A/N : So, this is a little one-shot I wrote. It takes place when Kurt is still at Dalton and it's how I pictured some of the reactions to the bullying he had been through.
Major thanks to KlaineLoveVahs for being an amazing beta :)
"Quick, quick, hurry! C'mon, we have to get to him before he leaves for Lima!" Wes cried out to his best friend, while sprinting up the stair of Dalton Academy. The French teacher had told them they would have a huge grammar test this upcoming Monday. Naturally, the boys got caught up in a COD war and had completely forgotten about the test entirely. Now they had less than a day to learn everything about the subject at hand.
They'd decided to ask Kurt, Blaine's current crush and the newest edition to the Warbler's, for help. Rumors spread pretty quickly through the quiet halls of Dalton, and the newest was that Kurt was fluent in French. Out of breath, the pair threw open Kurt's door without a second thought. The question fell silent on the boy's lips at the sight.
The countertenor was currently rummaging through his wardrobe, looking for something other than the "atrocious uniforms that shouldn't be worn in private let alone public" as Kurt always referred to them as. He was known to do this every day after classes, which was the cause of him having more clothes than the last Fashion Week.
Kurt was shirtless.
His back looked horrible. Wes and David stared in shock at the different colors across Kurt's back. There were many bruises, in all shapes and sizes, that ranged from purplish-blue to red and yellow. There were some that looked strangely like fingers across his shoulders and, his even more delicate-looking, waist. There were also small scars in different places.
David mouthed "Blaine" and Wes nodded. They silently closed the door and broke into a run, trying to reach their soloist. If anyone knew what to do it, it would be the countertenor's best friend. On the way they thought about how Kurt acted in public and both of them felt sickened for not noticing anything going on.
He always stood and sat straighter than anyone else, they'd always thought it was because he was worried about good posture. Whenever a loud noise was made, he'd jumped and every little touch would make him flinch. After gym he'd wait until everyone else left before changing. And even during Warbler rehearsal his dancing was stiff.
The signs were all there but they had just ignored them and labeled them as 'normal'.
When they got to Blaine's room they entered after knocking and hearing a faint "Come in".
As Blaine glanced at the pair he immediately knew that something was wrong. Wes and David had split personalities sometimes, they could be happy troublemaking idiots with an epic bromance or strict council members.
They now looked scared, guilty and freaked out. He'd never seen them this way and it was sort of unsettling.
"What's going on?"
"What do you know about Kurt's bullying before he transferred?" David asked quickly, not beating around the bush. "Don't you dare say that you haven't a clue, because we know you're the only person he confides in here." Wes cut in quickly after David.
"Um… I really don't think I should tell you. I promised him I wouldn't say anything.. And I don't know everything…" He trailed off, a confused look on his face about their new found interest in Kurt's problems before Dalton.
"C'mon Blaine! This is important!" Wes said exasperatingly, his hands gesticulating wildly.
Taking one more glance at their distressed eyes, he sighed and started talking "There was this guy, Karofsky, who attended McKinley with Kurt,". Blaine's fists clenched and his eyes flashed with anger before he continued,
"He… he hated Kurt, and was really horrible to him. Kurt wouldn't go into detail about the things he did. I'm guessing homophobic slurs and name calling, you know? Eventually I came up with this incredibly stupid plan, to have Kurt do what I couldn't do. Stand up for myself, for his self. If I'd known that he'd do something like that I never… I never would've…" Blaine said, his voice becoming thick with grief.
"What happened next?" they asked, curiosity getting the better of the pair.
"Kurt called him out, told him he was an ignorant, scared little boy. And, and then Karofsky, he…"
"Hit him?" guessed Wes.
"You'd expect that, right? But no… No, he kissed him."
"He what?" The two boys yelled in complete shock, not wanting to believe what they were just told.
"Kissed him. Turns out he hates Kurt so much because he hates himself. His homophobia is just a cover-up for his sexuality."
"Oh." David whispered, feeling a tinge of pity for the confused boy, but also being mad at him for hurting his friend. "So after that Kurt transferred?"
Blaine thought it over. "He actually transferred three weeks afterwards. Hmmmm, I've never really thought about it. Where are these questions coming from anyway?" He asked after they went silent.
"Have you ever seen Kurt shirtless?" Wes asked somberly, not noticing the second meaning of the question.
"What! NO! Of course not." Blaine hurriedly spit out, his face burning red.
"Why? Have you?"
"We walked into him changing" David explained and described, in detail, what they'd seen. When he finished talking the curly-haired boy was shaking with rage.
"That's impossible. Kurt would have told me if he was hurt. He would have. I'm sure he would have." He continued, ignoring the fact that his legs had given way and he had fallen onto his bed. "I would have.. I would have noticed" he whispered the last part out softly.
"Blaine, we get how you're feeling. But the important thing now is to decide what to do next," Wes said, determination written on his face as he tried to be rational. "We have to find out what exactly happened. We have to talk to Kurt."
Concluding that he was already in the parking lot the trio ran out of the room. They found the countertenor just as he was entering his car.
Before Kurt got a chance to say 'hi' David grabbed his wrists and told him 'that they had to talk'. They took him a deserted classrooms and shut the door quickly.
"Look you guys. What's going on? I promised 'Cedes I'd hurry back so we could still go shopping together." He asked, his diva glare fully in place.
"Kurt. Listen to us for a sec. Sorry to ask you so bluntly about this, but what exactly happened at McKinley? How bad were things?" The moment the question was asked the boys saw Kurt put up a emotionless mask.
"Nothing much really. Just me making a huge deal out of things. Anyway I really have to go," he laughed it off and tried to change the subject.
"Kurt. We walked into you changing earlier," David said, his eyes full of sadness. "We saw the bruises. Stop pushing us away, Kurt! we're your friends and we want to help you".
The countertenor looked up and was met with three earnest stares.
Unable to stop himself, Kurt turned into a river overflowing with tales of sadness and hurt.
"Things got bad around the start of high school. I hadn't come out yet, but everyone assumed. The names became so easy to ignore after a while, as did the notes that said things like "Die Fag" and "Nobody wants you here, Fairy!" After a while though, the jocks became more… creative."
He took a deep breath and continued while Blaine reached out and grabbed his hand "Dumpster tosses, locker slams, rude phone calls, and slushie facials became normality."
"Wait," David interrupted "I don't understand the last sentence. What are those things?"
"Dumpster tosses are what they sound like!" Kurt said, his mask suddenly back up "I think those were because of jealousy and they ruined my outfits! You know those frozen drinks – slushies. Well, a facial is when one or more football players came up to you and threw them in your face. Whoever's idea it was to put a slushie machine in McKinley was a fool," he said as he chuckled a humorless laugh, hiding behind the sarcasm.
"What about the phone calls?" Blaine asked, angry and terrified about what he was hearing.
"An anonymous call to my house telling me that I'm a fag and I should die in hell and stuff like that…" Kurt said, checking his nails.
"Wait, people actually called your house to harass you?" Wes asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I usually just brush them off when I get to the phone in time. I hated the look my dad got everything time he answered one. He doesn't deserve to go through all of that."
"And you do?"
"No. No one deserves it. But I've gotten used to it."
"Is that why you transferred?" Blaine asked, holding onto Kurt's hand even tighter.
Kurt shut his eyes before answering "Now Blaine, please don't be angry that I didn't tell you this, but after he kissed me Karofsky had to make sure no one would find out about his sexuality. He threatened… he threatened to kill me…"
There was a moment of silence before the bomb exploded.
"WHAT THE HELL?"
"That bastard will be sorry!"
"Why didn't you tell me?" They all spoke at the same time, the last comment made by Blaine.
"I don't know," Kurt replied "I was scared and I just wanted to forget all of that had ever happened. I'm so sorry."
"No, don't you dare apologize Kurt. I'm just… shocked is all…"
"You know you're safe here, right?" Wes said, sending a comforting smile towards Kurt. "We're all here for you"
It was those few words that made the tears start to fall. Before they knew it, all three of them were hugging and crying. And looking into the eyes of Blaine, Wes and David; Kurt let himself believe that everything was going to be alright.
A/N : And as usual, another note at the end. What did you guys think of the episode "I am an unicorn"? So much drama :P And the promo for the next episode looks like there will be even more :D. Anyway, hope you liked this short fic. I love reviews and constructive criticism *hinthint* :D