Ok, so I have a thing about curls AND glasses so this is shameless, it really is... BUT dapper Blaine and Blaine in uniform makes me feel less guilty about it because, well, it suits him! Also, Darren's curls... well, need I say more? the first time I saw him back in 2009, I think I fell in love with his hair first, then he opened his mouth... *sigh*

Thank you SO much for your kind words and reviews. I'm pleased you like it. Hope you enjoy this one... little more of those moments Kurt hasn't experienced yet. xx

Kurt has been lying on the sofa bed for hours without a wink of sleep. His eyes are beginning to feel heavy but he can't close them. It's the images that flood in, they're the reason he's so reluctant. Karovsky's just one guy, he's one guy who terrifies Kurt more than he can say but that's not the worse of it. There are others and Kurt knows there are. He's heard things, seen things, felt things that all point to there being worse out there and as he feels his eyelids droop and slide closed, his steadfast confidence and fighting spirit falter.

...

"Kurt! Hey, Kurt...!"

He can hear a noise, a strangled kind of cry, but it's far away.

"Kurt, hey open your eyes."

Kurt obeys as a warm hand rests on his shoulder, teasing him out of a rough sleep. "Hmmm?" As his eyes open, Blaine's sitting beside the couch, his eyes filled with concern.

"You ok? I know you're not meant to wake people up when they're dreaming but I wasn't going to let you get more upset." His hand rests on Kurt's shoulder still, solid and unwavering. Kurt can barely move, his eyes are damp and his hands in fists. Confusion floods his mind, pushing out the horrible thoughts.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know what I was doing... erm, what was I doing?" he asks, shuffling onto his side awkwardly so that Blaine becomes a silhouette in the pale glean from the windows. It's still so dark, which makes Kurt feel even worse for causing a fuss.

"I'm guessing it was a nightmare. You have them often?" Blaine asks, his head tilted slightly in a way which makes Kurt feel small and feeble. It's not the way he usually sees himself but in the early hours of the morning, it's all he can do to fight the bad things away.

"Sometimes," Kurt replies, knowing Blaine will read into it what is intended. Nightmares are normal, part of losing your mother and being taunted religiously throughout high school. They're part of the package.

"That's not good. Have you done anything about it?" Blaine asks, settling himself in a sitting position.

Kurt's eyes flicker elsewhere, avoiding Blaine's intense gaze at any cost. "Not really, I can usually cope with them. No big deal." He shrugs it off feeling a fraud. It's all lies.

"It's a huge deal Kurt and you know it is. I know it is. I know how hard it is to have all of these feelings inside of you and hold it all in. There comes a time when it has to come out."

He can't help but smile at those final words. "No pun intended right?" Kurt asks with a weak grin, his eyes flickering down then peering up under long eyelashes.

Blain's heart can barely stand it. It's like looking in a mirror from 2 years ago. He simply wants to soothe the bad stuff, take it away and help Kurt the same way others helped him ... eventually.

Blaine is silent for a moment. Kurt lies still, his eyes taking in the other boy's mussed curls and the way his t-shirt is pulled further off one shoulder. It's weird and incredible all at once. He feels childish as he blushes when Blaine stands, the same t-shirt failing to fall lower than his pants and exposing skin. Grow up, Kurt tells himself, stop being ridiculous, but it's impossible. Blaine is a presence, he's a force and he's indescribably mesmerising in a way Kurt is sure is not down to his childish tendency to fall easily.

"You know in movies when there's a boarding school? There's always that one scene where they sneak out of their dorms at night and raid a fridge or drink hot chocolate or something?"

This was not what Kurt was expecting. He blinks up at Blaine's smile. "Um, yea?"

"Well, you're about to see what it's like for real," Blaine winks as Kurt finds his feet.

...

"Shut up! You played football?" Blaine laughs, his eyes sparkling in the orange glow of the overhead lamp. They're sitting in the common room, Kurt in one of Blaine's bottle green hoodies, which he is sure makes him look like a blimp but he doesn't care. It smells like heaven. Kurt can feel himself growing jealous of Blaine's obviously expensive thick knit jumper but keeps his fashion envy to himself.

Kurt can feel himself blushing. "Yes. I was pretty damn good too. I taught the whole team to dance which was an experience. Their brains don't extend past their... well, you get what I mean. Their feet ... no way do they control them. You should have seen how terrible they were but it was pretty fun."

Blaine sips his hot chocolate with a grin painted on his face that hasn't moved for an hour. He peers over the rim of the mug at a very different Kurt. He can't help but succumb to the feeling that keeps tugging at his chest as Kurt speaks. It's so obvious he's lightyears ahead of most gay guys of his age, so proud, so unique and unapologetic, so achingly honest in his expression. The fact Kurt's in his clothes only makes matters harder to deal with.

"You're way stronger than you think, you know?" Blaine offers, breaking the easy flow of conversation with sharp truth.

Kurt blinks back, his eyes failing to believe a word Blaine is saying. "I'm not ashamed of who I am. Never have been really, unless you count the time I tried to change to please my dad, but I don't want to be frightened to be that person... to be me."

Blaine nods slowly, his eyes fixed on Kurt's attempting to show him that he gets it, he really really does.

"You don't have to be. Things will get better. I promise... not that me promising is any comfort." Blaine feels an awkward twitch in his face, one that's guaranteed to give away how exposed he feels and how he's incapable of being guarded with Kurt.

"It is actually," Kurt offers with a smile so genuine that Blaine's heart flutters, a feeling he hasn't had for a long time.

"Good, he rushes out, "now why don't you tell me about this football game some more. I want details..."

...

"Thank you," Kurt whispers as they head back into Blaine's room and quietly close the door behind them. Kurt looks so vulnerable and innocent and everything he should, which Blaine knows is what he admires most about him, however, even in the darkness he can see the spark in Kurt's eyes, the one that Blaine is sure is responsible for his courage so far.

"You don't need to thank me for anything."

"You're so damn nice though, you're like... you're like some sort of superhero or something," Kurt stutters out, aware of the fact he's got no control over his mouth anymore.

Blaine almost chokes on his laugh. "You're way off," he says with a shake of his head. Kurt watches, enthralled by the way his eyelashes fall and the way his hand nervously plays with his hair for a second. He wants to reach out and touch it again, knowing that this is the closest he's ever gotten to another guy without them wishing to run a mile or beat him to a pulp. "Although, if I was to be a superhero...?"

Kurt laughs, his mind racing to Sam's collection of nerdy comic books. "Superman. Think you could pull off the Clark Kent glasses," he giggles, flopping down on the sofa bed as he watches Blaine rifle through his drawer. It's all he can do to hold onto the arm of the chair as Blaine turns around in thick rimmed black glasses with a smile so goofy and beautiful he can't breathe.

"Wow," he breathes out without thinking.

"Exactly, awful, huh? There's a reason I wear contacts," Blaine jokes, taking them off and throwing them back into his cupboard. Kurt wants to protest and tell Blaine that under no circumstances and in no universe is it awful and that he looks cute and nerdy and totally unstylish but it's real and it's quirky and heart achingly adorable.

"There's a reason I had a poster of Christopher Reeves in glasses on my wall when I was younger, and it wasn't, like I told my dad, because Superman was 'awesome' ..." Kurt isn't sure he should be saying this because it's suggesting way more than is appropriate but his heart is hammering so fast in his chest that it's hard to ignore.

Blaine doesn't move for a moment and just simply looks at Kurt, his eyes smiling even if his lips don't move from their miniscule pout. He glances down as a slow but steady smirk crosses his face. When his eyes level again, he's staring at Kurt so intently that Kurt is sure he can feel his gaze on his skin through his long sleeved t-shirt. "Are you feeling better?" he asks finally, breaking the silence and tension only for a second.

Kurt smiles, teeth and dimples, (completely not the most demure thing he's ever done) and nods. He's giddy and terrified all at once but the fact Blaine snuggles himself down under the covers in his bed and turns to face Kurt, propping a pillow under his head for a better view and they talk till the very very early hours ... well, it's enough to reassure Kurt that there is absolutely nothing to be frightened about.