'Blaine!' Kurt shrieked as he saw Blaine hit the floor with a loud bang. He sprinted over and took his fiancés head in his lap. He put his hand against Blaine's head and then pulled it away instantly as he realised the boy was ice cold.
'Can somebody get me a blanket please? And a hot drink for when he wakes up!' Kurt shouted to the room of students around him, and a few of them nodded and ran off to get the things. Just as Kurt was wrapping the blanket around Blaine's shoulders, the boys eyes flickered open and he looked up at Kurt.
'Sweetheart, are you okay?! You hit the floor like a sack of potatoes.. And you're freezing.. I've got you this blanket though and someone's gonna bring you a nice hot chocolate to w-' Kurt started to explain before Blaine cut him off with a strangled cry of 'No'.
'Why not honey? It'll warm you up.. You're shivering..' Kurt said gently, pushing Blaine back down when he tried to get up.
'I DONT WANNA!' Blaine cried loudly, forcing himself up and sprinting from the room. Kurt knelt there in shock for a moment before grabbing his and Blaine's coats and running after the boy. He searched everywhere for him, calling Rachel, Mercedes, Sam and Artie too, before he went back to his flat and found Blaine curled up in his bed, dressed only in his boxers and shaking with silent sobs. Kurt crept over to comfort him but stopped for a moment when he saw that Blaine was gripping a pair of his trousers and one of his t-shirts tightly.
'Blaine.. Why do you have my trousers and shirt? I mean it isn't a problem it's just a little weird..' Kurt said carefully, not wanting to upset Blaine further.
'Th-They don't fit..' He whispered shakily, and Kurt frowned.
'What are you talking about Blaine? They fit perfectly.. I wore those trousers like 2 days ago..' Kurt said with a bite to his tone, as he thought Blaine was accusing him of being fat.
'N-N-No... Th-They don't fit me..' Blaine cried, curling further into himself.
'Well they're my clothes Blaine... I'm taller than you and I'm practically a twig... Why would they fit you?' Kurt asked confusedly, not meaning for it to come out as bitterly as it did. Blaine burst into a new flood of tears and hid under the covers.
'Oh honey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way.. I just don't understand what you're getting at..' Kurt said gently, going over and perching on the bed, rubbing Blaine's back.
'I'm fat Kurt! Look at me! I'm a fucking whale! I don't understand.. I-I work out every day and I don't eat and I tried that stupid salt water purge and I just... N-Nothing's working! Wh-Why am I such a fat, disgusting, pig?!' Blaine screamed, although his voice was cracking more and more on every word and by the end he was a sobbing, helpless, mess.
'Blaine.. Sweetheart, look at me... Did you just say you haven't been eating? Is that why you fainted in class?' Kurt asked in the softest tone he could muster, pulling Blaine into his lap and rocking him gently.
'I-I-I just wanted to be as thin as you... A-As perfect as you.. Y-Y-You're always perfect and everybody either wants you or wants to be you.. A-And I don't deserve you if I'm not perfect as well.. S-S-So I have to be perfect for you.. B-B-But I'm not.. C-Cause I'm fat and I won't stop eating... Th-Th-The only clothes I fit in now are hoodies and sweatpants.. S-S-So I wanted to lose all the weight so I could fit in your clothes... B-B-But I'm still too fat! I-I-I'm nowhere near fitting in them! I-I just want to be perfect..' Blaine sobbed erratically, latching onto Kurt as if he was the only thing keeping him on the earth; stopping him from floating away.
'Blaine you are perfect! You're perfect for me and you are not fat! I love you and I always have and the only time I would ever have even a shred of doubt about loving you would be when you're lying in hospital because you've not eaten in months and you're sick.. Because that is what happens when you don't eat Blaine. It wouldn't make you better or make you healthy, it would make you sick and you'd be too weak to function.. And you wouldn't just pass out once like you did today.. You'd pass out everyday when you did the slightest bit of exercise. I don't want a fiancé that I have to constantly follow about to make sure he's not dying on a street corner somewhere... I want a fiancé who can go out, have a nice day at college with his friends, maybe do a quick gym workout, and then come home to me and have dinner and then some really hot sex..' Kurt smiled softly and jokily, thankfully making Blaine choke out a tearful little giggle.
'So here's what we're gonna do.. We're gonna go to the hospital and get you a counsellor and an eating plan.. And then we're going to curl up in bed and watch Disney movies together with a big bowl of popcorn.. Deal?' Kurt said gently, kissing Blaine's hair, which had escaped most of its gel and was springing up in curls. Blaine looked up at Kurt unsurely for a moment before he gave a brave little nod of his head.
'B-But... C-Can we skip out on the popcorn? J-Just for tonight?' He asked nervously, but his eyes were pleading desperately with Kurt.
'Of course we can baby... Now, come on.. The sooner we go, the sooner it'll be over..' Kurt said, standing up and putting his hand out.
Blaine took Kurt's hand in his shaky one and squeezed it hard, not letting go of it again until hours later when the two boys were curled up in bed together, the cheerful tones of Snow White chirping away in the background as they slept peacefully beside one another, Blaine's eating plan up on the wall and his boxes of laxatives and salt tablets piled up in the bin under the several packets of sports drinks and energy supplements.
Although they wouldn't always realise it, and they'd often struggle to see it among the troubles of being a teenage gay couple living in New York just a few months after getting engaged, the two boys both knew that deep inside, they'd always have the strength to carry on, because they had each other.
Always.