Rachel helped Kurt drag Blaine, still screaming, up his stairs and to his room. Blaine was pushing the heels of his hands into his eyes, groaning, trying to stop the sting and failing.
"Put him down on the bed," Kurt said, voice laced with concern. Rachel set him down and stepped back, eyes wide. Santana and Brittany came in after them; Santana looking worried, Brittany looking clueless.
"Kurt, it stings!" Blaine cried, shoving his face into his pillow and rubbing his eyes furiously. Tears were streaming down his face and they made damp, dark tracks on the pillow. Kurt sat down next to Blaine and rubbed his back, wishing there was something he could do to make it stop.
"Santana, go get a cold flannel," he said shakily. "Rachel, call the doctor. Brittany… go help Santana."
Brittany nodded and turned to walk out of the room. "Bathroom's in here, Brit!" Rachel called. Santana rolled her eyes and walked towards the en suite, and Brittany turned back into the room and followed her. Rachel took out her cell and dialled the number for the doctor's surgery down the road.
"That must've been some pretty strong corn syrup, huh?" Kurt said helplessly as Blaine still sat writhing on the bed.
"There was something else in it," he said. "When I was – ow! – little, me and my cousin had a cordial fight. He dumped a bucket over my head and it went in my eyes. It stung, but not like this. It's like… a thousand fucking needles." His voice was on the edge of cracking.
Kurt bit his lip and listened as Rachel explained to the person on the other end of the line what happened. Blaine tried to open his eyes but he couldn't – they were too stingy and they were starting to swell.
"I'm so sorry," was all Kurt could say. Blaine rubbed his eyes and shook his head again.
"It wasn't your fault," he grunted. "It was that... damned Sebastian. He was going to slushie you and-"
"You jumped in front of it, I know," Kurt said. "You shouldn't have."
"I couldn't let it hit you," Blaine replied, squeezing his eyes shut. "You're so proud of that jacket. Whatever was in that would've ruined it."
"But you didn't know," Kurt said, feeling suddenly guilty. "It could've been a normal slushie for all you knew."
"But it wasn't," Blaine argued. "It's okay, really."
"No, it's no-" Kurt began to say, but Santana came out of the bathroom with a damp baby blue flannel, folded over four times. She handed it to Kurt.
"Sit up," he said, and Blaine did, face contorted in pain. Kurt gently put the flannel over his eyes, and Blaine's hands flew up to hold it there.
"Thanks Santana," he said. Santana nodded and stepped back, looking slightly pissed off.
"Okay, thank you," Rachel said into the phone, then flipped the lid down. She sighed. "The doctor can see us in 20 minutes," she said. "He wants to take some photos."
"Okay," Kurt said. "I'll drive."
"No, you sit in the back with Blaine," Santana said. "I'll drive."
Kurt nodded and stood up, tugging gently on Blaine's elbow. Rachel rushed over and put one arm around his shoulders, and so did Kurt, and they helped him down that stairs.
Piling into Kurt's navigator, Kurt took the middle and Blaine beside him, Rachel on the other side, Brittany in the passenger seat and Santana at the wheel. She took the keys off Kurt and shoved them in the ignition, turning them until the car chugged to life. They backed out of the drive.
"You need to call my mom and tell her where I am," Blaine said. "It stings so fucking much!"
"Okay, alright," Kurt said. "Where's your phone?"
Blaine felt blindly through his pockets and pulled out his Blackberry, dropping it in Kurt's lap. Kurt unlocked the screen and went into his contacts, scrolling through the list until he found 'Mom'.
It rung three times, then someone with a sweet voice answered. "Hello?"
"Mrs Anderson?" Kurt said. "Hi, it's Kurt."
"Oh. Hello, Kurt," Dianne Anderson said. She was kind, accepting, and always welcomed Kurt when he came over. "Is everything okay?"
"Not really," he said. "Blaine had an accident."
"He… Blaine? Is he okay?" She instantly sounded panicked. "Did someone beat him up again?"
Kurt winced. "No, not exactly. We were having a little sing-off with the W-… some friends of ours and he accidentally got a slushie thrown in his face. It got him in the eye and it's quite painful, and the doctor wants to take a look. We're driving him to the medical centre right now."
"Friends?" Dianne asked, and Kurt could tell she was frowning. "Who?"
"Just… some people from school," Kurt said quickly, because he didn't know how he could explain to Dianne that Blaine's former choir, the people that took him in when he was alone, injured him and just left. "Anyway, Blaine wanted to let you know."
"Is he there?" Dianne asked. Someone yelled in the background.
"Yes," Kurt said. "But he can't open his eyes."
"Hold the phone to his ear for me," Dianne said, and Kurt did. Blaine sighed shakily.
"Mom? Yeah, I'm okay. It stings a little bit. Okay, a lot. Se...th. His name is Seth. No, mom, please don't…" Blaine sounded like he was pleading. "It was an accident. I'm fine. I'll see you at home later. Okay. I will. Bye, mom. Love you too."
Kurt took the phone away and pressed the 'end' button. "She says to say thanks for letting her know," Blaine said. "She said she was going to call principal Figgins and get 'Seth' suspended."
Kurt chuckled without humour and opened the door because they'd pulled into the parking lot. Rachel got out and ran around to help him again.
"You can go back to Blaine's if you want," Kurt called over his shoulder. "Drop the car and get yours. I'll just get my dad to pick us up after we know what's wrong."
Santana nodded and gave Blaine a pitiful look, even though his back was turned. "See you tomorrow!" she called, and then she drove away. Brittany waved until they were down the road.
"Let's go," Kurt said, and they headed towards the door.
Xxxxxxxx
"Mr Hummel? Miss Berry?" the doctor said when he walked into the waiting room. Kurt was biting his knuckle anxiously, as he wasn't allowed into the photographing room because of safety regulations. Rachel was flicking through a month-old Vogue magazine, not really taking any notice of what was on the paper.
"Yes?" Kurt said, immediately standing up. The doctor walked over to him and clasped his hands in front of his stomach.
"Are you his friend?" the doctor asked.
"I'm his boyfriend," Kurt said, ignoring the few looks he got from others in the room. "But that doesn't matter. Is Blaine okay?"
"I examined his eye," the doctor said. "Whatever was in that drink scratched his right cornea severely. He'll have to undergo surgery to repair it."
Kurt closed his eyes and held his head in his hands. Rachel walked up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Can I see him?" Kurt said, voice cracking. The doctor nodded solemnly and led them down a bland white hallway into a pastel green-and-yellow room with two uncomfortable-looking chairs, a desk with a computer, printer and millions of sheets of paper, a sink, and a small bed where Blaine sat with a gauze and an eyepatch on his right eye. His other was bloodshot and puffy, but at least he could open in.
"Blaine," Kurt said, rushing over. The doctor sat down at his desk and rifled through some papers; Rachel sat down on one of the chairs and crossed her legs.
"Hey," Blaine said, smiling slightly. Kurt took his hands and had a quick look at his uncovered eye.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "Did it hurt?" Blaine nodded.
"I'm glad you weren't in here a few minutes ago," he said. "You didn't need to see that."
Kurt pouted and rubbed his thumb over the back of Blaine's hand. Blaine smiled up at him and blinked. It looked painful.
The doctor cleared his throat, but Kurt didn't let go of Blaine's hands. He just turned towards the man and waited for him to speak.
"Here are the papers," he said, handing a small stack of crisp white paper to Kurt. "Because he's fewer than 18 we'll have to get his parents to sign it and bring it back here before we organize the surgery. Blaine explained that his parents are indisposed at the moment so you'll have to bring them back another day." He flashed a fake white smile at Kurt, then Rachel, then Blaine. "You're free to go."
"Thank you," Blaine said, letting go of Kurt's hand to shake the doctors'. The man looked hesitant but he shook it anyway, and Rachel mashed her lips together in a hard line.
"Come on," she said, opening the door. Blaine jumped down off the bed and they walked out of the boring room. The doctor stared after the two boys holding hands for a second then closed the door, shaking his head slightly.
"I'll call my dad," Kurt said, glancing outside. How did it get so dark already? He slapped Blaine's hand away from his face where he was trying to rub his bad eye. Blaine grumbled and folded his arms.
"Come on, I'll buy you a drink from the vending machine," Rachel smiled, pulling on Blaine's shirt. Blaine smiled and followed her to the corner.
"Dad?" Kurt said when Burt answered the phone.
"Where the hell are you, kid?" Burt said. "It's eight o'clock! You could've at least text-"
"I'm at the doctors, dad," Kurt interrupted. "It's Blaine."
"Doctors?" Burt said, sounding as surprised as Dianne had. "What happened?"
"Blaine got rogue-slushied," Kurt said on a sigh. "There was something vicious in it. He has to have surgery."
"I'm so sorry," Burt said, all traces of anger gone from his voice. "Is he okay?"
"He will be," Kurt said, looking over at Blaine who was making puppy dog eyes at Rachel. Rachel looked adamant, and Blaine pointed to the chocolate bar like a child. Rachel shook her head and Blaine pouted, sticking his bottom lip out as far as it would go. Kurt chuckled. "We need you to pick us up."
"Absolutely," Burt said. "Where is it?"
Kurt gave him the address. "Can you drop Rachel home too?" he asked. Burt agreed and they said goodbye.
"Blaine!" Kurt called softly. "My dad's gonna be here in a while. Let's go get dinner while we wait."
Xxxxxxxx
"Thanks heaps, Kurt," Blaine said when they were back at home and Blaine was in bed. Rachel was downstairs, probably searching through Blaine's Disney movie collection. Blaine told her she could take what she wanted. Burt was talking with Dianne and Con Anderson, and Kurt cringed internally when he thought of what an awkward conversation that would be.
"Anytime," Kurt said, smiling. "I should get home."
Blaine nodded and sat up to give Kurt a goodbye kiss. Kurt returned it then stood back and smiled, grabbing his coat off the end of the bed. He walked out of the room, blowing Blaine a kiss (the curly-haired boy pretended to catch it and put it in his pocket, making Kurt smile) and pulling the door closed behind him.
He trotted down the stairs and his eyes fell on Con Anderson's face – he looked like he was trying to hold something in, and Burt looked genuinely surprised. Dianne's eyes were flickering between the both of their faces, and she had her hand on her husband's back like she was ready if something happened. The atmosphere was tense.
"Ready to go?" Burt said, in a tone that made it clear that he wanted to be anywhere but there. Kurt nodded and turned towards the cabinet where Blaine kept all his movies – she had a handful, about five, and she was grinning.
"Rachel," Kurt said, and she looked up like a deer in a spotlight. Her grin faded and she stood up, letting her hair hang over her face. Kurt shook his head and turned back to Con and Dianne.
"Thanks for letting us stay," he said. Dianne took his hands and gave him a watery smile.
"Thank you for making sure he was okay," she said. "We really appreciate it."
Kurt smiled. "Anytime," he said. Dianne gave him a quick hug and thanked him again. Kurt looked at Con expectantly. He was studying Kurt with a look that read not approving nor disapproving. Dianne cleared her throat.
"Right," Con said gruffly. "Thanks."
"You're most welcome," Kurt said, voice like sugar. Rachel tried not to snigger, and Burt took a hold of Kurt's arm.
"We'll see you again, I'm sure," he said. Dianne nodded and beamed.
Xxxxxxxx
"Poor Blaine, to have a dad like that," Burt said later in the car after they'd dropped Rachel off. She was busy poring over the movies, which consisted of The Lion King, Toy Story 3, Aladdin, Mulan and the Broadway musical Evita. ("Haven't you already got that?" "Yeah, but my copy's worn out.")
Kurt shrugged. "He tries to steer clear of him most of the time," he said. "Dianne's nice, though."
Burt hummed in agreement. Teenage Dream played softly in the background.
"Thank you, dad," Kurt said. "You know, for going out of your way to do this."
"Hey," Burt said. "I'd do anything for you, you know that."
"I know," Kurt said. "Thanks for doing it for Blaine, as well."
"Anytime," Burt said. Kurt smiled at him, then looked back out the front window.
It was silent then, and as the song finished and changed to a new one that Kurt didn't know the name of, they turned down the familiar road to their house.
A/N; WHOA. I haven't written for ages! That was legit the first story I could actually sit down and write without stopping or getting blocked or anything. It feels so good to be back :D you know the deal – R&R, and I'll reward you for it as best I can. Thanks for reading!