It was another sunny day in Western, just like any other. The sun creating a blurry landscape of sand, bugs were buzzing loudly and even the birds seemed too hot and bothered to chirp. Not one single detail seemed different today, except there was.

People rushing towards the door, trying to help each other but instead blocking the way. It had all happened so fast. News had arrived in the house, Burt who went home to pick up his lunch had not returned to his (second) job. Every Thursday and Friday he would work at the train station, to earn a little extra money. Carole, who was busy with the laundry responded to Burts call. Soldier Blaine Anderson went still, noticing the panic throughout the house.

In the doorway stood a somewhat puzzled boy. In his arms lay an unconscious younger looking boy.

"Kurt!" : Burt shouted, worriedly.

Somewhere upstairs in the house a man turned his head, his expression confused.

The boy who stood in the doorway, carrying the limp body was Finn, looking a bit paler than usual. He handed Kurts unconscious body to Burt, silence fell throughout the house. Behind Finn another boy came walking in, it was Kurts best friend Austin, he too was looking paler than usual.

"Hes unconscious but still breathing, we checked, " Austin said a little out of breath.

Carole rushed towards Finn, while Burt carefully put Kurts body on the couch, making sure he was settled on his side. Soft dragging footsteps were heard above them.

"What happened?" Carole tried to stay calm but there was obvious concern layered in her voice. Finn looked at his mother with doubt, unsure how to respond.

It was Austin who spoke first. "He got in an argument, Mrs. Carole." Carole looked over at Kurt, who hadnt moved one bit.

"With one of the other students?"

"Well, there were a few actually," Finn added. Caroles face fell as she looked from Kurt to her son.

"Is your son okay?" A weak voice called from the stairs. They all turned around, not expecting Blaine to be out of bed, especially not on his own. Austin looking confused, obviously asking himself who the stranger was, but when he looked at Finn with questioning eyes, he received an inaudible no.

Blaine was also surprised to find another boy in the room. But, at this moment, it did not seem very important.

"These terrible kids at school did this to him. They usually choose to ignore him but why not today?" It wasnt clear if she was talking to everyone in the room, or to herself.

"They only said something about him daydreaming and drawing hearts, but that people like him werent allowed to.." Austin said, still sounding a bit shocked. "It isnt fair, they only hate him because hes.." Austin paused for a second, looking at Blaine who was still standing halfway down the stairs. "..different".

Carole was busy getting some disinfectant for Kurts open wounds and Burt made sure Kurt was lying steady on the couch.

"For now, its just important that we make sure he keeps breathing, okay?" Carole said to all the people in the room.

"When did you last see him with his eyes open?" Burt asked, looking at Finn.

"Uhh, he was still with us when we picked him up, but he suddenly stopped groaning and his eyes closed short after."

"Maybe we should just let him rest for now then", Carole said. "If you could go to the market place for me, I will stay here and watch him."

"I know I cannot do much, given the state that Im in. But if you think of anything that I would be able to do, be sure to let me know madam." All heads turned in the direction of the staircase.

"Thank you Blaine, that is very kind of you", Carole replied.

Carole was in the kitchen, while Burt and Finn made their way to the market place. Blaine had volunteered to watch Kurt so that Carole could clean the house, since they had a new guest arriving tomorrow.

This was the first time that Blaine actually found himself alone with this boy. He had been in the house for a few days now and was still astonished by their hospitality. They had taken him in and cared for him, even though he was putting them all in danger. So it felt good to be able to do something back.

He looked at the bruises and cuts on Kurts face, it was obvious to him that they had outnumbered him. Blaine wondered why they hated him, that other boy had said something about being different? But different how? He didnt understand why, but he suddenly felt angry. So what if he was different? This boy was probably a better person than any of those bullies could ever be!

He looked at the torn clothing and the injuries on his face and arms, which only made him angrier. It was probably from seeing so many wounded soldiers, neither of them deserved to be injured. Why was the world so full of violence?

Even though Blaine had been a soldier for several years now, he still did not understand why it was necessary to fight. It seemed somewhat childish to him, letting people fight for you because you dont get what you want. It wasnt fair that his village was attacked because someone wanted more power, nor was it fair that so many innocent people were dying.

The pain in his leg was getting worse, sitting in the same position for this long wasnt exactly good for his body. Carole told him that he didnt have to watch Kurt the whole time, but he insisted. Even after Burt and Finn had returned, Blaine was still there, watching Kurt. Blaines thoughts occasionally wandered off, but his eyes never left the sight of the still unconscious Kurt.

He joined the Hummels for dinner, but the food did not satisfy him today. The uneasy feeling in his stomach kept him from enjoying the tasty meal, but the annoyance was worse. Why did he feel this way? Did he feel guilty because the son of his amazingly kind hosts got beaten up?

Dinner went by slowly and awkwardly, because no one knew what to talk about.

Suddenly there was cough coming from the living room, followed by the sound of someone cursing and an ouch. Everyone at the dinner table left their plates and rushed towards the sounds. Blaine slowly stumbled after them, hoping to see the sight of a healthy and awake young boy.

Carole was the first to reach him.

"Honey, are you feeling?". Burt and Finn stood around the couch, Carole sat on her knees looking at Kurt. Blaine was standing in the back of the living room, trying not to interrupt the family moment but wanting to make sure Kurt was actually okay.

"Well Im pretty sure they damaged everything, including my hair.." Kurt muttered. This earned a small chuckle from both Carole and Burt, sounding a bit more relieved.

Kurt shifted to look at Finn, "thanks big brother, I might not remember everything but thanks for not letting them finish me."

Finn awkwardly smiled. "You know I would never let them do that."

"You might want to thank Blaine too, honey. He watched over you the entire time you were unconscious," Carole said thankful.

Both Kurt and Blaine turned red at the same time, but only one of them was able to control it before they looked at each other.

"You did?" Kurt asked, a bit baffled by this.

"Yeah, I thought this was a way I could help. I thought you might be, uh, a bit confused when you woke up." Blaine came a bit closer to the family standing around Kurt.

"Oh," Kurt would have used sarcasm, or at least send him a suspicious glare but there was nothing. Only surprise.

"But, honey, if there is anything I can do for you, just tell me okay?" Carole said gently.

It took him a few seconds to respond, "thank you Carole".

Carole went into the kitchen to make Kurt some food. Burt helped Kurt sit up a little by handing him another pillow. After that he started talking to Finn with an angry tone in his voice, directed to the bullies.

Kurt took this moment to look at Blaine again, he could tell that he wasnt the only one who was in pain. He looked at his own body, groaning at the sight of his torn clothes and bruises. He could feel a pair of eyes on him, he knew they belonged to Blaine.

"Thank you," Kurt began. "You should rest too, though. After all youre the wounded soldier," he had no idea why he just pointed that out.

Blaine smiled lightly, "Youre welcome."

Blaine thought that seeing Kurt awake and well, or at least not unconsious, would have made him feel a lot better. But it didnt. The bruises, cuts and torn clothes were still there. Reminding everyone in the house of what had happened.

When Kurt was finally able to sit up without feeling too much pain, Carole brought him some dinner on the couch. Blaine pretended to be reading a book in the corner of the room, but his attention was nowhere near the stained pages.

This night both, Kurt and Blaine were helped up the stairs by Burt and Finn and both received some medicine for the pain.

Kurt was laying still in bed, his mind replaying the horrow show that had occured. Yet after a while, his thoughts wondered of to a much more happy, yet much more confusing thing: Blaine. The thought of Blaine watching over him made him feel both uneasy and very touched.

They came for him again, five or six tall guys cornered him. A punch to the face, then the gut and then punching became kicking and kicking became throwing him around. Why was everyone else just standing there? Why werent they helping him?

By now he was actually tied up and they started carrying him away, he saw the yellowing grass underneath them and they were approaching a long line of trees. Wait, was that the river? Kurt started yelling "No, let me go!" but it only made the bullies laugh. He tried to kick them, tried to make them drop him. But for some reason none of them seemed bothered by his attempts, he didnt even seem to be hitting them..

"NO! Please" He was crying by this time, he really didnt want to, but he felt so powerless. "NO," he cried out again. He could feel the water touching him, soaking through his clothes. "Im drowning," he tried to tell them. "Help me, Im going to drown!" And it wasnt the terror or the crying that woke him, but it was the thought of letting go, giving up and just letting them kill him.. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and he was drenching in sweat.

Kurt jumped out of his bed, he just had to get out of there. The space was too small and the bed too wet. He stepped out of his room and into the hall, trying to stop the tears from falling. It didnt make any sense, he knew he was safe. But for some reason he could not stop crying. The walls around him were closing in and he just felt nauseous and suffocated. He started walking faster and he would have been running if he hadnt just hit an extremely hard object. Kurt fell to the ground and yelped.

"Im sorry," an angelic male voice blurted out. A candle on the wall was lit which illuminated a hand, stretched out to help him up. Kurt froze, it was like he was paralyzed. "Are you okay?" the same voice added.

Kurt wiped away his tears as soon as his arm allowed him to. "Yeah, Im okay." He sounded weak and not okay at all. "Here, let me help you up." Kurt felt a strong and secure hand close around his own. He tried to focus on getting up, because even though the hand was so strong.. it made his knees feel incredibly weak. Once he was sure he wouldnt fall over he dared to speak.

"Thank you, I-" but he couldnt say more, because the hand that had just helped him up still held his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

He felt the tears well up again, he bit his lip and tried to look away from the face that was only a few feet away. A small glimpse revealed the mans concerned expression.

And he started to cry, the simple gestures were just that, simple. But he had not felt like this in a long time and it was overwhelming and scary at the same time. He should feel so stupid, so awkward and annoyed with himself but there was something about Blaine that stopped him from caring.

"Hey, its okay." The beautiful honey-brown eyes moved up from their hands to Kurts face.

It was the first time their eyes locked this intensely and it was nothing like Kurt ever expected. He had read the love stories, he knew what these moments were supposed to feel like except it didnt even come close. It was as if he could feel the compassion, the warmth and care from this stranger. It made him feel dizzy and there was nothing he could do but look back, the tears still streaming down his cheeks without even realizing it.

The stranger studied the blue, teary eyes. They were looking at him with such confusion and gratitude. For a moment time appeared to be standing still. It was just them, standing there in the hallway, eyes locked with just the sound of the younger boys sobs.

Both hearts started beating faster when the soldier lifted his other hand to dry Kurts cheeks. He rested his hand on the incredibly soft and rosy cheek, the touch felt so warm and sensational. Both of them pulled away quickly, looking flustered after they realized what had happened.

"But honestly, are you okay?" Blaine said after a short awkward silence.

"Its nothing, just.. nightmares." Kurt said, feeling somewhat silly as he admitted it but knew it was more than that.

Blaine tilted his head in question, hoping to get more truth out of this boy. For some reason Kurt had become fascinating to him. But he decided that he didnt want to pry, "well if you ever need to talk to someone, you know where to find me". He added a soft smile and saw Kurts eyes widen just a little bit, which made him smile more.

"Thank you." Kurt couldnt help but smile back, just because Blaines smile seemed so sincere.

"Not a problem, goodnight Kurt." And with that Blaine walked back into his room, closing the door behind him but not before giving Kurt one last smile.

Kurt yawned and decided to go back to bed too, his head was still a little dizzy. Had that actually happened? He didnt think it was possible but he felt calm and his fear seemed to be far, far away.

Maybe it wasnt so bad that Blaine knew he was gay after all, Kurt thought to himself.

He too went back to bed and slept soundly for the remainder of the night.