The boys entered the elevator, and Kurt pressed the button for the fourth floor.

The elevator jolted as it began moving, and the lights flickered for a moment.

As they moved past the second floor, the elevator halted abruptly, throwing the boys off-balance.

Everything went dark.

Silence reigned for a few moments.

Kurt heard Blaine make a sound, so faintly he almost didn't hear it. He reached into his pocket for his phone and woke up the display in order to illuminate the small elevator.

Blaine was curled up in a corner of the elevator, arms tight around his legs, face buried in his knees. He whimpered again, louder this time, as Kurt made his way over by his boyfriend.

Kurt sank to the floor and reached a hand out to Blaine who jerked away sharply.

"Blaine?" Kurt whispered.

Blaine's head jerked upward, slamming into wall of the elevator.

"Owww," he cried, reaching to rub the back of his head with his hand.

"Blaine?" Kurt whispered again.

Blaine turned his head, his hand still rubbing the sore spot that would surely bruise.

"Yeah?" he replied, voice slightly shaky.

"Are you…are you alright?" Kurt asked.

As Blaine opened his mouth to reply, the display of Kurt's phone shut off.

Kurt heard Blaine whimper again, and he quickly woke up his phone.

His boyfriend was curled in on himself again, his entire body shaking. "Blaine," he said softly. "Are you…are you afraid of the dark? Or…or is this something else?"

Blaine raised his head, his hands clinging tightly to his knees. His lips quivered as he began to speak. "Remember a few weeks ago, when we were fighting about being bullied?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

Kurt nodded.

Blaine took a shaky breath. "In high school, I was locked into closets on several occasions, typically in an area where a lot of people would be walking. It wasn't too unusual for one person to lock me in a closet before classes would begin and to have another let me out a few minutes before the bell rang, just as the majority of the students were going to class." He laughed humorlessly. "They all found it incredibly hilarious, of course."

He paused and closed his eyes as he remembered. "One day, a couple of kids dragged me off to an unused part of the building and threw me in an old storage closet. It was barely big enough for me to stand up in, and the interior handle had fallen off at some point. They jammed a chair in front of it and walked away."

Kurt remained silent as Blaine paused to take another breath.

"I was in there for almost 8 hours," he whispered. "After about 30 minutes, I remembered I had my phone on me, and I turned it on, hoping I'd have service so I at least had the option of calling someone if I was stuck in there for too long." Blaine shuddered again. "When I realized I had no reception, I started moving my phone around in the closet, hoping to find that would have service." He sighed. "It didn't work. So I curled up on the floor and waited."

Kurt's phone turned off, and he quickly woke it up again.

"And I waited," Blaine said, his voice shaking again."It felt like years, and I eventually turned my phone off again because I couldn't stand to know how much time had passed since I'd last looked." Blaine stopped speaking and looked away, his eyes unfocusing slightly as he remembered.

"When the door finally opened, it didn't really register with me. At some point, I started crying because I really didn't think anyone would find me. I was half asleep against the door, and nearly fell over when it opened." He turned back to Kurt.

"One of the janitors had been told to clean the unused portion of the building and remove any desks/chairs/other objects that were still usable. He'd been there long enough to remember this closet and opened it up to see if any supplies had been left behind. When I collapsed at his feet, the poor man nearly had a heart attack."

Blaine smiled humorlessly. "I wasn't too coherent at this point-I hadn't had breakfast, so I was incredibly hungry-and being locked in a small, dark room isn't good for one's mental state even when hunger isn't an issue. He panicked and ran off, muttering something I couldn't hear, and I closed my eyes and rested against the cool tile floor for a few minutes, being thankful just to breathe fresh air."

Kurt tapped a finger on his phone's screen to keep it awake as Blaine continued. "The janitor came back a few minutes later with the principal and school nurse. They all wanted to know what had happened, but the only question I answered was how long I'd been in the closet. They helped me stand and then brought me to the nurse's office where she gave me peanut butter crackers and a glass of water." He paused again.

"They demanded to know who had done this. I resisted at first because I honestly didn't expect anything to change even if I did speak up. Then the principal told me a few students had spoken to him about other students bullying me. Unfortunately, none of these students had ever seen me getting jammed into the closet-they'd only seen me standing outside it with the door open-so their stories didn't carry much weight. But he told me that he would be able to do something if I gave him the names, because now he'd seen the bullying with his own eyes."

He gazed steadily at Kurt. "So…I told him. I gave him the names of the three guys that most often were the perpetrators. They were suspended and were told that if they bullied me again, they would be expelled immediately." Blaine looked away.

"Those same three were the ones who attacked me and Jeff after the Sadie Hawkins dance."

Kurt's eyes widened in horror, and Blaine sighed once more. "Ever since I was locked in that closet, I've had this…intense fear of small, dark places, especially if I know I can't leave. I get a little jittery if a closet door closes behind me while I'm looking for something, but I just go back and jam it open before the panic sets in. But this? Being in here?" he raised his hands and gestured to the small open space of the elevator. "This made me panic because we can't get out of here unless someone comes to rescue us or the elevator starts moving again."

Kurt rested a hand on Blaine's knee and turned off his phone. He felt Blaine tense immediately and pressed his other hand to Blaine's chest and leaned into him, his forehead resting lightly against his boyfriend's. "You're alright," he whispered, his voice barely audible. "You're okay, and we won't be here forever." He pressed his lips to Blaine's forehead and moved his hands to cradle Blaine's face, his thumbs pressing against the other boy's cheeks. "I'm right here," he whispered. "I love you, and we'll be out of here soon, so close your eyes and take a deep breath, okay? Focus on the sound of my voice, on my hands on your cheeks."

Blaine inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Kurt leaned forward again, kissing Blaine softly, gently, his lips barely brushing his boyfriend's.

As Kurt pulled away, Blaine rushed forward, bumping noses with Kurt as he molded their lips together. Kurt gasped and tugged on Blaine's hair, urging him closer. Kurt bit down gently on Blaine's lower lip, and Blaine responded by darting his tongue out to pass over Kurt's lips. Kurt groaned, his mouth opening, and Blaine's tongue tangled with his. They pulled each other closer, desperate for more contact, and their breaths coming in harsh pants.

As Blaine's hand trailed down Kurt's body, the elevator light flickered on, and it began moving with a jolt. The boys were broken apart by the sudden movement, and they braced themselves against the floor as they tried to catch their breath.

The elevator beeped as it passed the third floor, and again as it arrived at the fourth. The boys had stood up, dusting themselves off and combing down each other's hair so they looked presentable.

When the doors opened, Blaine wrapped an arm around Kurt's waist and whispered in his ear.

"I don't think I'm quite so scared of dark places anymore."

Kurt grinned, turning to press a quick kiss to Blaine's lips. "I'm glad," he replied.

The boys left the elevator, arms wrapped around one another as they walked down the hall.