Blaine drew his sleeve back and glanced at his watch. His brow furrowed in response, but he shook his head to rid of the thoughts that crossed his mind. As soon as Kurt saw that he bore gifts, he was sure he would be more mad over them than the lost minutes. He shifted the awkward boxes in his arm and quickened his pace towards his car. The boy put the gifts in the back of his BMW and delicately secured them into place. A small smile flickered on his lips before he closed the trunk.

There was a reason why he had so many gifts. It had been a year today, that the two boys had met. The way the whole scene had played out that day in the commons room was on repeat in his brain. Blaine's hand stretching out, adjusting the collar to a flushed Kurt. Opening his mouth and singing at the top of his lungs and catching Kurt's eyes. It played forward to when he had sat down with Wes and David after Kurt had confessed he was a spy. Blaine had memorized every word from the conversation. "Are you all gay?" Kurt had asked. Blaine felt the smile broaden on his face as he restarted it all over again.

The car revved to life before Blaine pulled out of the parking lot. 8:23. He was supposed to be at Kurt's house in seven minutes and the drive from the gift shop was a good fifteen. A small sigh escaped Blaine's chest before he stepped on the gas and headed down the asphalt. It had grown dark already with the winter months and created an eerie glow. Blaine squinted occasionally, trying to make out when there were no street lights to guide his way; deer were known for jumping out and basically committing suicide when they saw car headlights amongst the dark.

The boy's eyes flickered over his body quickly; blue jeans with a white v-neck. Simple but classy, he decided. They were only going to be meeting up with the McKinley kids at Breadsticks and he could already picture what everyone would wear; Rachel in a flannel print dress that scooped low over her bust, which would contract Finn's eyes like flies to honey. Quinn would most likely still be sporting her Cheerios outfit, complete with hair slicked back into a pony. Sam's jacket would be draped around her shoulders, showing his well muscled form underneath a simple print tee. He went through the rest of the group, predicting each outfit. He stopped when he reached Kurt, trying to decide what the boy would be wearing tonight. Each day was a surprise, so Blaine expected the unexpected.

Blaine couldn't hide the grin on his face. It was dark and no one could see in his car, even if there had've been any others on the street. His hand reached for the dial of his radio, and turned it up to listen to Hold It Against Me by Britney Spears. He found himself singing along to it quietly; Kurt had been listening to the new hit… non stop.

He didn't know if it had been when he had reached for the dial, or if it was when he started to think of Kurt. All Blaine knew was that he hit something- hard. His foot hit the break as something flew out of the brush, smacking into the hood of his silver Volvo and smashing the windshield. On pure reaction, Blaine steered to the right, and continued to slam as hard as he could on the break. The car shifted uneasily, sliding on something slick on the road. Blaine's head whipped forwards and a searing pain immersed in his neck. When the car rolled to a stop, he managed to put it in park. His fingers felt for his neck, rubbing where the whiplash had taken place. Hesitantly, Blaine stepped out of the car and walked disoriented towards what he had hit. A lump lay in the middle of the road, completely lifeless. He stumbled as he made his way forward, until he was looking down at the bloodied body of a buck. Bile rose in his throat and his body folded as he heaved. Blood was a sight he could not handle.

Some reasoning began to kick in, and slowly the boy felt for his phone. He let out a small groan and began to stumble his way back to his car. His cell must have fallen out in the crash. He wavered like someone who had had too much to drink with every step. He half hoped that a police car would show up and help him, after they saw that he literally hadn't been drinking. Blaine raised his hands to his temples and pressed against his skull; it throbbed violently in return. Eventually, his hands found the car and he scrambled for the phone. The LED light shone brightly once he held it in his hand and Blaine took two long breaths, trying to take control of his shaking fingers and dial a number.

Something struck him in the back. Blaine gasped and the phone escaped from his grip and clattered to the floor of the Volvo. He felt himself being wrenched out of the car and launched through the air before his face hit the pavement. Rocks embedded themselves in his cheek and his brought his hand to his face. A cool liquid oozed down and onto his hands. Blaine's vision had already been hindered, but now he became woozy with the sight of the blood again. He didn't have a strong stomach for this.

Another blow was to the side of his body. His breath instantly left his chest as he fell onto his side.

A dark chuckle pierced through the ringing that had emerged in his ears. He felt someone wrapping their fingers in his shirt before lifting him to his feet. An unimaginable pain filled his left cheek, and Blaine hissed as he felt pebbles being pressed deeper with the contact of knuckles.

"Who are you?" Blaine choked out. Blood filled his mouth, and he spat desperately to ride himself of the taste. He made out the outline of a large figure, followed by two others. Blaine knew he was in trouble before his back had hit the metal of this car. He scrambled against it wishing he could blend into the frame.

"You can protect your boyfriend, but you can't protect yourself?"

Blaine spat again and tried to focus his vision. Get a clear picture of them, he told himself. That way you can tell someone when it ends.

The three figures moved forward. Blaine didn't have time to react before hands gripped his arms and the last person wailed their fist into his stomach repeatedly. He bit his lip desperately, trying not to cry out in pain. The tears swelled and he shut his eyes as blow after blow came. Finally, a moan escaped his lips. He became a rag-doll of their torture and his body fell to the ground, crumpled and unable to hold itself.

The pain started to numb as his vision blackened. The toes of boots were in his sides and back before one made contact with the side of his face. Blaine let out a startled cry, his throat ripping apart as the pain took over his body.

"Funny, I thought he would fight back at least. He always did for his boyfriend."

"He didn't even try."

Blaine felt someone's breath on his ear. "I don't think he'll be able to defend his boyfriend after this." Blaine blinked, trying to form something coherent in his mind. Kurt's face rushed to his forefront of his conscience; the boy with a healthy glow and a never fading smile. He remembered the way Kurt's fingers felt in his own, and the way the slushies felt as they dripped down his face instead of Kurt's. The way Kurt would drag a finger across Blaine's cheek before turning it and kissing him lightly. The time crushed Kurt's heart by going with Flint. How he carried himself and ignored Blaine for weeks afterwards. The way Blaine had to work to get Kurt back into his life. The feeling and connection they both shared when he did. Lastly, the way Kurt threw his head back and laughed when truly overjoyed. Blaine would never regret standing up for his boyfriend. Every slushy, every word, everything. He would never regret it. Even now, bloody and ripped, he didn't regret standing up for whom he loved. A steady stream of blood flowed down his face and onto his lips. He spat, narrowly avoided the person's face beside him.

A growl erupted out of the boy, before Blaine felt something his hit back. Then his vision went black.

_._._

Author's Note:

This was a harder one to write, that's for sure. The next one will be good, I hope! I am going to start writing it tonight, and hopefully have it up by later tonight or tomorrow after editing and all that jazz. I plan to have it a pretty long chapter though, so it could be a couple days. Thank you for all the response on this though! It really means a lot to me!