Kurt decided this would be his little secret. No one mentioned his disappearance yesterday morning, or at least, not that he was aware. Ma’am didn’t address him directly, but she did send several intense glares in his direction, as if she was actually concerned about his wellbeing. It wasn’t until that evening that he was approached by Quinn.

“And where were you this morning?” Quinn said as she leaned against the doorframe, arms folded over her chest.

“It’s none of your business.” Kurt folded up is towel and laid it on the bench with his uniform.

“Come on, K. Who am I going to tell?”

Kurt glanced around the bathroom, making sure all the stalls and sinks were unoccupied, before sticking his head out of the doorway and checking the corridor for wayfaring students, before insisting Quinn close the door behind her.

“I met the new kid. And before you shine a light in my eyes and call an interrogation team, his name is Blaine and I didn’t ask how old he was, but he must have been about our age.”

“Oh, my god; this is so exciting. What’s he like? I bet he was scared, I mean, I know I would be.” She was practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

“Scared isn’t the word I would use to describe him…” More like confident and completely and inappropriately beautiful.

“Why is he here? I mean why now?”

“He’s nonconforming: Law #27.”

They fell into an easy routine. Kurt would take Blaine his meals, Blaine would scoff at them because ‘How do you eat this stuff every day? It’s disgusting.’ Kurt would laugh in response and Blaine would eat it anyway.

It seemed silly. He’d only known Blaine for a few days, he hardly knew anything about him, and yet he was easily one of the only people he trusted, secondly only to Quinn. It was almost as if he’d known him his whole life, and yet he’d just waltzed into his life on Monday.

“Can I ask you some questions?”

“Sure, go for it.” It was Wednesday lunchtime: Today was tomato soup.

“It’s not really soup is it? It’s more water with added tomatoes.”

“Oh, shut up and eat it.”

“How old are you?” Kurt said, before drinking a spoonful of his ‘soup’.

“I’m 17.”

“Why are you here?”

Blaine brought the bowl in his hands up to his mouth and drank the remainder of his soup in one go. Kurt scrunched his nose at the boy’s poor manners. Blaine did the same for the taste.

“I convinced my school’s glee club to assist me in serenading this guy I liked. He was the junior manager at The Gap, near school. It turns out that trying to seduce another man with a song about sex toys, in the middle of a mall in Ohio, isn’t the most reserved way to come out.” He laughed as Kurt looked at him in shock.

“Then what happened?”

“The authorities brought me here. Our whole plan is going fairly smoothly, which is a bit surprising, if I’m honest…”

“Wait a second, plan?” Kurt looked at him in confusion. There was a plan? Plan for what? There was something else… “You said ‘our’, who is ‘our’?”

“Shit, I forgot.” Blaine brought his hand up to his forehead and rubbed it in concentration. “I… I need to get you out of here, Kurt. I can’t say why; not yet. But I’m glad it’s you. I’m glad you’re the one who I’m breaking out with. My partner in crime,” He smiled broadly and winked at Kurt, just like he had at their first meeting two days ago.

It still bothered Kurt; the hand holding, the soft gazes and the flirty gestures. He smiled back, softly. To be perfectly honest, the whole scenario was bewilderingly confusing. Blaine had just confessed that he had a plan; a plan to get Kurt out. He didn’t know why, or how, or what he was even planning on doing afterwards, of course, this all relied on whether he actually succeeded.

“Blaine, you know you can’t…”

“Break out? We can. That’s part of it. One key, that’s all we need. We can’t do it today, but soon. Just trust me, alright?”

“You know, I’m keeping a tally of how many Laws we’ve broken so far.”

“Oh, really? And how many is that?”

“Too many” He gave the new student a sad smile and looked down into his bowl; stirring the remaining liquid with his spoon, before putting it down on the coffee table.

“Kurt, what’s the matter?”

Kurt sighed. “You are.”

“What are you…?”

“I don’t understand why I trust you so much,” Kurt interrupted. “I’m not even questioning anything you’re saying, even though I know it’s utterly preposterous. You can’t get out of here, Blaine.” His laugh was hollow; nostalgic. “Every time I look at you, your face is just there and… I’ve only known you for three days, but it hurts. It hurts really badly because I know that these feelings are wrong. You’re wrong… but I don’t know what’s right.” Kurt dropped his hands onto his knees and stared at the floor, before he knew it, Blaine was on his knees in front of him, his hands cupping both of his cheeks.

“Listen to me: It’s just those people have made you think that loving someone is wrong. But it’s not. They make you feel like you’re nothing, just because you don’t tick all the boxes they require for you to fit into their idealist world. There’s nothing wrong with you. Hey, look at me,” Kurt lifted his gaze away from the floor and looked into Blaine’s eyes. “You’re perfect, Kurt.”

“No, I’m not…” He mumbled.

“You’re prefect to me, okay? I’ve always thought so.” Blaine closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against Kurt’s. Kurt closed his, too, feeling his breath catch in his throat as he felt Blaine’s breath ghost across lips, his thumbs still brushing across his cheekbones. “I know you don’t understand right now, but you will, I promise.”

“You promise?”

“I promise,” Blaine said.

Kurt left soon after Blaine made his promise. ‘Everything would be explained sooner or later,’ Kurt told himself as he returned the bowls to the kitchen, passing them to the group who had the unfortunate duty of washing up that afternoon.

He knew no matter how much he liked his little secret relationship he had with Blaine, it wouldn’t be secret for long, and he would be joining everyone else. Getting out of the basement, or ‘a well earned promotion’ as Blaine referred to it as they were eating dinner that evening.

They finished dinner fairly quickly and Kurt took it upon himself to explain the chore rota which operated every day. How the dorms were separated and how he had become such good friends with Quinn when he was awarded the position of prefect. Blaine listened contently; chin resting on his knees as he wrapped his arms around his legs. He nodded occasionally, humming in response when Kurt dared to question the status quo he was used to.

Blaine seemed satisfied with just listening to Kurt talking rather than being grilled on his entire existence. Kurt was fairly sure he was holding something back, even though it appeared as though Blaine trusted Kurt just as much as he trusted Blaine. He remembered the other boy’s promise; ‘I know you don’t understand right now, but you will.’

“Why are you here?”

They were sat in their usual seats; talking in hushed tones, like usual. It was Thursday.

“You know why.”

“I mean, why, Blaine?”

“I can’t… this is something you need to figure out on your own.”

“You promised.

“I did, but you have to try to see it yourself. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“I’m trying, I really am. I just don’t…” Kurt gestured his hands in the air in frustration.

“No, Kurt, it’s okay. Why don’t you just… tell me about your past?”

“Well, I’ve been here since I was eight. I used to live elsewhere, but there was too many of us. So I was brought here. It’s the best thing which has happened to me.”

“And you’ve been here since you transferred?”

“Yes,” Kurt replied.

“So, tell me about… Quinn?” Kurt nodded. “Right, so, what about her?”

"She used to live in another establishment, too. They'd moved her because of overcrowding. “

“Just like you?”

“Yeah, just like me.”

Blaine quirked one of his eyebrows.

“What?” Kurt questioned at Blaine’s face expression.

“Nothing. Continue.”

“Yeah, so, erm… they said it was because she was one of the oldest, and could handle the move.”

“And what happened when she got here? What happened when you got here? Did they bring you down here, too?”

“I can’t remember…”

“You can’t remember? Surely it was traumatising, moving from one establishment to another?”

“Yes, but… I was just here. It just happened, okay?”

“Right. So a huge chunk of your life is just missing, and you’re not even going to question it?” Blaine began to raise his voice, sitting on the edge of his seat, arms gesturing his frustration. Kurt just stared back in fright, bringing his arms up to wrap around his knees, now tucked under his chin.

“I don’t… I don’t know what…”

“Bull shit! Of course you do! You’ve never questioned it because you weren’t supposed to! Have you never wondered why yours and Quinn’s history is exactly the same?! Have you spoken to anyone else? Anyone at all that at arrived after you got here? Yes? Let me guess, the moved from another establishment because of overcrowding?” Kurt nodded, tearfully. “You know why that is? Because it’s a lie! It’s all a fucking lie, and you know it! They’re fake: the memories are all faked because they don’t want you to know about the Outside; about how they fucked up the whole planet and we’re the ones who have to pay for it! And now, because of those assholes, you can’t even remember who I am!”

Kurt was shaking. The cogs in his head started ticking, almost painfully slowly, and then exploding. It clicked: Memories, real memories, flashing before his eyelids, like flipping through a photo album: Sitting on the porch, having a tea party with his mother and his favourite stuffed animals: His father picking him up and swinging him around before placing him back on solid ground, watching Kurt spin dizzily and laughing down at him: That curly-haired little boy with honey-coloured eyes at the park who picked him up, and dusted the sand off his clothes when the other kids pushed him down, the one who let him share his toys and didn’t mock him for wanting to play princesses instead of soldiers: Watching his dad being dragged away through the blinds of the wardrobe as he stayed there, as instructed.

“Kurt, stay put, and whatever you do don’t come out until Emma gets here, alright? Don’t worry about me, kid. I’ll be okay, just keep yourself hidden.”

“I love you, daddy.”

“Love you, too, kiddo.”

Kurt’s eyes were spilling with tears before he could stop them, letting them run down his cheeks and onto his knees, as he rocked slightly in his chair. He didn’t know when it happened but Blaine got up from his chair and climbed behind Kurt, putting his legs either side of Kurt and pulling him into his lap. He put one arm around Kurt’s waist as he stroked his fingers through the other boy’s hair, letting Kurt sob quietly into his shoulder.

"You know that Boondock is just another name for Backwoods; an area away from a civilisation? You may even say, isolated?"

“Oh, my God…”

“I know, Kurt. I know.”