Blaine stood side by side with Kurt wondering if this all was going to be worth it. Casting a glance at the boy next to him, who was still just as handsome as ever, he decided it was. The beating he was about to get and god knows what else was all worth it. He heard Kurt gulp besides him and he didn't dare glance that way again because Karofsky was now advancing on them. The bully looked venomously angry, he lunged at the two boys in front of him. "Kurt! Duck!" Kurt registered the shout at the last second and barely managed to slide down the locker before a fist was where his face had been only moments before. He shuffled out of the way and watched as Blaine slid off towards the left to avoid Karofsky.

  Blaine hatched an idea, he knew that no matter what Kurt didn't deserve this. At that moment he decided that he would pull this all on himself, his father had bruised him enough and he knew he could handle the pain. Making eye contact with Kurt's fearful eyes he shot him a quick smile before shouting "You overgrown asshole! Come over here and at least fight someone your own size!" Karofsky stopped and turned around, a grin on his face. "You're at least half my height," the large boy whispered and as he was about to turn back around to attack Kurt. That was all Blaine needed. He leapt and tackled Karofsky, catching him around the waist and sending him sprawling down onto the tiled floor. As they landed Blaine cast a glance over at Kurt and noticed that the boy was staring at the wide eyed.

  Blaine began to hit Karofsky as hard as he could. It seemed to be working because the once overpowering Karofsky had yet to land a solid punch onto Blaine. When the body under him went limp, Blaine paused. He quickly got off of Karofsky and took a few steps back, he'd knocked him out. As Blaine went over to Kurt to try and comfort him he felt a hand grab him around the ankle and pull him down. He lost his footing and came crashing down onto the tile, smacking his arm against a bench and feeling nothing but shooting pain afterward.  He cried out and clutched the wounded arm to his chest, as he was wailing Karofsky clambered on top of him and grinned wickedly. "A trick I learned in fighting. Go limp and they'll believe they won." With that he began to hit Blaine, landing his fists everywhere, including the forearm Blaine was clutching. "Kurt! Go get help!" Blaine managed to spit the words out just before Karofsky decked him again in the jaw, not hard enough to break it but hard enough that Blaine could do nothing but wail.

 Karofsky shot a glance at Kurt and tried to climb off Blaine to get to him. Kurt was scooting away, towards the door. While Karofsky was distracted Blaine made a feeble attempt to hit him. He barely clipped Karofsky's jaw before he felt the unforgiving fists hitting him again and again. Tuning his ears for the noise he waited until he heard the locker room door slam before he fully relaxed. Kurt was out, he was safe. Blaine was losing this fight and he knew it, but Karofsky was large and it would only be a matter of time before he ran out of energy. His dad always did, the beer gut slowed him down.  Blaine waited and suffered through it. Fighting to hold conscious, just as he was about to give in to the welcoming blackness he heard the locker room door swing open and the shout of Mr.Shue calling out. He grinned and let the blackness take him over.

~~0o0~~

 When he woke up he was on a nurse's cot, with a very worried Kurt sitting next to him with an ice pack. Blaine groaned and reached for the ice pack, his jaw was aching and his body was too. Pressing the icepack to his jaw he managed to sit up and assess the damage. He twisted left and right and felt nothing broken but quite a few dozen sore spots that would surely turn into dark bruises. Working his jaw around he knew it was still in place but it, just like everything else, would bruise heavily. He looked down at his forearm, it had felt like it was broken during the fight but now it just looked like it would bruise as well. It was slightly swollen and tender to touch. Sighing he pressed the icepack to his chin with his good hand and he looked over at Kurt who was crying. "Kurt...what's the matter?! What happened? Is Karofsky getting off free or something?" The thin pale skinned boy just shook his head and swallowed thickly before speaking. "No, no. It was pretty obvious what was happening in there when I got Mr.Shue and Principal Figgins to come in. But Karofsky's only getting suspended. That's all they can do for a fight." Blaine shrugged, he knew that much. It would take a lot to get Karofsky suspended, looking back over at Kurt he could see something else was bothering the boy. "What's the matter...at least he's getting suspended right?"

   Kurt sighed and looked at Blaine. "That's not the point. He's coming back, and more than likely he's going to be wildly pissed off. Not to mention the fact that you're now involved...this is beyond unfair to you. You got beat up because of me and you didn't deserve it at all! It's not right." Blaine opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Kurt who went on: "Look, I'm so appreciative that you saved me from what was about to happen in that locker room...thank you so much...but I think it's better if you stay away from me." Blaine was appalled and shocked, he thought Kurt liked him. That they would be friends. "Kurt, I thought we were.." Kurt interrupted him again. "We are...you've got to be one of the only true friends I've got... but I can't have you getting hurt because of me. I deserve it not you." Blaine tried to tell Kurt how he felt, tell him how amazing he was and that he didn't deserve it. But Kurt continued on, "I deserve to be laying there bruised up and probably sore in unheard of places but it's you and that's not right. No one deserves to go through that." Blaine finally interjected, "And you think you do?!" Kurt just nodded, "Karofsky reminds me everyday of how worthless I am and I deserve everything he does. But that's not the point, the point is I can't drag you any further into this than you already are. I'm sorry Blaine." "Kurt.." He didn't get a chance to finish because Kurt stood to leave and gave Blaine a weak smile and waved goodbye. Blaine's eyes widened as he looked at Kurt arm, the sleeve was pushed back and it looked wet. The butterfly he'd drawn earlier was gone. Kurt noticed and shrugged, "I can't keep my promise to you. I feel so horrible. Besides I'm leaving you alone. You'll make friends with the New Directions and you won't need me. Thus, you don't need to act like you care."  Kurt left and Blaine tried to hop off the bed, grab Kurt and hold him until the tears went away. He wanted to tell Kurt he wasn't acting like he was caring and to draw thousands of butterfly's onto his arm so he'd know how badly Blaine didn't want him to hurt himself.

  Just as he was trying to hop off the nurse's cot, the nurse herself walked in. "Where are you off to?!" She said. Blaine paused, he could tell the nurse now, she could help Kurt. He opened his mouth but she shushed him and seated him on the cot again. "You aren't going anywhere until I get that arm checked out!" Blaine sat on the cot and waited anxiously as she looked over his arm. "Can you move it?" Blaine tried, and winced at the attempt. It did hurt to lift his arm, but he shook his head no. The nurse frowned at him but he kept his cool. Acting like nothing was wrong, it was obvious something was wrong though, his forearm was beginning to turn purple. She squeezed gently  on it and it ached so badly that Blaine almost cried out. But he didn't he just smiled and told her that it was most likely bruising. She couldn't force him to get it checked out if he downplayed it. Right now the only thing he wanted was to make sure Kurt was OK. The nurse seemed to give up and gave him another ice pack before sending him on his way. He ran out of the school building, trying to ignore the ache in his arm. Once he reached the parking lot he saw that it was almost empty, save his car and another three which had to be the two janitors and the nurses. It was sunset ouside and he was beyond late getting home. His father would be furious but the only thing on his mind at that moment was Kurt. He didn't know what to do, he had no idea where Kurt lived...but he had an idea of where Rachel did. She mentioned that her and Blaine must be neighbors because she saw him leaving his house this morning. The comment had creeped him out at first but now it would be his saving grace. He hopped into his car and drove the best he could with his injured forearm. He needed to stop Kurt.