"Stop it! Stop it!"
Big brown eyes met Kurt's, and a small trickle of red formed.
"For god's sake, he's bleeding."
Kurt saw Rory's eyes fill with tears, most likely the pressure from his nose, and then turned to glare at Santana.
"Maybe that's how the others treat us around here, but we don't do this to each other. We're better than this."
Quickly standing, and giving Rory a supportive pat, Kurt helped the boy to his feet.
"This game's over."
With one last glare to Santana and the rest of the Trouble Tones, Kurt pushed Rory towards the double doors, and into the changing rooms. Both boys headed to the shower room, and Kurt quickly locked the door behind them.
Rory quickly glanced from the door, to Kurt, and back again.
"Don't worry" Kurt said with a smile "I'm not gonna do anything to you, but it's not always best to be swamped with worried people after something like that."
Rory smiled a little half smile, and met Kurt's blue eyes.
"Is she always like that?" Came a thick Irish accent, sounding slightly odd with his nose still dripping blood.
"No. She has fits and starts with her moral standing. There were days last year when I don't know what I would have done without her…then there are days like today, when you can't help but see her as her old bitchy self." Kurt looked sullenly at the floor for a moment, before brightening up and heading over to Rory with a smile. "We'd best get your nose to stop bleeding about now. Just because the stain will be the same colour as the top, doesn't mean you should leave yourself like that."
Rory looked down at his red gym shirt, and couldn't help but laugh. It really did look like he'd just spilt some water or something as equally harmless.
Kurt reached behind Rory, and grabbed a thick handful of paper towels, before coming up uncomfortably close to the other boys face.
Rory shot back, a little stunned by the proximity of the shining smile before him.
Giggling, Kurt said: "I already told you not to worry. I need to get a good look at it to help though."
Rory nodded slowly, and Kurt approached him again, sweeping the boy's hair back, and bending Rory back just a little, making him lean against the sink behind him for balance.
"It's not broken" Kurt announced proudly, with a little pinch of Rory's nose with the hand that wasn't still resting in his hair. "It'll most likely come up in one hell of a bruise tomorrow though" He said gravely, and he began dabbing gently at the blood that had pooled above the other boys lips.
Rory shivered, trying not to get too lost in the bright blue pools before him.
"I'm not hurting you too much am I?" Kurt asked worriedly, after feeling the boy shake a little.
"No! Not at all." Rory hurried. "I'm just not used to being so well looked after."
Kurt all but beamed at that.
"How do you know how to handle things like this so well?"
Kurt's face fell, and Rory instantly regretted his curiosity.
"Well, I'm sure you can see, I hardly fade into the background." Kurt said with a grimace of a smile "I guess that sort of made me a walking bull's-eye for the past two years. The jocks used to love shoving me into lockers when their ring leader was still around. I usually impacted on my shoulder, but I wasn't always that lucky" Kurt giggled sadly for a moment, and the hand dabbing Rory's nose stilled for a second before he recomposed himself. "My dad is really protective, but has a weak heart, so I couldn't exactly go home covered in blood. And I couldn't go to the nurse every time it happened, or she's ring home, and dad would never relax. So I did a little googling so I could at least clean myself up right." Kurt announced that last bit with a little more pride in his voice.
Rory looked up at Kurt with a sad sort of understanding, and maybe a little pity.
"Now don't you look at me like that" Kurt giggled a little here" you don't get to pity me while you're still dripping blood all over the place. It's much better now. Dave is gone, and a few of the guys in glee are jocks, so they look out for me. Blaine is here now too, and for some reason, since he got here, the bullies have really laid off of me. It's really odd, I thought they would have come in their dozens to torment the gay couple…I guess they've found something else to entertain themselves with now."
Kurt couldn't help but laugh at the image in his head. All of the jocks circled around a bar of soap, poking it with a stick to try to find out what it did. His laughter came to a sudden halt when he spotted the hurt in Rory's eyes.
"Oh god! I'm so sorry. They've started on you haven't they?" Kurt gasped out.
Rory nodded slowly.
"It doesn't seem as bad as all they did to you though. They just call me Irish and knock into me in the corridors a little."
Rory tried to reassure Kurt with his eyes that he would be fine. The last thing he wanted was for the only person in the school who spoke to him without motive to start pitying him.
Kurt smiled brightly when he met Rory's deep brown eyes.
"Right, well, If anything happens, you come tell me or Blaine okay? Quick wit seems to scare the Neanderthals off much quicker than threats of violence."
Rory laughed at that.
"I'll come tell you anytime, but that Blaine guy gives me the willies" he added a shudder for emphasis "I think it's the little dickey bow ties. Sends me right back to the horrors of clowns"
Kurt let out a full howl of laughter, and gave the boy a harsh prod to the cheek with the hand that was threaded through Rory's brown hair.
"That's MY dickey bow wearing boyfriend you're insulting there you little leprechaun." Kurt said in mock offence, still quivering from laughter "Although, the shirts and dickey bows do kind of make him look like some crazy hybrid of James Bond meets Chuckles the Clown."
Both boys bent forwards laughing for a good few minutes before Kurt caught his breath again.
"Right, I think you're good to go" Kurt announced, still a little light headed with laughter "and we've been in here a while, we don't want people to get the wrong idea now." Kurt stuck out his tongue at that, and span round for the door.
Just as he was opening the door to the locker room, Rory swung his arms round Kurt's shoulders from behind, cupping his hands over Kurt's heart.
"You're just worried I'll make Double 0 Chuckles jealous" Rory giggled, the musical laughter highlighting his light and airy accent.
Kurt couldn't help but grin madly, still giggling, as he stepped through the door with Rory's arms still tightly wrapped round him from behind. That is until he caught sight of Blaine's glare directed right at them from a few feet away.
Rory continued with his musical laughter for a moment after Kurt's had stopped. Then he too caught sight of the angry Blaine, and slowly unravelled himself from Kurt.
"Right…" Rory said awkwardly "I'd better get off then, thanks for the help Kurt." He said with an apologetic smile and a light pat to Kurt's arm.
Kurt quickly caught Rory's arm before he had a chance to escape.
"Just a sec Rory, can I have your phone for a moment?" Kurt asked with the hint of a smile
Kory was stunned for a second by the odd question, but quickly handed over his little blue flit phone.
Kurt quickly punched his number in, and handed it back to Rory.
"Now you call me or text if anything happens yeah? Promise?" Kurt smiled as he patted Rory's shoulder softly.
"Yeah, I promise. Thanks Kurt." Rory said before bounding out of the room with only one quick glance to the practically fuming Blaine.