Blaine had been punched before, just never in the face.

It was a fact of life for him in middle school. Usually it was just a sock to the gut when he least expected it, walking out of a class, or going into the boys bathroom, or turning away from his locker. He knows the other guys called it “sneak attack.” He thought high school would be better, apparently, he was wrong.

This was the first visible bruise though. His parents were going to see this one, his teachers, his sister, the nice lady from across the street. He could see it. Every time he looked in the mirror, he could see it and it spoke volumes. Words like:

Victim
Loser
Pathetic
Faggot

Everyone else was going to be able to hear those words and more. He couldn’t hide it, he tried to put some of his mom’s concealer over it, but it was just too dark of a bruise, with too many different colors.

Who could ever love a face like that? No one. He’ll leave the makeup off. It would probably just lead to more scorn in the long run.