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

Dad looked up worried and hurried over to me and Nick. He stood in front of us and glared down at Nick. Great. He was going to yell at us, well, mainly Nick, I bet. “Are you Nick?” Dad asked frustrated. Nick quivered a bit. Either I was getting heavy or my dad really scared him.

“Yes, sir,” Nick replied. “I’m extremely sorry about the phone. I didn’t hang up! I swear! It just went dead, and there was nothing I could do. I didn’t even know the doctor hadn’t told you about everything. I’m sorry I—”

“So you are the one who took my boy to the doctor? Did you stay with him the whole time? You didn’t leave him alone did you?” Dad raised his voice slightly, possibly more out of curiosity than anything else. Nick didn’t take it that way because he looked down away from Dad at the floor.

Nick opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came down. He looked so nervous, or was that fear? I know my dad can be intimidating but…wait. The flashback at the mall had something to do with his dad. It wasn’t my dad that was bothering him right now. Nick was probably remembering his own dad yelling at him or hurting him. He never really told me which, but it seemed pretty obvious which one it was. All I could think of right now is Nick’s face when he fell to the ground in the mall that day. I remembered his labored breathing, him holding himself, and his eyes. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes begging me to stop hurting him, and I had no idea what to do. He looked so scared. Now, I felt him start to shake as my dad questioned him.

I jumped off of Nick’s back surprising him. “Dad, stop it!” I yelled. “Nick was just trying to help me! If it wasn’t for him, I’d probably be really sick right now. He has become a good friend of mine, and I don’t want you to scare him away.”

I was really quite surprised at myself for keeping such a stern face with my dad, especially since I could feel a shooting sensation of pain in both of my hips from those shots. I didn’t falter at all or show the pain on my face, but Nick might have noticed. He smiled at me for saving him from my father’s berating, and then gave me a worried look. I just smiled back at him letting him know I was okay and to say thanks.

“I’m sorry, kid,” my dad said to Nick. He put a hand on Nick’s shoulder causing Nick to flinch a little. “You gotta understand that Kurt’s my son, and I was so worried when he wasn’t answering his phone all afternoon. Then, a doctor calls my house late at night saying my boy had a fever, but they were givin’ him some type of antibiotics to make him feel better. Finally, my phone rings and I’m thinkin’ it’s Kurt to tell me he’s okay, but instead it’s you. You, this boy I’ve never met, telling me my son has some sort of infection from a wound he already had! My little boy is sick, and for the first time I’m not even here to take care of him. It just reminded me of when my wife, his mother, passing away, and I just got so angry,” Dad stopped and clenched his fists. He took a breath, took his hat off, and rubbed his head. “I’m sorry if I took that out on you, Nick. Thank you for takin’ care of my boy.”

Dad pulled Nick into what looked like a bone-crushing hug. Nick stood there in complete shock with his hands down at his sides. I didn’t know if this would send him into a panic attack or what. My dad goes from yelling at him to apologizing and now he’s squeezing Nick to death. My dad was such a big softy. I watched Nick’s face carefully. He slowly wrapped his arms around my dad returning the hug, then, he smiled briefly. I wondered if anyone had every just held Nick like that. He had probably never been hugged by a father figure before.

After a moment, Burt let go of Nick, and he said, “No problem, Mr. Hummel.”

Finn stood up and finally said, “Hey, how about we move this convo to Kurt’s room?” Then he added in a whisper, “People are starting to start at us…”

I looked around to see if Finn was just exaggerating or something. He always cares so much about what other people think. Sometimes I wondered if he wouldn’t go shopping with me because it was an all day thing or if he didn’t want to go because he didn’t want to be seen with me. I know now that Finn kind of cares about me, but old habits die hard. I wonder if he would change his tune about caring about me if we were in front of his friends or something.

I was taken out of my thoughts by Nick’s voice. “You’re right,” he said looking toward the hallway. I looked over to see that there were boys just now finishing up their studying and heading up the stairs. They might have overheard us all since we were talking so loudly in the lobby. This day is just getting worse and worse.

“Yeah, let’s go up to my room,” I sighed shaking my head. I led the way to the elevators trying my best to hide my slight limp from the shots.

The golden elevator doors opened with a ding. The woman’s computerized voice said, “First Floor Lobby.” Dad let out an impressed whistle as if this was the first time he had seen something like this. I laughed and got in. Once we crammed into the elevator, I hit my floor button. “You know, Kurt,” Finn said, “I’m glad you’re too sick to take the stairs.”

I’m absolutely positive that everyone shot him an angry glare. “FINN!” I shouted at him.

“What?” he asked. “Your room is a bit of a hike. You live, like on the top floor.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose out of irritation and shook my head. “There is really something wrong with you.”

“Yeah, I’m a little slow, but you love me,” Finn nudged me with a smile.

“A little?” I scoffed.

“Hey!” Finn protested.

“I do love you, but only because I have to,” I said making a face at him.

Finn wrapped his arm around me lightly trying his best not to hurt me. “Alright. I’ll take what I can get,” he said with a smile.

The elevator doors opened with a ding. “Fifth floor.”

“Wow, Kurt,” Dad said. “This is such a nice place. I wonder who found out about this place for you.”

I laughed at Dad’s attempt at sarcasm, and I led the way to my room door. I reach in my pocket for my keys. My eyes widened. They weren’t there. Where are they?! We’d been everywhere. They could be in the golf cart or at the doctor or in the lobby or outside on the ground somewhere. Oh my god! What am I going to do?

“What’s wrong, buddy?” Dad asked me.

I turned around to face them all and said, “I don’t know what I did with my keys.” I looked down at my shoes hoping they would save me from Dad’s talk of being responsible and keeping up with things. Plus, looking him in the face is what gets you. You don’t look straight into the eyes of Burt Hummel; it’s scary.

“Oh, I think they’re in my room on my night stand,” Nick said. I gave him a puzzled look so he continued. “You probably put them there before you fell asleep in my bed.”

“But I don’t remember taking them out of my pocket,” I told him.

“Well, then, you might have done it in your sleep,” he smiled. “Sleeping with keys in your pocket can’t be comfortable.”

“Oh, okay,” I said. Nick certainly was interesting. Who would think like that right now? I’m freaking out in my head trying to place where they would be, and Nick comes up with this random but logical answer.

“I’ll go check. I’ll be right back,” he said more to my dad and Finn than me. I guess he wanted to be polite in this awkward situation.

“So,” Dad started, “you and this Nick. Are you two a thing?”

“What? Dad, no!” I said in an offended whisper. “I would have told you if I had ‘a thing’ with someone here.”

“Yeah, I’m getting the feeling that they’re dating, Burt,” Finn interjected. “I mean he seems to really care about you. Did you see how he was carrying him, Burt?”

“Yeah, I noticed that,” Dad said rubbed his head. “Now, he’s talking about Kurt being in his bed.” Dad’s face contorted into an angry face realizing what he had just said. “Kurt Hummel, what were you doing in another boy’s bed?!”

“Dad, stop shouting!” I yelled. I added in an inside voice, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep in Nick’s bed. I just went to see him because I wasn’t feeling well. Plus, I think I kind of just passed out more so than fell asleep.” Dad looked completely concerned now. “When Nick got back to his room, he took me to the doctor. He carried me to the main lobby and part of the way back here because he insisted, and he thought I was having trouble walking.” I actually still am having trouble standing right now. It hurts so much. I cannot wait to crawl in bed.

“Oh, okay,” Dad said. “So, you and this boy are just friends?”

“Yes, friends,” I answered him, slowly, putting emphasis on the word “friends.”

“Sure, Kurt,” Finn said, winking.

“Finn, what are you talking about, and what are you winking about?” I asked him giving him a look that hopefully said “what the hell is wrong with you?”

“I reading in between the lines while you were telling your story,” he said. “Well, listening in between the lines.”

Burt laughed. I sighed irritated. “Finn, please, enlighten us on what you thought I was saying.”

“Well, obviously, you have a key to Nick’s room because how else would you have gotten in there way before Nick had gotten back? You had time to take a nap and everything. And you—”

“This is just too hilarious,” Nick said from behind Finn. “Mr. Hummel, Finn, Kurt and I are really just friends plus I’m straight, and he’s gay so it would never work out anyway. Even if Kurt is really smart and could probably keep up with me in a conversation about politics and science and has absolutely flawless hair, we could never be together.” He winked at me handing me my keys. I decided to play along since he was enjoying my family’s confusion.

I grabbed the keys and said, “Yeah, even if Nick’s eyes and dark, brown emo hair are a really hot, we could never be together.”

I opened the door and Dad laughed and walked in with Finn saying, “See, Finn, nothing is going on between them.”

Finn looked at Dad and back at me and Nick who were smiling at each other. “But, Burt, weren’t they just kind of flirting with each other just now ‘cause they—”

“Finn, let it go,” Dad cut him off. Nick and I laughed. Poor Finn. Nick’s hand was really cold when I got the keys from him. Why was he...shit. I’m wearing his coat. I’ve been wearing his coat this entire time. Why didn’t he say anything? He must have been freezing! I threw my keys on my desk and took off his coat.

“Hey, Nick here’s your coat,” I said holding it out to him.

“Thanks,” he said. He reached in one of the pockets and handed me the contents. “Here, these are your prescriptions. You might need those.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, “I forgot about those.” I took them from him looking them over.

“Hey, Finn,” Dad said while looking straight at me. “Why don’t you take Kurt’s prescriptions and get them filled? Kurt and I need to have a little talk about this ‘wound’ he got while he was at McKinley.”

Damn it. I completely forgot about the whole lobby conversation. I groan and collapsed onto my bed with my face in the pillows. I guess I needed to tell my dad everything. Oh, my gosh! I was going to tell Blaine everything, too! How did I forget about Blaine? I couldn’t possibly look Blaine in the eye, his beautiful hazel eyes, and tell him all of this. He definitely wouldn’t be able to handle that baggage. I guess that’s really for Blaine to decide. At least after I told him, I would have at least tried. For now, I could practice on my dad which, in my opinion, was going to be even harder than telling Blaine. I really didn’t want my dad to ever find out, but he, at least, deserved to know why he had to drive a little over two hours. I hope he doesn’t look at me differently or something. I don’t want my own dad’s pity because that’d be awkward. And his heart is bad so I don’t know how he will take it. Will he be angry with me or something? I guess there’s only one way to find out. I let out a deep sigh, sat up on the bed, and said, “Yeah, we need to talk.”

“Do I have to leave right now?” Finn whined.

“Yes, Finn, go,” Dad said firmly. Finn didn’t ask any questions after Dad turned and looked him in the eyes. He left the room in such a rush.

“Well, I better go, too,” Nick said, walking toward the door. “It’s getting late and I’ll leave you and your dad to talk. Good night.”

“Nick, wait!” I yelled. “I, um…can you stay?” He turned around and just stared at me questioningly so I continued. “It’s just I think you deserve to know what happened, especially after tonight. You missed study hours and tutoring. You probably have so much homework you didn’t get to do, and I can’t help but think that it’s completely my fault.”

“Kurt, I wanted to help you. You’re my friend, and you needed the help,” Nick said with a smile. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“I do,” I said. “I owe you an explanation.”

“No, you don’t owe me anything, really,” Nick said.

“Okay, but can you stay anyway?” I asked him. “I might need you for emotional support or something. Plus, you’ve been a really good friend to me here, and I need someone to know what happened. I need a friend to know.”

Nick walked over to the desk, which was a few feet from the side of the bed, and he took a seat in the chair. “Sure, I’ll stay,” he finally agreed.

Yes! I was so glad he was there. Telling my dad alone would have been horrible. He’d probably get so angry and throw a chair, most likely the chair that Nick was sitting in. He might go on some sort of rampage while I was breaking down. Maybe Nick would keep us both calm. Hopefully, I wouldn’t cry my eyes out, and my dad would break anything.

“Here goes,” I whispered. “Dad, you should sit. It’s not really a long story, but I just don’t like talking about it. It might take me a minute to get it all out. Please try your best to stay calm, too. I know you don’t want the details, but I need to get this all out. Please don’t interrupt me either. If I stop, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep going.”

Dad walked over to me and said, “Okay kiddo, I’ll try my best.” He took a seat on the bed next to me and across from Nick.

I turned towards them sitting in Indian style. I played with my hands nervously in my lap and told myself to breathe. “So, of course, I was bullied at my old school which is why I am here at Dalton. It’s safe and nice and I like it here,” I smiled to myself, thinking of all the friends I’ve made so quickly. “There was this one guy on the football team who was always just a tad bit over the top. He was the one who started the whole shoving me into the lockers thing. All the jocks either called me names, booed at me, slushied me or shoved me, but his shoves would leave me with these ugly bruises. Most of the name calling was just someone saying it as they walked passed me in the hallway, but he and his friends would stop they’re entire day, walk over to me, and just mess with me for a while. I didn’t think anything of at it the time. But one day he shoved me so hard that my head banged against the lockers pretty hard. I guess me being hit in the head so hard is what made me respond the way I did.” I paused for a moment swallowing hard, trying to prepare myself for what happened next. “I had fallen down, and he leaned down and whispered something in my ear and called me a ‘fag.’ It hurt. It was the first time I had ever heard it said to me. I got angry so I ran after him. I confronted him about it, telling him that he couldn’t punch the gay out of me or anyone. We argued and he—” my voice was hitched in my throat. I sniffed. I heard my dad’s knuckles crackle in anticipation to hear what that monster had done to me. I don’t know when I even started crying. I wiped my eyes and continued. “He kissed me and stuff.” I stopped I couldn’t keep going that was enough. I didn’t want to remember or break down.

“What do you mean ‘and stuff,’ Kurt?!” Dad asked loudly. He sounded so angry. I couldn’t look him in the eye. “Kurt?”

“Stuff, Dad, Stuff!” I yelled, crying. “He …I pushed him away after he kissed me, but he grabbed me. And he took my shirt off a little bit, and he—he groped me and licked me and sunk his teeth into me and starting sucking on my shoulder—he threatened to kill me, Dad! If I told, he said he’d kill me! I’m sorry I didn’t tell you that day. I really am.”

Dad grabbed me and held me tight while I cried. He normally didn’t do that. He just pats my shoulder or something and leaves me alone, but he hugged me. “It’s okay, Kurt. I’m glad you told me.” He sounded so sad, not angry at all. He didn’t even ask to see it which was great because I didn’t want to show him. I gripped him as tightly as I could and cried harder. “Sssh, it’s gonna be okay, kid.”

We sat like that for what seemed like an hour or so, but it couldn’t have been that long. Dad suddenly let go of me and looked me in the eyes. “Kurt, you know I gotta ask. Who did this to you, Kurt?” He asked me sadly. He didn’t look or sound as if he was referring to the bruises or that stupid bite. It sounded like he was talking about my mental state. It was like he was asking who had reduced me to this boy in front of him. I was a mess, and Dad knew it, too.

I kept trying to say something anything, but I couldn’t say his name. My door opened. “It was Karofsky, Burt. He did it,” Finn said as he closed the door. He walked over to the desk and tossed my medicine on it.

Dad got up quickly from the bed and walked over to Finn and grabbed his collar. “You knew? You knew he did this to my boy and you didn’t tell me? Why Finn? What were you doing, Finn?!”

“I walked in on it or whatever!” Finn yelled. “I must have scared him off ‘cause he stopped and ran off.”

“But you—” Dad started but I cut him off.

“Dad, stop!” I yelled. “Finn, didn’t really know what happened until this past weekend, and even then, I didn’t really tell him much at all. Don’t yell at Finn. It’s my fault. I should have told you. I’m sorry about all this.”

“Son, you have nothing to apologize for. It’s fine. I just…it’s fine,” Dad said.

“I want to press charges, Kurt. This boy can’t feel like he got away with this. He’s still at school! Finn, how do you play on the same team as him knowing what he did?! Kurt, don’t you want some type of justice?” Dad asked frustrated.

“No, Dad, I don’t,” I said shaking my head. “I want to put it behind me. I don’t want to talk about it anymore or make it complicated. It’s over. I’m here. I’m safe. Everything is okay.”
Dad sat back down on the bed with me. “Are you sure, Kurt?”

“Yes, I’m positive,” I said and he ruffled my hair.

“Really, Dad,” I said. “I look horrible from all the crying, and you decided to ruffle my hair making me look even worse which I didn’t think was possible at this point.”

“Sorry, kid,” Dad said, and he and Finn laughed. Dad hugged me tightly again.

I heard Nick’s chair squeak as he turned around towards the desk away from me. Maybe he couldn’t look at me anymore. I looked horrible, but I didn’t care at this point. It might have been a lot for him to take in or something. Plus, my dad’s random bursts of anger most likely freaked him out. He’ll probably start avoiding me in the hallways now or something.

“Here,” Nick said, holding out a box of tissues.

I looked up at him and he looked so concerned. I let go of Dad which made me feel so lonely and afraid, and I took some tissues to wipe my nose and eyes. I blew my nose, and Dad and Nick smiled while Finn made a disgusted face. “Thanks,” I said to Nick handing him the tissue box back. He spun back around to put them back on the desk.

“Kurt, can I use your laptop really quick,” Nick asked.

“Yeah,” I said slowly. I watch carefully as he opened it up and went to the school website. He opened up my schedule and my email. “Nick, what are you doing?”

“I’m typing up an e-mail to all of your teachers telling them that you will not be able to attend classes for the next 2 or 3 days, so you will need make-up work, which your friends will pick up at the end of class and bring to you. I figured you didn’t want to be bothered with it,” he said quickly as he finished typing.

“Wow, um, thanks,” I said. There he goes again being all straight to the point. It’s nice though that he’s not continuous saying “I’m sorry” or “It’ll be okay.” Him emailing my teachers about it is just a Nick-like-way of showing he cares. And I completely forgot about school and everything. That’s right! School! “Wait! I can’t miss 2 to 3 days. I can be at 100% after 24 hours of rest! I really can,” I said panicked.

“But you said the doctor told you not to go to school until Wednesday or Thursday,” Nick said.

“Kurt,” Dad said, “when I talked to the doctor on the phone, he said that you should wait until at least Friday to go back.”

“Oh, well, the little excuse note says it’s good ‘til Monday,” Finn said. I glared at him. “What?! It does, and it’s not my fault it was with your prescription papers.”

“Kurt,” Dad said slowly. Crap, I’m caught. I was really stressing him out so, I might as well tell the truth.

“Um, well,” I said, slowly. “Honestly, at first he thought I should stay in bed until Friday, yes. But I told him that school was hard and that I didn’t need to miss any school. I told him that I was sure I’d be fine in a day or so. He agreed, but he still gave me an excuse that lasted until Monday if I needed it.” I looked away from the both of them.

“Kurt, you need to allow your body time to heal from all this, and your mind too,” Dad said in his all-knowing voice.

“I know, Dad,” I replied.

“Good,” He said standing up. “Then, you won’t mind if I commission your friend, Nick, here, to look after you for a few days. You will not return to school until at least Thursday. And you,” he said pointing at Nick, “will make sure that he gets rest and doesn’t go to school until Thursday. Everyone agree?”

“Yes, sir,” Nick and I said. Of course I said it much more sadly than Nick. He seemed perfectly content with the arrangement.

“Good,” Dad said with a smile. “It’s time for Finn and I to hit the road. Nick, get my number from Kurt. If he gets any worse I wanna know about it.”

“Alright,” Nick said softly.

“Well, see you kiddo,” Dad said as he and Finn headed out the door.

“Don’t you and Nick stay up too late, Kurt,” Finn said winking at me.

“Let it go, Finn,” Dad said closing my door leaving Nick and I alone.

“So what do you think of my dad?” I asked Nick jokingly.

“He really cares about you,” was all Nick said before heading to the door.

“You headed to your room?” I said yawning.

“Yeah, you look exhausted, and need some rest. I need to go back to my room and let Jeff know everything is alright because he is probably freaking out,” Nick said. “Good night, Kurt.”

“Good night, Nick, and thank you,” I said crawling under my covers, yawning again.

“No problem.” He turned out the lights and left.

I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, emotionally drained from this day. I think all in all this was the worst first day of school ever.

Blaine’s POV

Wow. Just wow. I sat back down in my bed and let everything that just happened sink in. This afternoon Kurt had missed our little meeting thing we had talked about so I called, but he never answered. I was freaking out! I was worried that he just didn’t gather the courage to come talk to me or something, so I went to his room. He wasn’t there. I searched the kitchen, the cafeteria, the gym, the library, and finally the study rooms where I ran into Jeff. He was looking for Nick because of all the students knocking on his door asking for him. He suggested we wait in his room so, I followed him up. There was sign on his door that said, “Hey creepers! Nick is not here!” Jeff and I thought of all sorts of crazy places they could be. We thought that Nick had gone to roof and just locked himself up there to get away from all the kids he had to tutor. We thought that Kurt however had gotten lost somewhere on campus while going for a walk. That wasn’t funny to me. In fact it made me worry even more. We went to go find Wes or David to see if they had seen either of the boys. Wes was in a section of the gym for his jujitsu meeting, and after flipping Jeff over for interrupting, he said that he hadn’t seen them. David was just getting coffee in the kitchen, and said that he hadn’t seen the boys either, but he suggested that they might be together. I texted Kurt telling him that Jeff and I were worried about where he and Nick were and that if they were together to let me know. I still got nothing, so we went back to Jeff’s room to wait. As soon as we got back Jeff’s phone rang, and it was Kurt! My first thought was about why Kurt would call Jeff and not me. It made me sad until I found out what happened. Kurt was sick, and Nick had taken him to the doctor. Jeff said that it made since though because the last time he saw Kurt, he was in his room waiting for Nick. Why Jeff neglected to mention that before is a mystery to me. We would have saved a lot of time if we had known that from the beginning. He was an idiot. I felt relieved to know where they were but at the same time I was even more worried because Kurt was sick, and I wasn’t there to help him. Nick was. I was slightly jealous of Nick for a moment, but that was silly. Nick was a friend helping a friend, nothing more. But still I wish I was the one there to help Kurt in his time of need, like right now. Kurt needed someone right now.

I heard everything, Kurt’s entire story of what happened at his old school. Well, not everything just the louder parts like where Kurt shouted at his dad about the “stuff.” I felt so horrible. Why would anyone do something like that to anyone, especially Kurt? He just attacked him. If his brother hadn’t walked in, I wonder how far the boy would have gone. I couldn’t help but think that Kurt was almost raped, and he didn’t even report it. Did he think the school wouldn’t do anything about it? They should do something about it! But, poor Kurt, wouldn’t want to go to trial or a hearing or anything like that. I wouldn’t want to put him through it, but I think getting justice would make him feel a lot better. Sure, he’s here at Dalton now, but what about when he goes home for the holidays? Would he feel safe in the same town as the boy who did that to him? Is he even okay now? He just cried for at least an hour or so, and told his dad everything. I wish I could have been there with him until he fell asleep or that I could have held him while he cried. I wouldn’t have asked him anything after he told me. We would have sat there together, and I would have just comforted him. But I wasn’t there, and he doesn’t know that I know. But I wanted him to know that I was there for him whenever he needed to talk or just cry it out. I would be there. I was right next door which is why I had heard everything. We shared a wall, a very thin wall.

I wondered why Thad didn’t wake up from all that. I looked over to his bed, and he was sound asleep. That couldn’t be. He must have heard something. I walked over to his bed to see if he was just pretending to be asleep. I tripped a few times because the room was so dark. “Thad. Thad,” I whispered while poking his side or leg or whatever it was. “Thad are you awake?” I asked louder. I noticed he had on headphones so he probably couldn’t hear me. I slowly took them off his ears, but the cord seemed to be wrapped around his arm or something. I reached over his head and started unwrapping the cord from his arm.

“Blaine, what are you doing?” Thad asked.

“Oh, I’m unwrapping this cord from around your arm,” I said.

“Why ya doin’ that Blainers?” Thad asked.

“Don’t call me—” Oh my gosh. He was awake! I was talking to him, and I was still unraveling this damned cord. What the hell was wrong with me? “Sorry, I just wanted to get your attention to ask you something.”

Thad sat up. “So, in order to get my attention, you walked over to my bed and started randomly touching my arm?”

“No! not at first, anyway,” I said with a sigh. “I didn’t know if you were awake so I walked over here, called your name, noticed you were wearing headphones, so I took them off to get you to hear me if you were awake.”

“Ah! Okay,” Thad said. “So what do you want?”

“Oh, um, did you hear any of that commotion in the hall or Nick and Kurt getting back from the doctor?” I asked quickly.

“No, I had my headphones on to drown out you whining!” He said loudly. “ The constant ramblings of ‘Thad do you think he’s okay?’ and ‘Thad, what’s taking them so long?’ and my favorite ‘Where are they?!’ You were just getting on my nerves so I drowned you out a long time ago.”

“…sorry,” I said. “Thanks for comforting me in my time of worry though.”

“Any time, Blaine, any time,” Thad said, “so is that all you wanted to know?”

“Oh yeah,” I said, “that’s it.”

“Good,” Thad said with a smile. “Could you maybe get the hell away from me and shut up, so I can get some sleep without my headphones in? They kind of hurt my ears.”

I sighed. “Sure, Thad. Sure. You are such a jerk sometimes.”

“Only when it’s fucking up my sleep patterns,” he smiled and rolled over. “Good night Blaine.” Yes, it was true. Thad was a pretty cool guy unless you interrupted him sleeping. I don’t know what it was with him and sleep. But I guess after working so hard for the last 3 years at Dalton that he was just catching up on his sleep this year. I got back in my bed thinking about Kurt again. I really wanted to see him, but he was probably asleep. Plus, it’d be strange if I just knocked on his door late at night asking if he wanted to talk about stuff. I, also, wanted to suggest to him that the next time he and Nick go off on an adventure or something to leave a detailed note explaining where they are.

It was morning, finally. I am definitely not a morning person. I was just glad that I got to see Kurt. I showered quickly and quietly so I wouldn’t disturb Thad’s precious sleep. I got dressed and looked in my mirror. My hair looked extra curly so of course I had to use extra gel to tame that beast living on my head. Geez, I really need a haircut. I wonder if I could just go, not bald, but cut very low to my head or something like that. I don’t know much about hair so I’ll have to ask Jeff or something. Well, no. I’ll just Google first, then, go to Jeff as a last resort.

Mhmm. Medium roast Foldgers. It’s not too great, but it’s all we had. It was better than no coffee at all. Most people thought that high school students didn’t need to drink coffee because it stunted your growth. Whatever, I drank coffee every morning, and I was just fine. I took a deep breath into my cup enjoying the smell.

“Morning, Blaine!” Wes shouted. He was matching quite nicely today. He had on bunny slippers, his bunny apron, and his navy, fluffy pj pants that were also covered in bunnies.

“Wes, you normally are dressed before breakfast. Why the change?” I asked.

David came in saying, “Yes, Wesley, why aren’t we dressed before breakfast?” I looked over at David who was wearing his shirt, blazer and tie, but he was also in his pajama pants.

“I had a little accident that involved our pants, so I had to wash them. I forgot to put them in the dryer last night so they are drying now,” Wes said looking away from David. “Simple as that.” Wes started mixing things. I really hoped we had pancakes today, or something Kurt likes. I could bring him breakfast in bed! That’d be great, and I’d get to see him first thing in the morning. And I’d get to see him yawn in that cute way he did when Finn was over this weekend.

“Blaine,” David said as he poured a cup of coffee. “Did you and Jeff ever find Nick and Kurt?”

“Oh, um, well—” I started to explain, but then I was quickly cut off by Jeff.

“This little guy wandered in my room late last night,” Jeff said, dragging Nick into the kitchen.

“Morning, everyone,” Nick said. He sounded so tired. I wondered if he had gotten any sleep at all. I barely got any, thinking of Kurt all night, but Nick probably didn’t sleep a wink. “Coffee, please,” he said holding out his mug to me.

“Sure,” I said and I poured him a cup. “How’s Kurt?”

“He’s doing better. The doctor said that he would have to miss school for a few days though,” Nick replied, not really looking at anyone. He sat down at the table trying to keep his eyes open.

“Hey, Nick, maybe you should take the day off or at least the morning,” Jeff suggested as he sat next to Nick.

“I’m fine,” Nick snapped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.”

“It’s cool,” Jeff said turning away.

“Breakfast is ready!!!” Wes shouted breaking the awkward silence. “What is this whole Kurt going to the doctor thing about? Is he okay? Is he alright? What happened?”

We all turned to Nick for an explanation and he sighed. He picked up a plate and started piling on different foods that Wes had prepared. “Kurt had a really high fever yesterday afternoon so, I took him to the doctor. They gave him meds, and told him to get some rest.”

“Oh,” David said, blinking surprised. “Why didn’t you text us or call us about it?”

“I left my phone here, and I was too distracted by Kurt. Plus, we got back really late and I didn’t want to wake or bother any of you,” Nick explained.

I noticed Nick wrapping up the plate he had prepared in Saran wrap. “Nick, I could take that to Kurt if you want.”

“No, it’s fine. I got it. I have to make sure he takes his meds anyway,” he said as he finished wrapping up the plate. Damn, I really wanted to find an excuse to bust into Kurt’s room and talk to him. This would have been perfect. “See you guys later,” Nick said as he left in a rush.

“Bye,” Jeff said after him.

“Jeff what’s wrong?” Wes asked him. I looked up to see that Jeff hadn’t eaten anything at all, and this kid was a garbage disposal. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Wes, I’m fine,” He smiled forcefully. “I’m just a little worried about Nick.”

“You’re always worried about him,” David said. “He’ll be fine once he gets some sleep. Blaine, your class is going to start soon you might want to finish getting ready.”

“What are you talking about I am—” I forgot to put on my shoes. I rushed out saying thanks to Wes for breakfast.

Classes were a drag. It was like they were extra boring just because. It was awful. At least Jeff would give me a pick me up at lunch, or I could skip. I could go and see Kurt! Why didn’t I think of this earlier? I’d just grab him one of those pre-bagged lunches. No, a salad. Kurt loves salad. I didn’t see the appeal in leaves with dressing on them, but that was just me. I ran to the dorm and up the stairs. I felt like the happiest kid alive. Nothing could bring me down, right?

As I reached Kurt’s door, Nick was coming out of it locking the door. “Hey, Blaine, what’s up?” He asked.

“I was actually coming to see Kurt,” I said.

“Oh, well he just took his meds so he’s probably getting really tired,” Nick said as he started to walk away.

“I just want to talk to him really quick or just see him. I just want to make sure he’s doing okay. I even bought him this salad,” I said to Nick. Why was he being protective of Kurt? I just wanted to talk to him. Oh. Nick doesn’t want me to upset Kurt by asking him about the other night. That was it. I wasn’t planning on bringing that up today at all.

“I already gave him lunch, and Kurt probably just wants to be left alone,” Nick said and he turned and headed towards his room.

I grabbed his arm and whispered, “Nick, I know.”

“You know?” he asked.

“I heard everything last night…everything,” I said slowly.

“Let’s go to my room and talk,” Nick said. We got to his room and he offered me a seat at the desk so I took it. “So, you know?” he asked again.

“Yes, I know about everything. I heard you guys talking last night. I could hear it in my room. I wasn’t standing outside his door eavesdropping or anything like that. It’s just we are neighbors, and …yeah,” I explained.

“So, you understand why I didn’t want you to go in there before, right?” Nick asked. “I mean it’s obvious that you really like Kurt. I just didn’t want you to remind him of everything by asking him more about the doctor and more about what happened. I don’t think he can handle going through all of that again. You heard. He cried for hours, Blaine. I can’t let him go through that again. It was awful. Please, don’t make him tell you just yet,” Nick requested.

“If it will make Kurt get better faster, then, I won’t,” I said. “We were going to talk about it yesterday, but he got sick. He was going to tell me about why he freaked out when that boy shoved him into the lockers and everything.” I sighed. “I like Kurt a lot. I want to be with him, but after hearing everything that I did, I think I should wait. I don’t think he could handle being with someone right now. I don’t want him to flinch every time I reach out to hold his hand or touch him or kiss him. I don’t want to bring up those memories. I think he needs time,” I told Nick. I honestly believed that too. I wish I could just make him forget about that guy and everything that happened, but that’s not how life works.

“I think you should let Kurt make that decision on his own. Maybe he can handle a relationship with you, Blaine, maybe not. The point is you should tell him soon before another guy swoops in and takes him from you,” Nick joked.

“Yeah, another gay guy who is also crushing on Kurt is just going to come by Kurt’s room tomorrow, and confess his undying love to him. Yeah right,” I said.

“I don’t know, Blaine,” Nick said. “Cam is in our first period and he seemed pretty worried about Kurt when the teacher said he would be out for a few days.”

“What?!” I shouted standing up out of the chair. Shit! I needed to get to Kurt before another guy did come around.

“I’m kidding, sort of,” Nick said. “The point is that you should tell him how you feel.”

“I know,” I said, “just not right now. I’ll let him know as soon as he is better.”

“Alright,” he said. “Class is about to start soon so we better head out.”

“Oh yeah,” I said looking at my phone. “You’re right!”

We grabbed our stuff and hurried out of his room. “Nick, why didn’t you go to your class that you have during me, Kurt, and Jeff’s lunch?”

“Oh that,” he said locking his door. “We had to meet with our group members during class that we chose for a project we are doing. Me, myself, and I are my group members, and we have many meetings in my mind all the time so I went to see Kurt.”

“Oh, okay,” I said laughing. Nick should really trust other people with some of his work. I was glad he was taking time out for Kurt, too.

“Tomorrow, though, could you bring Kurt lunch? I might actually have to go to class tomorrow, and eat my own lunch,” he said. “I spent my lunch break picking up Kurt’s morning make-up work.”

“Oh, yeah I can bring him lunch,” I said a little too eagerly. “Kurt and I almost have the exact same afternoon schedule so I can pick up his afternoon work, too.”

“Thanks, Blaine,” Nick said relieved.

“It’s no trouble, and I want to do it,” I said, “for Kurt.”

“Cool,” he said, “I’ll see you at dinner.”

“See you,” I said as I waved happily.

I went to class and, without Kurt there, paying attention was a lot easier, but it felt weird not having him there. I know he had just gotten here and I should have been used to it, but it was nice knowing someone in class. It was even better having a texting buddy especially in history. I stayed a little later after class, and all of our teachers seemed to know that I was getting his make-up work. It was like Nick planned the whole thing. Knowing him, he probably did. Both David and Nick always thought so far ahead. I wish I could do that, and be prepared for pretty much anything. I guess they have to be to deal with Wes and Jeff all the time. Jeff is constantly getting in trouble in public places for his behavior towards women, and Wes is really clumsy and always making messes, and getting into everything. But for some reason, their friendships worked. They balanced each other out. I was always just kind of an extra guy, not really needed. I hoped that Kurt and I could be perfect for each other in that sense as well.

I looked down at my watch realizing that I was late for dinner. I rushed around the corner and bumped into someone. It was a woman. I think it was the counselor. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Clemmings,” I said picking up Kurt’s scattered papers.

She just smiled and leaned down and helped me pick them up, reading one of them. “It’s fine,” she finally said. “You’re not Kurt Hummel.” She handed me one of the pieces of paper.

“No, ma’am,” I laughed. “I’m Blaine Anderson, a friend of his.” I picked up the remaining papers quickly. I didn’t like how nosy this woman was being.

“How is Kurt doing?” she asked.

“He’s actually sick so, I am bringing him his make-up work later,” I said, eying her. Why did she even want to know that? Ms. Clemmings certainly was being strange.

“Oh, send him my best,” she said as she walked away. “Good seeing you, Mr. Anderson.”

After that strange meeting, I headed to the dining hall happier than ever. I definitely deserved a fat greasy burger today with extra fries. I quickly forgot about my run-in with the counselor. I grabbed a seat at our usual table and everyone was already there, and almost done eating.

“What’s with the rush today?” I asked.

“Well, since there is no Warbler practice today, we are free to do whatever we want!” Jeff said happily.

“Yep, you all are free from our control until tomorrow,” Wes said happily.

“Well, we will see you guys later,” David said standing up. “Wes and I have some things we need to catch up on.”

“Oh yeah!” Wes said excitedly as he stood to follow David out. “See you later!”

“Bye,” I said sadly waving.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you Blaine, but Nick and I aren’t staying either,” Jeff said sadly. Nick gave him a questioning glance. “Yeah, I need Nick to help me with some homework stuff.”

“But, you never ask Nick for homework help,” I said.

“This one is a real doozy Blaine and I’ll need all the help I can get,” Jeff said getting up.

“Well, I guess I’m going to go help Jeff,” Nick said. “Here is Kurt’s dinner and his room key. He’ll probably be passed out or loopy from the meds so don’t like, take advantage of him or anything.”

“I’m slightly offended by that, Nick!” I said jokingly. “I’d never do that!”

He laughed. “I know. See you later okay?”

“Kay,” I said. As they left I realized that I could officially go see Kurt. I’ve been waiting all day.

I rushed out of the cafeteria and up to his room. I took a deep breath as I unlocked the door. I opened the door and turned on the light. “Kurt?” I asked. “I brought you dinner.”

“Blaine?!” Kurt asked sleepily. He sounded worried.

“Yeah, it’s me,” I said smiling. “Nick had to help Jeff with something.”

“Oh, don’t come any closer, just hang on,” he said as rushed to the bathroom. He was probably brushing his teeth and combing his hair or something. I was fine with what he looked like before. I didn’t care about all that other stuff I just want to make sure he was okay. I took a seat on his bed.

He came out of the bathroom after a few minutes of primping and breathlessly said, “Hi!”

“Hey,” I said. I stared in his eyes for what seemed like longer than a minute.

“Blaine?” Kurt asked.

“Sorry, it’s just you have the most amazing blue eyes. I couldn’t help it,” I said, outloud. I wasn’t supposed to say that at all…

He just smiled. “Thanks,” he said as he sat on the bed next to me.

His smile was wonderful as well. If we were ever going to talk about anything, I would have to stop staring at him. “Hi,” I said again.

“We already went through that Blaine,” He said, laughing.

“Oh yeah,” I said. I need to get this out. “Um, Kurt, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he said looking away. “I’m fine. The medicine helps. I’m actually more tired than I am hungry right now.”

“Oh, okay,” I said. It looks like he’s not ready to talk about it yet. I thought so. “Hey, you remember the other day before you go sick you said you were going to talk to me about something?”

“Yeah, I remember, I just,” he stopped, he looked so sad.

“It’s fine you don’t have to talk about it now,” I said reaching out for his hand. “Whenever you want to tell me is fine. If you ever want to talk about anything, let me know, Kurt.”

“I will, Blaine,” he said as he intertwined our fingers. “I will.” He looked up from our hands and smiled at me. I leaned towards Kurt and the door came open.

“KURT!” Jeff shouted. “When Nick told me you weren’t going to be at school today because you were ill, I just had to come see you. But I didn’t want to come empty handed so Nick and I got into my car—”

“I was forced into the car,” Nick interrupted.

“And then, we ran around the mall trying to find get well gifts. I got you these balloons and this cute card telling you how awesome you are,” Jeff finished, pretending like he didn’t even hear Nick. I looked down and noticed that Kurt had let go of my hand in the middle of their story. I missed his gentle fingers in my hand.

“What did you get me, Nick?” Kurt teased in a cute voice. Nick was holding this abnormally large teddy bear. He looked awkward and embarrassed.

“Here,” Nick said shoving the bear at Kurt, blushing and looking away. “I didn’t know what to get you that would make you feel better, but I remember how you looked so peaceful when you were hugging your dad so, I figured a bear would be good. You could, you know, hug it at night when you’re sad or whatever.”

“Thank you, Nick. I love it,” Kurt said hugging the bear. He was so adorable.

Wes and David came in having a similar story to Jeff and Nick’s. Of course David drove because no one trusts Wes’s driving. He’s so easily distracted.

“David, see, see! That’s the bear I wanted to get for Kurt!!” Wes shouted grabbing David’s arm and pointing at the bear.

“I know, Wes, I believe you,” David said calming Wes down. “Here, ya go Kurt. We got you cards.”

“And flowers!!!” Wes shouted so loudly that I covered my ears.

“Yes, and flowers,” David said as he pulled a crystal vase from behind his back. He placed them on Kurt’s nightstand. Kurt watched and stared at the flowers, mesmerized. It was a beautiful arrangement of daisies, lilies, and such, but Kurt was looking at it like he had never seen flowers before. Did he not like them?

“It was supposed to be a surprise, but I guess I ruined it,” Wes said sadly. “I’m sorry, David.”

David just smiled and said, “It’s okay, Wes.”

Kurt looked at the vase and reached out to touch one of the flowers. He looked so happy. “No one’s ever given me flowers before! Thank you so much. All of you thank you. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for this.”

“You can repay us by getting better soon,” Nick said.

“Yes, do get better soon, Kurt,” David said.

“Heck, yeah, I need you at lunch. Blaine can be boring,” Jeff said.

“Hey!” I said offended.

“I speak the truth, Blaine, only the truth,” Jeff replied. I gave him a death glare. I am so not boring.

“Well, Jeff and I have to catch up on work, so we’ll see you later,” Nick said walking in between me and Jeff.

“We’ve got to go do work, too,” Wes said sadly. “See you later, Kurt. Don’t be sick forever okay?”

“Alright, I’ll see you guys later,” Kurt said. “Thanks again for the gifts.”

They left Kurt and I alone again. I stood up and turned to Kurt. I reached down, and pulled his head forward. I almost kissed his forehead but that wouldn’t be right. I liked Kurt, but I didn’t want to put anything else on his plate right now. I ended up just pulling his head into my chest, hugging him tightly.

“Take care of yourself, Kurt, for me,” I said as I gently caressed his hair. “I’ve got to go work on some things, but I’ll be back when I can, okay?”

“Okay, Blaine,” he said yawning. “See you later.” He grabbed his new teddy bear and held it close as he drifted off. I turned off his lights and closed his door. As soon as I got back to my room, I had already started to miss him.