Hey guys! WOW! i'd just like to thank you all for all the AMAZING reviews, especially my anonymous reviewers who i didn't get to personally respond to. But i do have to say that it was a little frustrating to revieve so many story alert and favorite notices, but only 15 of you actually took the time to review. I'm not going to beg you guys to review, or like go crazy and stop updating until i get X amount of reviews, but i am asking that if you like it, or you don't i'm cool with cirticism, just take a few minutes to write a small review so that i can know what i'm doing right, or wrong. Please and thank you. :)

Anyways, without further ado, here's chapter 2! ENJOY!

Puck let out a sigh as he turned down Freeman. He would never admit it to anyone, but after seeing the words "The Princess" flashing across his caller ID for maybe the second time ever, his shock wore off and he was actually worried about the small brunette. Kurt sounded like hell on the phone, and something about the way he stuttered over his words and tried, unsuccessfully, to muffle sobs scared Puck. For years, his hobby was making Kurt Hummel's life miserable, but no matter what he did, nothing had ever gotten to the kid. Or maybe Hummel just never showed it. But to hear the crack in the soprano's usually well put together, cold exterior freaked him out a bit. He almost laughed at the thought of him, Noah Puckerman, being worried about Kurt Hummel. But it wasn't a completely foreign concept to him these days. After all, Kurt was kinda his best friend's little brother now, so by law of the Bro Code (which he was making an extra effort to try to stick to these days), it kinda made it Puck's job to keep an eye out for him; he'd want Finn to look out for his little sister, Sarah. And the two were mostly friends now, and even badasses, like him, worried about their friends. He rolled his eyes when he realized that he was actually trying to justify his actions to himself.

Puck pulled his truck up to the curb in front of the park entrance. He saw Kurt's huddled outline leaning against the park sign. It was weird to see the boy with his head bowed down and his arms crossed over his chest in a protective manner. Where was the natural confidence the other boy seemed to always possess? Puck turned off his truck and waited for the brunette to get in the car, but he didn't move. It was like he didn't even notice Puck was there. Puck got out of the car and walked over to the boy.

"Hummel, get in the car." Kurt didn't acknowledge him; he just continued to have a one way staring contest with the ground. Puck wondered briefly if he'd just fallen asleep standing up. "Kurt, come on, man," Puck said as he put a hand on the smaller boy's shoulder. Kurt nearly jumped out of his skin and let out an undignified yelp when the motion caused pain to shoot through his body. Puck snatched his hand away as if he had been burned. Kurt was shaking as he slowly lifted his head up to look at Puck, as if he feared who he might see. The smaller boy let out a sigh of relief when his eyes landed on Puck.

"N-Noah, it's you." Kurt almost wanted to hug the older boy when he saw him. But he decided against it when Puck's eyes widened.

"Jesus Christ, Hummel! What the hell happened to you?" Puck had never seen the other boy look less than perfect. Even when he was pulling himself out of the dumpster, he seemed to still manage to look a little more put together than everyone else. Looking at him now, he was the total opposite. An angry bruise covered the left side of his face, spanning from his temple to the middle of his cheek. There was a gash in the middle of it, indicating that whoever hit him was probably wearing a ring. Tear tracks ran from his red, puffy eyes and his hair was all over the place. His clothes were a rumpled mess, covered in dirt, and there was a rip in his designer t-shirt. Another bruise peaked out from underneath his sleeve on his bicep, and both wrists donned matching, hand-shaped bruises. Puck was afraid to know what injuries were hiding underneath his clothes.

"I, n-nothing. It's not a big deal," Kurt said shakily as he ran a hand through his tangled hair. Puck let out a sound of disbelief.

"Really? Because where I'm standing, it kinda looks like a big fucking deal. So, tell me what happened." Kurt looked down and cursed his luck. He had called Puck so he wouldn't have to answer questions. He knew Puck would never drop the subject until he got what he wanted.

"I was taking the shortcut through the park, and some guy j-jumped me. He hit me a few times then left. I'm f-fine." Puck didn't believe that was all that happened for a second, but Hummel looked like he was going to pass out any second. He figured he could get his answers later.

"Alright, well let's get you home. Your dad's probably about to send out a search party for you." Kurt simply shook his head as they walked towards the truck, Kurt moving a little too stiffly. Puck merely raised an eyebrow.

"He's not home. He went out with Carole for the night. And Finn's probably too busy with Rachel to even realize I'm not home yet." Puck grimaced when the mental picture of Finn and Rachel doing it popped into his head.

The ride to Kurt's house was done in a less than comfortable silence. Puck tried his best to keep his eyes on the road and not let them stray to Kurt's bruises. And Kurt tried avidly not to wince or let out a sob every time they hit a particularly rough patch of road. When they pulled into the driveway, all the lights in the house were out, and Finn's car was nowhere in sight.

"I guess he took Rachel home," Kurt murmured softly to himself. Suddenly the prospect of being home wasn't as appealing now that he'd be alone. He slowly opened the door to Puck's truck. He lowered himself to the ground as gently as he could and began to walk to the door, a soft "Thanks, Noah" leaving his lips. He was half way to the door when he heard the engine cut off and the truck door slamming. In a matter of seconds, Puck was walking next to him, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. Puck just shrugged his shoulders at Kurt's questioning gaze.

"What? There's nothing to do at my house, so I figured I'd wait around for Finn to get back. It's been a while since I've completely kicked his ass at video games." Actually it had been yesterday, but Puck wasn't about to tell the boy that the real reason that he was staying was because he was worried. A feeling of relief washed over Kurt. This time he did hug the older boy.

"Thank you," he whispered softly. Puck just stood there for a second before Kurt pulled away. He was never good at hugging, unless it was Sarah or his mom. He awkwardly patted Kurt on the back as the smaller boy unlocked the front door. Kurt deposited his bag onto the couch before gingerly sitting down and resting his head in his hands.

"Where do you keep your first aid crap?" Puck asked as he shut the front door and made his way into the house. Kurt looked up and gave him a strange look.

"In the kitchen, the cabinet above the sink. Why?" Kurt heard Puck rummaging around the cabinet before he walked back into the living room and sat down next to the smaller boy.

"Because that cut on your face looks pretty bad. It could get infected." Kurt furrowed his brows in confusion before lifting his hand to his cheek. He winced before pulling his hand away. His eyes widened a bit when he noticed the small amount of blood that had rubbed off on his fingers.

"I don't remember how that got there."

"My guess is that the guy was wearing a ring when he hit you. Now hold still and let me clean it." Kurt nodded as Puck poured the clear antiseptic onto a cotton ball. Kurt winced at the sting when Puck wiped the cotton ball over the cut. Puck repeated the action a few times until he was satisfied it was sufficiently clean. He then rubbed a small amount of Neosporin over the cut. "As long as you keep Neosporin on it, it shouldn't scar, but it's not gonna look pretty while it's healing." Kurt simply shrugged his shoulders, and Puck was a little unsettled when the diva didn't immediately begin bitching about the flaw in his normally perfect appearance. Puck began to gently feel around the steadily darkening bruise on Kurt's face.

"What are you doing?" Kurt asked through a wince.

"I'm just making sure nothing's broken." Kurt nodded. "So, who did it?" Kurt shrugged stiffly. The guy's face flashed across his mind, and he squeezed his eyes closed to get rid of the image. "Was it someone from school?"

"N-No. He was older. Like thirty, maybe." Puck's eyes darkened as he moved his prodding to the bruises on Kurt's wrists. He'd expect something like this from one of the stupid jocks at school, but the thought of an adult using a sixteen year old kid as a punching bag made him a little sick to his stomach. An angry hiss from Kurt caused him to bring his attention back to Kurt's wrist.

"Your left wrist is twisted pretty badly. I'll wrap it up after you take a shower." At the mention of the shower, Kurt realized just how dirty he felt. He could feel the dirt and grime and hands all over his body. He jumped a little when he felt cold air hit his stomach. He looked down to see Puck lifting his shirt up. He had to stop himself from panicking. Puck wouldn't hurt him.

"D-Don't." Puck stopped his movements when he heard the strangled whisper. He looked up at Kurt and examined his face. He looked terrified.

"Calm down. I'm just checking to see if you're hurt anywhere else. Nothing else. Okay?" He locked his gaze with Kurt's, and he relaxed a bit when the fear began to leave Kurt's eyes. Kurt nodded his head slowly.

"Alright." Puck pulled the t-shirt over Kurt's head and tossed it aside. His eyes were instantly drawn to the dark bruise covering the right side of Kurt's ribcage. He gently prodded each of Kurt's ribs and let out a sigh of relief when he decided that nothing was broken.

"Nothing's broken, but they're probably bruised. You'll be in pain for a while, but I-" Puck's words caught in his throat when something caught his attention. A distinctively hand-shaped bruise on Kurt's right hip peaking over his jeans. Something that, if this had just been a simple beating, definitely shouldn't be there. "K-Kurt?" The younger boy's eyes followed Puck's gaze; he instantly paled. He pulled himself away from Puck and turned towards the basement door.

"I'm going to take a shower." Puck didn't move as the small brunette made his way down the stairs to his bedroom. He simply stared at the space Kurt had currently been occupying. He heard the slamming of drawers before the bathroom door closed. He stood up and grabbed the bandage to wrap Kurt's wrist before walking down the stairs and sitting on the couch in Kurt's room.

On the other side of the bathroom door, Kurt was freaking out. Puck knew. He had to know. What if he told somebody? What if he told his dad? Or worse, what if he thought he had wanted it? Kurt let out a strangled sob as he turned on the water in his shower as hot as it could go. He kicked his shoes off before pulling his jeans off. He felt tears start to run down his face when he saw the dark stain in the seat of his black jeans, and he had to muffle a sob when he removed his boxers only to find them stained crimson and white.

He stepped into the shower and allowed the scalding water to burn his skin. He skipped over his soft vanilla body wash and grabbed the bar of soap that Finn usually used. He rubbed the rough soap over his body, not even caring that it was ruining his skin. He scrubbed his skin raw and finished off the bar of soap in a desperate attempt to rid himself of the feeling of being touched by him. But it didn't help. He was still dirty, and he could still feel every place where the man had touched him. He sank down to the floor of the shower and pulled his knees to his chest as sobs wracked his body. He was past the point of caring that Puck could probably hear him.

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, but the water had long since turned cold and his tears had stopped. He just sat there with his knees to his chest as he stared at the wall in front of him. And in that moment, he almost wished that the guy would have just done him a favor and killed him when he had finished. It'd be better than having to live with the fact that he had let himself get raped. A sharp knock on the door drew his attention from his depressing thoughts.

"Kurt, are you ok? You've been in there for like an hour." The concern in Puck's voice almost made him start crying again. He didn't want people feeling sorry for him.

"I'm f-fine. I'll be o-out in a m-minute." It was then that Kurt realized he was shivering, and the freezing water was hitting his skin like razor blades. He slowly pulled himself of the floor of the shower and turned the water off. He dried himself off before stiffly pulling on the clothes he had collected before entering the bathroom. His muscles were practically frozen from sitting under the cold water for so long. He quickly stuffed his dirty clothes into a bag. He couldn't let anyone see them. He had to throw them away. He walked out of the bathroom and saw Puck sitting on the couch. The TV was on, but Kurt didn't think he was actually watching it.

"Is Finn still gone?" Puck jumped a little at his voice. He hadn't heard him leave the bathroom. Puck took in the soprano's appearance. He was wearing a pair of Finn's basketball shorts that were about four sizes too big, and a plain white t-shirt. It would have been a funny sight to see the fashionista look so plain if it were a different situation. His eyes were puffy, but he expected that; he had heard him crying in the bathroom. And he was shivering so bad it was making his movements jerky.

"Um, yeah. He left a note saying he took Rachel to a movie. He should be back soon though." Kurt nodded before putting the bag with his clothes in it under his bed so that he could throw them away later. Puck walked up to him and shrugged off his jacket before draping it over Kurt's shoulders. "You looked cold," was the only response he gave Kurt's questioning glance.

"I ran out of hot water." Kurt sat down on the edge of his bed. Puck kneeled in front of him and grabbed his wrist. Kurt cocked his head to the side in confusion before Puck began wrapping a bandage around his left wrist.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kurt shook his head, then nodded, then shrugged. Puck secured the bandage and pulled himself up to sit on the bed next to Kurt.

"Are you going to tell anybody?" Kurt asked softly, fearing the answer.

"Do you want to tell anybody?" Kurt shook his head quickly.

"No, I-I can't. I didn't even want you to know." Puck nodded sharply.

"Then, no. I won't tell anyone. That's your decision. But if you need someone to talk to, I'll like listen or whatever." Kurt let out a sigh of relief before he looked at the older boy. He could tell that Puck wasn't happy about his decision, and he looked about ready to kill somebody. But Kurt had never been happier to hear that something was his decision to make and said decision would be respected.

"Thanks, Noah." Puck stood up and turned off the TV.

"You should get some sleep. I'll wait around upstairs until Finn gets home." Puck turned towards the stairs, and Kurt began to panic at the thought of being alone. He stood up and grabbed Puck's arm gently, pulling the older boy slightly towards him.

"Please stay. I-I don't want to be alone." Puck nodded and allowed Kurt to pull him back over towards the bed. They sat down, leaning against the headboard. Kurt pulled his knees to his chest, and winced slightly when pain shot up his back. Puck didn't know what to do. He sucked at comforting people. He simply said the one thing that he felt Kurt really needed to hear, but probably wouldn't believe.

"It wasn't your fault, you know." And then Kurt's face was buried in Puck's chest, and he was crying. Puck slowly circled his arms around the slighter boy and began to rub his back. And then Kurt was rambling hysterically.

"I begged him to s-stop. But he was b-bigger than me, and he w-was on top of m-me, and I couldn't g-get away. I yelled and screamed, b-but he didn't stop. It h-hurt so bad, Noah." Puck tightened his grip on the small boy in his arms and shushed him gently. He pushed the wet hair out of Kurt's face and fought the urge to kiss his forehead like he did with Sarah when she cried.

"It's ok, Kurt. It's over now, and I'm not going to let him hurt you again, ok?" Kurt nodded his head as his sobs died down. Puck shifted them down on the bed, so that he was lying down with Kurt resting on his chest as the brunette's breathing evened out. He gently stroked Kurt's hair until he too fell asleep. Neither one woke up when Finn's heavy footsteps began to bang down the stairs.


So what'd you guys think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know! I hope this scene worked out ok. I was really worried about it, but I like it. So I hope you all do too. :) REVIEW!