A/N: Hey guys! So I hope you're not too mad at me for the last chapter. Poor Kurt, I feel like I'm torturing him to no end with Kyle…who doesn't have a last name. I was actually thinking about that the other day; I can't think of a good last name for Kyle, but I'm just horrible at making up names and titles anyway, so yeah… but hey, if anyone has any suggestions, please tell me because I'm stuck.
This chapter starts with Kurt dreaming—so in case anybody is wondering why it's all in italics and it randomly switched into present tense, that's why.
Waves are washing lightly onto a pristine shore. The breeze tousles the fronds of a nearby palm.
Kurt sits with his feet buried in the white sand. He is propped up on his elbows, enjoying the turquoise ocean in front of him and a faint smile lifts his lips from their previous frown. He doesn't know how he came to be there; he doesn't know where he was before this. He doesn't care.
Kurt breathes in deeply, appreciating the salty tang in the air. The sky is home to only a few cotton white clouds and the sun shines and glistens across the water.
A voice calls his name from behind, and he turns to see who it is. Suddenly, Kurt is no longer looking upon a beach paradise; the dunes that used to lay there before him have warped into an immense, brick wall that stretches far past the edges of his sight. He is confused and disappointed. The setting before had been much prettier. He wants it back again.
Kurt pouts and beats his palm childishly against the ground. He is surprised to feel that the white sand is no longer there under his fingertips; rather, it has been replaced with hard, beige concrete that is too hot against his skin. The ocean is still there, but it too has changed. The former blue-green color has darkened into an ugly brown. It leaves an unsettling red residue against the concrete each time a wave recedes, and Kurt scoots away from the water before it reaches his toes.
His heart starts to beat faster in his chest and he suddenly wishes he could go home. The friendly sky from a few moments prior is not so friendly anymore; the sun beats down too brightly and the sky is too empty and large. The air is heavy with heat and Kurt can feel the sweat matting his shirt to his back. He looks around for shade, but there is none.
Kurt hears the voice again and his heads whips around towards the source. His gaze immediately connects with two eyes of green-hazel and a rush of relief spreads from his hairline to his ankles as he realizes that he is looking into the angelic face of his boyfriend.
Blaine is only a few feet away and he reaches a hand out to touch Kurt's flushed cheeks. He looks worried.
'I'm so glad you're here.' Kurt tries to say, but the sound catches in his throat and he notices with a jolt as fire flares in his chest.
Blaine frowns with concern, and suddenly there is pain everywhere. The background changes again and the two boys are surrounded by crackling flames. Kurt gasps and shies away from the yellow tendrils as they lick at his skin and leave burning trails along his arms. The circle closes in on them and Kurt's limbs cease to function correctly. Every movement seems slower, and he can't get up to run away. He panics and yanks his stare back to his boyfriend, but Blaine is gone, nowhere to be seen. He is alone and the fire is convulsing around him and swallowing him whole and he can't stop screaming because there is too much pain and too much heat and too much fear.
Kurt closes his eyes and continues to shriek, but the crackling sound decreases in volume. He can't believe it but he doesn't take the chance to peek; he simply listens to the noise being sucked away into a vacuum of blackness.
And then something clicks back on in his brain and he can feel again, he can hear and he can smell and taste, but he just doesn't want to open his eyes, that is, until he hears a faint sobbing fill the air around him.
Blaine POV
Blaine heard no reply from his boyfriend and he screamed into the receiver again. His palms were slick and sliding against the steering wheel and he knew he should pull over and sort out his thoughts before continuing to drive, but he couldn't process rational thought.
God, Blaine…everything h-hurts s-so much…
Kurt was in trouble. He was in pain. He needed help. He wasn't answering anymore.
Blaine gripped the wheel so tightly, his knuckles ached. His foot pressed down all the way on the gas pedal until it clunked against the floor, but the loud, shrill screech of the tires shocked him enough to pull back and return to normal speed before he flipped the car. His breathing came in short, shaky hisses through his clenched teeth and he growled in desperation as he imagined Kurt at McKinley, hurt and broken, lying somewhere alone…
Two minutes since the phone call.
He took a U-turn at the nearest light and sped off in the direction of the high school, his eyes blurring dangerously with frightened tears. White noise was still emanating from the speakers of his phone; he hadn't hung up yet, and his ears strained at the soft, airy sound, listening for any sign of Kurt speaking or breathing or something. The silence was deafening and terrifying.
Blaine's heart thumped unevenly in his chest as the edge of the building came into view. Sure, Kurt had said he was at McKinley, but where in McKinley? How would Blaine find him?
He pulled through the front entrance where the buses would normally enter and jerked the car to a halt. As soon as the engine died, he shoved open the door, tripping clumsily on his way out and catching himself on the heels of his hands before stumbling into a run towards the main doors. A few students still hanging out on a nearby bench saw him and stared openly, but he ignored their disgusted eyes and judgmental faces. He was too panicked to realize that he'd never been in Kurt's school before, that he had no clue where he was going as he sprinted through the complex maze of hallways, and that he was slowly beginning to lose himself in the unfamiliar surroundings.
Where was he? He was positive he'd passed that same classroom a minute ago. And that water fountain; hadn't he seen that before?
Blaine stopped dead and allowed himself to take a full breath for the first time in minutes. He ran a hand helplessly through his stiffened locks and suddenly felt very warm in his suit jacket. The collar of his dress shirt was beginning to choke him and he pulled at it roughly, shedding his jacket and tie and draping them over his arm. That helped. He felt looser and freer and he could think.
He looked around him, finally noticing small details about the objects in the hallway. A small glare of reflected light caught his eye and he turned to see a glass display case full of framed class pictures. Underneath those pictures were a few white sheets of printer paper with what looked to be a map printed on them, and Blaine strode over hurriedly to press his face against the glass. It was indeed a map of the school, and Blaine froze in place as he analyzed it closely, straining to see the small printed classroom numbers. He sought out the chorus room and found it to be in an adjacent hallway from the one he was in currently.
He knew Kurt's last period was glee club, and he clung to the hope that maybe he was still there; maybe he had slipped during some choreography, or fell off of a chair. Maybe it wasn't as bad as it seemed.
As Blaine came upon the door to the chorus room, his heart sunk in despair as he saw that it was dark inside and locked. He let out a dry, strangled sob and paced back and forth in the hallway, wracking his brain for another place Kurt might be. He knew he was doomed if Kurt was in a bathroom somewhere; he wouldn't be able to find him. Blaine quickly threw away that train of thought because it was making him hopeless and resolute, and he couldn't afford to give up.
If the room was dark, that meant the glee instructor, Mr. Schuester, had gone home for the day. If he had gone home for the day that meant the glee kids had as well. Most of the kids were upperclassmen, which meant they would most likely have cars. Kurt had a car. Kurt had probably started to go home. Did Kurt get in an accident in the parking lot? It was a possibility.
Blaine's thoughts sped up and he headed back down the hallway to the map again, his eyes darting over the black ink as he searched for the nearest exit. A large square labeled 'student lot' stared back at him through the glass and the exit nearest to it was marked by a small 'x'. Blaine raced off towards the area of the 'x' and felt a surge of energy rush through him as he came to the door leading outside. He didn't pause to think before shoving through the barrier and bursting out into the stifling heat, straining his eyes against the bright light and grimacing at the throbbing in his forehead as his vision adjusted.
Blaine's heart nearly stopped.
He'd found him. He'd found his boyfriend. Kurt was slumped against the wall under a patch of shade from the roof above, his cell phone resting on the ground next to his thigh. Blaine exhaled sharply as relief exploded through him and he unlocked his frozen limbs, rushing over to the boy's side.
The relief quickly turned to raw, naked horror.
Kurt's entire face was swollen and covered in blotches of red and purple. A thin trail of blood trickled out of his mouth, down his chin and along the curve of his battered jaw, stopping where his collar hugged the side of his neck and soaking deep into the fibers of his shirt. His perfectly coiffed hair was sticking out in all directions and his clothes were wrinkled and twisted on his body.
Blaine felt silent tears slide down his cheeks and he bent down to the ground, unsure of whether or not he should touch Kurt in case there were other injuries; he very much doubted that the damaged stopped at his face. Slowly, Blaine reached out and pressed the end key on Kurt's phone, hearing the click as the call disconnected and left him in complete silence.
He could hear Kurt's shallow breathing. He could hear the quiet wheezing in his chest and the gurgling of blood as it slid past each intake of air.
Before he knew it, Blaine was clutching as his own chest and crying, crying harder than he ever had before. He was terrified. He was so…so incredibly, undeniably scared.
Blaine's sobs quieted as he heard Kurt's breathing change in tempo; he was coming to. Blaine watched with bated breath as Kurt's eyelashes flickered and brushed against the puffy sockets; his body twitched and he let out a whimper as his senses flooded back to him, his face contorting in immense pain. Another sorrowful noise pushed past Blaine's lips and he leaned forward on his knees, placing his palms very lightly over his boyfriend's cheeks.
"K-Kurt? Baby? D-do you hear me?" Blaine choked out, the muscles in his arms trembling.
"B…Blaine…" Kurt groaned. He opened his eyes and squinted against the light.
"Oh…oh my god…Kurt…Kurt…" Blaine tried not to babble, tried to stay calm for Kurt's sake, but he could feel himself falling to pieces all over the ground around him.
Kurt looked at him like he was an angel sent from heaven itself, and Blaine felt a rush of guilt as he realized he didn't deserve it; he hadn't been able to protect the boy he loved. He'd let this happen to Kurt. He should have pushed harder to keep him safe. It was his fault.
Before Blaine could say anything more, he was reaching for Kurt's phone and dialing the emergency room. He never looked away from the broken boy across from him even when the responder came on the other line, rattling off the address of the school and their location and nodding in response to the woman's command not to move Kurt. Blaine ended the call and dropped the phone, leaning in to press feather light kisses over Kurt's bruised jaw, all the while praying that the ambulance would get there faster.
A few minutes passed before Blaine could hear the roaring sirens from down the road. The paramedics pulled into the back lot and parked horizontally across empty parking spaces, bursting out of the back doors with a stretcher and IV tubes. Blaine reluctantly stood off to the side as they strapped Kurt onto the padded board and loaded him inside the vehicle, only looking up when a nearby medic asked him if he would like to ride along with them on the way to the hospital. Blaine agreed numbly and climbed in with the rest of the staff, sitting on one of the side benches and feeling extremely out of place.
One of the paramedics started probing around Kurt's middle, searching for additional injuries. Blaine nearly broke down again when Kurt let out a loud scream of agony and writhed in his bindings. The phrase 'several broken ribs' was thrown around between the bustling medics, as well as 'possible internal bleeding' and 'full body bruising'. Blaine could almost hear the world tumbling and crashing down around him and he clung to the wall as if it were a life vest.
Eventually, the ambulance pulled into the back entrance of the hospital and suddenly everybody was moving. Kurt was removed quickly and the rest of the staff followed. One of them gestured hurriedly to Blaine to get out, and Blaine struggled to keep up with them as they pushed Kurt through the double doors leading inside, the hallways smelling strongly of antiseptic and lit with long iridescent bulbs.
Blaine swallowed back the lump in his throat as reality finally hit him. Kurt was going to be okay.
Kurt's POV
The first day in the hospital was hazy and full of pain. Kurt didn't remember most of what went on around him, even when he was taken into surgery to stop the bleeding from the outer lining of his right lung; one of his broken ribs had scratched the delicate flesh, but thankfully, had not done too much damage.
It was the next evening that Kurt finally began to process the events taking place. The doctors were beginning to wean him off of the morphine so they could give him a weaker medication, and Kurt began to become accustomed to the constant ache that pulsed through his body with each heartbeat. Blaine was asleep in a chair next to Kurt's bed, as he had been for the past few hours.
Kurt shifted in his position on the clean, sky blue sheets, grimacing as fire seared through his veins.
"Blaine…?" Kurt whispered, reaching over to brush the tips of his fingers over the boy's relaxed brow. Blaine stirred in his sleep and drowsily opened his eyes. Kurt watched as realization washed over his boyfriend, and Blaine's eyes shot open.
"Kurt? Kurt, are you okay?" Blaine blurted out, hoisting himself up out of the chair. He looked over Kurt for a moment before tilting his head to the side. "You…you're yourself again, aren't you?" He sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. "Thank god… I was so scared."
"What do you mean?" Kurt asked confusedly, worry tainting his inflection. Blaine came closer and sat on the edge of Kurt's bed, bending down to kiss his forehead.
"The medication they had you on yesterday…it messed you up a bit. You couldn't communicate—well, you could, but not really. You didn't really register a lot. Kurt, I was so scared; I didn't know what to do. There was one point where you looked over at me and…and you saw me but…you looked at me like I was a stranger." Blaine shuddered and pressed another kiss onto Kurt's hairline as if he were trying to make up for lost time.
"I…I did?" Kurt squeaked. He met Blaine's gaze ashamedly, silent apologies swimming in his eyes.
"Yes, but, now you're okay and I'm so, so relieved." Blaine laughed once with exhilaration. "The swelling has gone down on your face. You look almost back to normal."
Kurt's eyes bugged out and he had to restrain himself before his hands flung up to his head on their own accord. He probably looked like a complete mess. Blaine could see the thoughts racing through his eyes and his hands fluttered to his boyfriend's shoulders.
"Hey, hey…you don't need to worry about how you look. You're beautiful. Always."
Kurt rolled his eyes but calmed down, taking in his surroundings for the first time. Everything was a mixture of white and light blue and beige. The bed he was lying on was centered in the middle with a few uncomfortable looking plastic chairs placed in the corners and along the walls.
"Cheery place, huh?" Kurt scoffed, the corner of his lipspulling into a half smile. He looked back at Blaine and was surprised to see that the boy wasn't laughing; Blaine was staring at him with an emotion so intense, it took Kurt's breath away. He raised his eyebrows in question, and Blaine shook his head, leaning down to touch Kurt's lips with his own. He kept it short, unwilling to risk the chance of Kurt being in pain, and pulled back an inch, keeping their faces still close enough to feel each other's breaths on their noses.
"I love you so much." Blaine murmured, his voice heavy and loving. He closed the distance between them again and Kurt couldn't help but reach up and tangle his fingers in Blaine's hair. He breathed into Blaine's mouth and reveled in the feeling as his boyfriend smiled against him.
"Hey, be careful with my boy there."
Blaine pulled back quickly at the sound of Burt's voice, and suddenly the rest of Kurt's family was filing into the small room.
"U-Uh, yes Mr. Hummel. I apologize. Sorry." Blaine stammered and returned to his former position in the chair. Burt gave Blaine an understanding—yet somehow still faintly threatening—smile.
"It's Burt, kid. And don't feel like you have to be too jumpy. If you hadn't found Kurt, who knows what would have happened to him. I owe you Blaine. I really do."
Blaine's previously pale face reddened with gratitude. "Oh, um, thank you Mr— Burt. But really, you don't owe me anything. I should have made sure Kurt was alright in school. I should have talked to him more about it, and I'm really, really sorry that I didn't, because I know I should have, and this is partially my fault, but had I known more about that Kyle kid sooner, I might have been able to stop it, but I didn't and now this happened and—"
Burt held up his hand for silence and Blaine quieted immediately, sinking into a puddle of embarrassment in the chair.
"Listen, Blaine. There was nothing you could have done. Trust me, I know how the system works with these things, with the bullying support situation, and there was nothing that could have stopped that delinquent from doing whatever he damn well pleased. Kurt was…was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Blaine swallowed back his nervousness and nodded before turning back to Kurt and taking the boy's hand in his own. Kurt squeezed gently and nestled his head farther into his pillow, suddenly very tired.
"By the way; how're you doing, son?" Burt asked him, leaning around Blaine to rest his hand on Kurt's shoulder.
"Alright…for my situation, anyway. Everything kind of…hurts a lot, but I'll be okay…" Kurt trailed off and looked away from his father at Blaine, who suddenly had a very stony expression. "What's wrong?"
Blaine snapped back into focus at Kurt's question, replacing the darkness on his face with his normal, loving warmth. "Oh nothing…just worried about you, is all."
But Kurt was not fooled.
"Sure. What were you really thinking about, hm?"
Silence enveloped the air as Blaine tried to formulate his reply in the best way possible, especially with Kurt's parents in the room with him.
"Just…I'm just thinking about what I would do if I had the chance to, er, have a little chat with Kyle. Nothing that important."
Kurt raised his eyebrows sardonically, ignoring the smoldering ache that accompanied the movement. "Really? Then I wouldn't be correct if I were to guess that you were imagining killing-slash-mortally wounding the guy? You were just planning a 'chat' with him? That's all?"
Burt stepped in, his features set in fatherly caution. "Don't get involved with this kid, Blaine. He's not worth the trouble, and you could get really hurt too. Believe me, you have no idea how much I want to just get up and shoot him a couple times, but I just can't do that. And you can't either. And even though it physically pains me to say it, I'm afraid we're going to have to sit back on this one and let the school and the police handle the punishment."
"But that's bullshi—" Blaine cut himself off before he could finish his protest. Taking a deep breath to calm himself again, he sat back in the chair and looked wearily at Kurt. "Even if the school board does anything, it won't be enough to keep Kyle completely away from Kurt. Even if he gets expelled, there's always the chance of Kurt running into him somewhere around town. At restaurants, or malls, or just walking around somewhere; the only way Kurt would be completely safe is for Kyle to be shoved in a juvenile detention center."
The room was silent for a moment as the truth of Blaine's words sunk in. Burt cleared his throat uneasily and looked down at his son with love and concern. "Well…that's just a risk we're going to have to take."
Kurt disconnected from the conversation as a nauseous fear crept slowly into his stomach. Blaine was right; he would always have to be on his guard no matter what happened. He would always have to be looking over his shoulder. He couldn't go out much anymore. He couldn't do so many things.
He let the fear wear off and morph into a strange sort of benign shock at how restrictive everything had become. He had never truly comprehended the difference bullying had made on his everyday life. Seeing the football players or puck heads in the hallway and turning in the opposite direction was just normal for him; routine bathroom trips to wash out excess red dye from the slushie facials just seemed like an unfortunate, but bromidic part of his schedule. How had he not noticed this before? Had he grown so accustomed to all of this that he didn't notice what kind of effect it had on his happiness?
Blaine and Kurt's family were eventually kicked out by a nurse who claimed Kurt needed more rest, and finally he was left alone to his thoughts. At first, there was nothing Kurt wanted more than a bit of non drug-induced sleep, but his mind kept moving too fast to allow any kind of relaxation. He laid there with his head stuffed in his pillow, wondering about future events and past ones, about Blaine and his family and taekwondo and glee and everything else in his busy, messed up life. There was so, so much to think about and so little time to do it. What would he do when he had to go back to school and face everyone? There was no doubt that the story had been broadcast to at least the entire glee club by now, and he knew from experience those girls loved to gossip. What about all the rest of the jocks? Would they hold some compassion or would they just take Kyle's side and maybe even follow his example?
Somehow though, even with all of the thoughts and fears and memories buzzing around at top speed, Kurt managed to settle into a dream much less intense and frightening than his last. He would figure everything out in the morning when the hospital discharged him. For now, though, his worries could wait.
A/N: Soo, this chapter was a pain to write...kudos to you if you survived through it! Anyway, please keep the reviews coming; they're so encouraging!
Next chapter is probably going to be mostly-if not all-in Blaine's POV. And by the way, I still haven't forgotten about Finn and Rachel's date, so that will be included in the future-in this story's timeline, it's two days after Kurt leaves the hospital. Thanks, till next time!