to call Kurt’s dad.”

“Oh okay,” Jeff said. “Next time text me or something okay?”

“I will,” I said. “I’m sorry that I made you worry like that. Now, I really have to go.”

“Okay, bye,” he said as he hung up.

I looked for “Burt” and hit call. He answered immediately. “Kurt! Why didn’t you tell me you were sick, buddy?”

“This is Nick Duval,” I said, nervously. “I’m a friend of Kurt’s. I brought him to the doctor.”

“Where is Kurt? Is he okay? The doctor said he would be fine,” he said rushed and angrily.

“He’s doing better. He’s getting some shots for the infection now,” I told him.

“What?!” shouted Mr. Hummel. “What infection? The doctor just said he had a fever and was a little bruised up, but those were old. He didn’t say anything about that.”

“Oh, well, um, yeah,” I said. “It’s really not that bad.”

“Kid, are you lying to me? I need to talk to my son to find out what is going on, or I need you to tell me what is going on,” he said frustrated.

“Alright, Kurt got hurt at his old school, and the wound the guy left got infected and—”

“Wound? Kurt didn’t tell me any of this!” he was so angry. It kind of scared me a bit, but I knew he was just worried about Kurt.

“It’s fine now though so… Hello?” I said. The phone went dead. This was great. I shouldn’t have said anything. I should have just said ‘Hey Mr. Hummel, Kurt’s doing great and we are headed back to the dorm, now.’ But of course I made things complicated. I headed back to the room in hopes that they would be done giving Kurt the shots. They were both exiting the room with Kurt’s prescriptions. Dr. Hallen went back to his office. Thank the Lord.

“So, how’d it go with my dad,” Kurt asked smiling.

“Not very well,” I said nervously and Kurt just laughed.

“He can be a little scary from what I’ve heard, but don’t worry about it,” Kurt said.

I didn’t say anything else about the phone call with his dad, or his phone dying. I guess I’ll leave that alone.

“So what did the doctor say after I left?”

“Well, first he asked me how long we had been together,” he laughed. That douche! “Then, he just explained that the shots would sting for the next day or so, and it would probably hurt to walk. He wrote out a prescription for something for my fever and something for my infection. He said that I shouldn’t go to school until Wednesday or Thursday depending on how I feel.”

I opened the door for Kurt, and I noticed Kurt was limping a bit from the shots. “So, Kurt, are you sure you’re okay? Does it hurt for you to walk?” I asked worried.

“No, I’m fine. It just stings a little, and I’m really tired,” Kurt replied.

“Oh, okay, well let’s go, then,” I said holding the door open for Kurt. “Since, we are excused from study hours, I can drive to the nearest Walgreens and get your prescriptions filled.”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t let you do that,” Kurt said.

“Especially, not after you took me here and missed all those tutoring sessions.”

“Kurt, really, it’s fine,” I assured him. “You’re too sick to drive, and you’d probably fall asleep at the wheel.”

He smiled. “Fine, but I’ll go with you.”

“No, you don’t have to,” I said quickly. “You’re tired. I’ll bring them by your room when I get back.”

“Okay,” Kurt said while yawning. He really didn’t know how to accept help from anyone, but then again, no one probably ever offered it to him either.

Bug was waiting with the golf cart to take us back. We got into the golf cart, and Bug drove off slowly. He might have been as tired as Kurt was. Kurt eventually fell asleep on me. I’m glad too, because he needed it. We got pretty close when the golf cart started making a noise and then eventually stopped. “I think it’s out of gas,” Bug turned and said to us waking Kurt up.

I sighed. “It’s fine. I can carry him from here.”

“No,” Kurt yawned. “I can walk.”

“Nope you’re not walking. You’re piggy backing,” I said.

“We aren’t going anywhere until you get on my back.”

“Fine,” Kurt said. “This is so weird.”

“It’s better than seeing you in pain, Kurt,” I told him as he got on my back. He wrapped his arms around my neck, and I hoisted him up, grabbing his legs “See you later, Bug.”

“See you,” he said.

“Kurt,” I said, “has anyone told you that you weigh close to nothing?”

He laughed. “Yeah, Finn says I need to eat more all the time.”

“I completely agree with him. It’s not healthy to be this small,” I said.

“I would never find the perfect boyfriend if I were fat, Nick,” Kurt said.

“I’m sure Blaine wouldn’t care if you were fat or not,” I said jokingly.

“Blaine!” Kurt shouted. “I completely forgot that I was supposed to meet with him tonight! He’s probably really mad.”

“No, from what I heard he is freaking out and worried,” I told Kurt. “Jeff told me when I called. I’m sure he will understand after you explain to him where you were.”

“Yeah, and I told him that I’d tell him what happened at my old school, too. I don’t know if I’m comfortable with that yet,” he said sadly.

“Just tell him that then,” I said. “Blaine will understand, Kurt. Stop worrying so much. Just focus on getting better, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” he said. “Thanks, Nick. We’re here!”

I looked up at the dorm doors. I was going to open them somehow, but the receptionist guy from earlier got it for me. I thanked him and looked around the main lobby. There were two guys sitting on the couch. They were both pretty tall. The younger one had brown hair, and he looked in pretty good shape, like he played sports. The other man was a lot older and he looked bald under the baseball cap he was wearing. He was wearing a navy jacket that said “Hummel Lube and Tires.” Was this Kurt’s family?

“Dad!” Kurt shouted. “What are you doing here?”

“Right, okay,” he said nervously. “There’s one out front now that just got back from an errand. I’ll get the door.” He jumped over the front of the desk, and scurried to the door. “Hey, Bug!” he yelled to the golf cart driver. “These two kids gotta go to the health center. Hurry up, this kid looks pretty sick.”