He could do this.

He was Blaine Anderson and it was all in his past. He was a strong young man. He could do this. He could wash all the gel out and just go dance with his boyfriend. Nothing was going to happen. He was perfectly fine...

He couldn't do this.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror, his curls now free from their gel confines, poofing out wildly atop his head.

He looked terrible.

And it wasn't just the hair.

He was paleing as he struggled to get air into his lungs. He gripped the edge of the sink, leaning his forehead against the glass of the mirror. A couple tears dripped down the drain as he tried to pull himself together.

He could do this, goddammit! Kurt was out there waiting for him. His beautiful, strong, courageous boyfriend was out there waiting for him.

Blaine splashed some water on his face, patted it dry, and walked out of the bathroom.

He couldn't help the way he jumped at the slightest noise. He walked past Shane and his date in the hallway and practically flung himself into the lockers to avoid him. God, he was going crazy. Shane was one of the few non-homophobic football players. He had no reason to fear him.

Blaine brushed himself off, straightening his suit, and stepped into the gym. He tried to not shake too badly as he made his way through the crowd towards Kurt. Kurt turned towards him and gaped. Blaine tried to pull a face that looked more embarrassed than terrified.

Kurt smiled softly, before pulling him into dance. Blaine relaxed a little, letting Kurt lead for once as his breathing began to go back to normal. He kept glancing around, checking to see how close all jocks were. Azimio was only a couple of yards away and he was glaring directly at them. Blaine flinched away.

"You okay, honey?" Kurt asked, rubbing his shoulders gently, "You're shaking."

Blaine shook his head, "Fine, I'm fine. I just..." he paused for a moment, "I just really hate my hair like this."

Kurt grinned, "Well, I think it's absolutely adorable." Kurt kissed him quickly. Just a little peck. They didn't want to risk too much in this crowd.

Blaine leaned his forehead against Kurt's shoulder. Maybe if he didn't look at anyone and couldn't see his curls flopping in his peripheral vision he would be okay...

He was so wrong.

He was almost relaxed, and the suddenly he felt a hand tugging on the curls at the back of his neck.

"Nice curls, Ander-"

Blaine didn't even have time to think. All he did was react. He spun around, pushing Kurt back a little and punched whoever was touching him right in the gut.

He stepped back as Kurt put a hand on his arm, looking down at the now double over Puck.

"Noah... I..." Blaine was hyperventilating. He tried to breathe, but he couldn't quite force the air into his lungs. He blinked as his vision started to blur.

"I really like these curls, Anderson."

Blaine tried to pull away, but the hand gripped tighter.

"They give me so much leverage."

He trembled, his back arching as they tugged his head up by his curls. His neck ached and he was pretty sure that if they didn't stop pulling he would snap in half.

"So I can do this."

His face smashed against the blacktop suddenly. Pain seared up through his nose and he tasted blood.

Smash! He felt a tooth chip that time and he started hacking as the tiny piece of bone tried to make its way down his windpipe.

Smash! His cheek stung where the tiny bits of gravel dug into it.

Smash!

Smash!

Smash!

"Blaine, sweetheart, you're scaring me."

He could feel his face pressed up against something warm and he slowly realized that it was Kurt's thigh. He shook his head trying shake the memory away and figure out how he had wound up on the floor.

"What has he eaten today?"

"Does he need some water? I'll get him some water."

"Is no one else wondering why the hell he punched me?"

Blaine only kind of recognized the voices of his fellow Glee club members as he blinked and looked up at Kurt.

"Baby?" Kurt asked.

Blaine shook his head again, sitting up a little, "It's nothing," he muttered, "just got a little dizzy."

Sam came back, dropping to his knees beside him and shoving a bottle of water into his hands. Blaine smiled gratefully, chugging it. He switched around to his knees, slowly getting to his feet, trying his best to hide the fact that his legs were shaking.

"Blaine..."

He turned around, holding out a hand to help Kurt up. Kurt took it, eyeing him.

"Blaine..."

"I'm fine," he repeated.

"You gonna explain why you hit me?" Puck said.

Kurt shot him a glare.

"Just startled me," Blaine shrugged, "I really am sorry."

Puck seemed to accept this, "Whatever."

Kurt was still watching Blaine closely. He did not miss the way Blaine barely suppressed a flinch as Puck clapped a hand on his shoulder before going back to the stage to sing again. The other members slowly moved away as well, though Tina and Britney came back with armfuls of snacks for him.

Blaine took them, smiling at the two girls. Britney ran a hand through his hair, saying, "Be safe, Narwhal," as she left. Blaine shuddered and that was the last straw for Kurt.

"C'mon, let's get away from the crowd."

Blaine allowed Kurt to take his hand and drag him away from the gym. He wasn't quite sure where they were going until they ended up center stage in the auditorium.

Blaine raised an eyebrow.

"Sit," Kurt gestured as he plopped himself down on the tile floor.

"But our suits..."

Kurt rolled his eyes, tugging on Blaine's hand until he finally complied.

"Now, talk," Kurt said.

Blaine looked out into the empty seats as he opened one of the granola bars the girls had given him and nibbled on it, "About what?"

"About this," Kurt reached out and gently ran his fingers through Blaine's hair. The smaller teen jerked away from the touch, "you're scared of me, Blaine, and I don't like it and I want to know why."

"I'm not scared of you," Blaine mumbled, drinking some more water and keeping his eyes expertly averted from Kurt's.

"Then what is it?" Kurt pressed.

"I don't like my hair like this, I already told you!" Blaine snapped, immediately feeling guilty.

"Blaine," Kurt sighed.

He didn't respond.

"Blaine," Kurt said more forcefully, grabbing his face between his hands and forcing him to look at him. Blaine blinked, quickly trying to make the tears go away that had sprung into his eyes, "you can tell me."

Blaine sniffed, "They used them against me," he muttered, quietly.

"What?"

He took a deep steadying breath, "At the Sadie Hawkins dance," Kurt flinched at that. Of course it had to do with that, "back when I went to Westerville High, I liked to keep my hair long and curly. Sometimes it was annoying, but I liked it. It always gave me something to hide behind. If I couldn't see them, they couldn't see me, right?"

Blaine smiled, humorlessly, "But then... at Sadies, one of the jocks that attacked Will and I..." Kurt swiped a couple of tears away from Blaine's cheek with his thumb, "they used it against me. It gave them a better grip on my head so they could bash my face into the blacktop."

Blaine bit his lip for a minute, staring at his hands, "So I cut it and I started gelling it. If they can't get their fingers in my hair, they can't hurt me as bad."

Kurt pulled Blaine into his chest, rubbing soothing circles into the smaller boy's back, "It's okay," he whispered, "it's okay, you're okay."

"K-kurt?" Blaine stuttered out.

"Mmhmm?" Kurt hummed into his hair.

"Can we leave? Go back to the hotel or something? Watch a movie?"

Kurt smiled, "Of course, baby, of course we can."