"Can you sing? And are you able to carry stuff without dropping it and breaking it?" The older gentleman, named Gunther asked Kurt.

"Yes, sir." Kurt said, quickly.

"Then youre hired. You start right now. There should be a shirt out back that will fit you, Santana can show you were. This will be your trial, if it works out then you can start next week."

Kurt let out a breath that he didnt know that he had been holding. "There, see. What did I say? You, Kurt Hummel, now have a job."

Kurt grinned at Santana, feeling a little more human than he had done since he had ended things with Blaine.

He had told Santana that he needed a distraction and she had convinced him to try to get a job at the Starlight Diner where she was working. That way he would be distracted and hed be earning some cash. He hadnt really expected the job to just be handed to him and he was being thrown in at the deep end, never having done any work like this before.

By the end of the shift Kurt was tired and his legs were aching. He couldnt, however, deny that he had enjoyed himself. Gunther had been impressed so he told Kurt to return after the weekend when he would have his name badge and work shirts ready. Walking home Kurt was in higher spirits than he had been for a while.

XXXX

Going into the halls it was always difficult because Kurt had to walk past Blaines door, and his chest would fill with a familiar ache whenever he saw it. It always made him wonder if Blaine was inside, behind that door. Hed not heard any noise coming from his room, leaving Kurt to wonder even more.

He couldnt help but to glance at the door every single time hed had to walk past it. Only this time, his one glance made him stop in his tracks. Blaines door had been kicked in.

XXXX

Blaine had been sat on his bed reading one of the old books that hed had to read in high school for English when he had heard a commotion outside in the halls. He hadnt thought anything of it when suddenly his door flew open and came off of one of its hinges, leaving it swinging awkwardly as a tall figure that Blaine had seen once before came into his room.

XXXX

"Oh my god." Kurt uttered, instantly knowing that something was wrong and praying that Blaine had been out when whoever ransacked his room was there.

Looking through the doorway, Kurt could see that there had been some kind of altercation inside because the place was a mess and furniture was turned over on the floor, Blaines precious guitar was in pieces on the floor. Cautiously, Kurt stepped inside the room.

"Blaine?" He whispered, scared at what he might find.

He couldnt stop the tears when his fears were confirmed.

XXXX

"Blaine Fucking Anderson. Always knew there was something off about you, ever since Amy brought you home to meet the parents. Shouldve know youd turn out to be a dirty fag." Vince, Amys brother sneered at Blaine.

Blaine quickly scuttled off of the bed and held his hands up towards Vince. "I dont want any trouble. Why are you here?"

"Why do you think Im here? Youve been fucking some little twink while youve been with my sister. You disgust me."

He advanced on Blaine and that was when Blaine realised that Vince had come for blood and nothing was going to stop him from laying into him. All Blaine could do was try to put up a good fight. But with Vince being 6ft tall and being ridiculously built, Blaine didnt stand much of a chance.

XXXX

"Oh, Blaine." Kurt rushed over to Blaine who had obviously been knocked unconscious. He had a trail of blood from his mouth and some from his noise. His lip had been split open and a bruise was forming on his eye, which also had blood from a cut just above his eyebrow.

Kurt gently touched Blaines check, trying to rouse him, but apart from a small whimper of pain, he didnt react at all.

Wiping his eyes of the tears that had collected there, Kurt pulled out his phone and called the emergency services who said that they would send round an ambulance and also the police. The operator that had answered the phone stayed on the line with him while he waited for them to arrive.

He was so scared for Blaine, it was obvious that someone had come here to specifically hurt Blaine because while the room was overturned, there didnt appear to be anything missing, so it couldnt have been a break in with Blaine just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But Kurt couldnt believe that anyone would want to hurt Blaine. He was one of the popular kids at NYU, he was friendly with everyone and got on with basically everyone.

It felt like a life time before the ambulance arrived. They took stock of Blaines injuries and loaded him onto a stretcher, with his head in a brace. A crowd had been attracted around Blaines dorm room and Kurt meekly followed behind the paramedics as they carried Blaine out. They allowed Kurt to ride with Blaine to the hospital and he held his hand gently the whole way there.

XXXX

Blaine held up his arms in the defensive stance that he had learnt from all his lessons in boxing, trying to deflect the powerful blows that Vince was throwing at him. That was working, until Vince changed tactics and he threw a punch into Blaines gut, completely winding him, before he kicked him, sending Blaine sprawling onto the floor where he was repeatedly kicked by Vinces heavy boots.

"Fags need to be taught a lesson. Youre fucking disgusting. You dont even deserve to live!" He spat at Blaine. "Youre lucky I dont know the gay boy that youve been fooling around with or hed be dead."

Blaines mind flashed to Kurt and he was thankful that Vince didnt know about Kurt. Even being here, in the pain that he was in, Blaine didnt even want to think about Kurt getting hurt.

XXXX

Kurt sat in the hallway where he had been left when they wheeled Blaine into a room and a nurse had told him that he wasnt allowed inside. A part of him wanted to argue with her but another part of him was on the verge of collapse. Hed practically fallen into the chair that he was in now. With shaking hands he took out his cell phone and went through his contacts until he found Sams number. He took what was meant to be a calming breath before he hit the button to dial the number. It didnt take long for Sam to answer the phone.

"What do you want, Kurt?" Sam asked. He had seen how wrecked Blaine had been after Kurt had called it quits and even though he hadnt agreed with their relationship in the beginning, he was a little mad at Kurt for leaving his friend like that. The whole situation completely boggled his mind.

"Um, Im in the hospital. Something happened to Blaine. It looks like someone broke into his room and beat him up." Kurt said, his voice unsteady, as the tears started to flow and suddenly he was bawling. "Someone hurt him, he was unconscious. Who would want to hurt Blaine?"

"Shit! Im on my way. Just stay where you are and call me if anything changes."

Sam hung up the phone leaving Kurt with his tears and the knowledge that soon he wouldnt be alone.

XXXX

There was pain everywhere, completely surrounding Blaine, threatening to pull him under. Once he stopped fighting back, Vince seemed to lose steam. Blaines vision blurred as he watched as Vince spat on him one last time before he walked out of the room. Blaine knew that he needed to stand up and go and get some help or something but his limbs felt so heavy. He did try to pick himself up but the pain that it caused was excruciating. The more he tried, the more his vision got darker until there was nothing but black.

XXXX

Sam called Blaines brother to let him know what had happened. He didnt have Blaines parents number but he knew that Cooper would let them know. Cooper assured that he and his parents would be there as soon as they could get on a flight. Sam reassured them that he would let them know of any changes, just as he had asked Kurt to do for him.

Once he had finished the call to Cooper, Mercedes embraced him. He wasnt crying because he needed to be strong for Blaine but Blaine was like a brother to Sam and the thought of him being hurt made Sam stomach roll uncomfortably.

"Cmon. Lets head to the hospital. Kurts there all alone and you know he and Blaine are close as friends can be. Hes probably really upset." Mercedes said, shrugging on her jacket.

Sam laughed a little bitterly. If only she knew how close they actually were. As they neared the hospital Sam messaged Kurt to find out where to find him. His reply was immediate and Sam and Mercedes walked, holding hands but with heavy hearts.

When they see Kurt he is almost unrecognisable. He looked scruffy, something that Kurt never looked. He had blood in him and it made both of their stomachs churn to know that it was Blaines blood.

Sam calls to Kurt and he looked up towards them. His face blotchy from the tears that were still coming from his eyes.

"Oh, Kurt, honey." Mercedes said walking over to him and hugging him. At the first bit of contact it was like a dam inside him broke and he started sobbing his heart out. Hot messy tears dripping from his eyes.

"Please, let him be okay. Please, please, please." Kurt sobbed, repeating it over and over.

Mercedes looked over to Sam, a look of realisation in her eyes.

"Theyre not just friends, are they?" Mercedes said quietly.

Sam shot her a look, which was clarification enough. Mercedes refocused on Kurt and her heart broke a little bit for him.