(A/N): This is what comes from an overtired, slightly delusional mind on a sick day. Enjoy?
I also wrote this chapter because it represents something I wish I could do.
I would have used a song prompted by Meg a while ago, but I haven't solidified the scenario yet. But just picture that chappie as… coming soon?
Note: Blaine attends McKinley and Klaine has happened, but the Bully Whips haven't. Guess who else is still there? :O
Alright, my brain's all fuzzy. I'm gonna try to sleep and not puke… D:
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or we would all be watching it today. I also don't own 'Lions!' by LIGHTS.
Kurt still couldn't get over it. He couldn't hold back a smile when he thought of it. The thought that he could turn the corner, and he'd be right there. That if he had a bad day, he would be there to pick him up. To help him feel normal on those off days that seemed to throw the world off kilter.*
And there he was now. Kurt's smile widened, and Mercedes rolled her eyes; she could tell she had officially lost his attention for the time being.
"Hey, love." Blaine said, walking hip-to-hip once Kurt had reached his side. "Having a nice day so far?"
Kurt could just not stop smiling today. "It's been beautiful, today, actually." Kurt said. "I haven't even gotten—"
Kurt cut off as he was roughly shoved into the row of lockers behind him. His hand was torn from Blaine's, who could only stumble and wince when the loud clang echoed throughout the corridor.
Kurt felt the air whoosh out of his lungs and the sting of the lock on his back with harsh clarity. He slid to the ground from the force, struggling to get his breath back.
Blaine reached for him in concern, but Mercedes held him back. "Don't," she whispered sadly." He doesn't really like to be touched until he… regains himself." She paused. "Pride, I guess."
Blaine could only watch with a frown on his face. The urge to just lift Kurt up and into a hug was so powerful, he had to cross his arms to keep still. Kurt got up not too long after, brushing off his clothes and rubbing the sore spot on his back.
He continued walking as if nothing had happened.
"Are you alright?" Blaine whispered, still worried about his boyfriend.
"Fine." Kurt replied lightly, though still breathing a bit heavier than normal. "It's just been a while."
Blaine could only watch as the bullying escaladed throughout the week.
He, strangely enough, was never the target. Only the witness.
The perpetrator was always the same, too. That wasn't so strange…
Seeing as it was Karofsky.
"Hey, fairy!" He called as he came around the corner. "Happy Monday!"
Kurt had just enough time to close his eyes before the (multiple) slushies made contact with his face. He couldn't hold back to gasp of surprise and pain, though, no matter how hard he tried. He reached up to wipe the colored ice away from his eyes with trembling fingers.
Without a word, he left a saddened Mercedes and distressed Blaine standing in the middle of the hall.
Kurt's slim hand was torn from his as the walked up to the school from the car park. "Hey!" he choked out.
Blaine was stunned into place as he watched the group of guys toss a struggling Kurt into the nearby dumpster, slamming the lid closed on top of him. Once Blaine heard the squeak of fear (he knew Kurt was claustrophobic) he shoved through the mass of red and white letterman jackets and pried the lid open.
What he saw broke his heart. He saw Kurt curled into a ball, trembles wracking his shoulders. And when he looked up, his normal air of confidence and grace was missing.
Blaine wanted nothing more than to get it back.
Blaine didn't know what was wrong.
It was Kurt. Or it wasn't. It was Kurt not being Kurt.
When they would meet up after class to walk to lunch, he wouldn't walk as close. He wouldn't hold Blaine's hand in the halls, and turned his head away when Blaine leant in for a kiss. When he would smile, it wouldn't reach his eyes.
Blaine wanted so desperately to know what was wrong so he could help.
Kurt was fed up. The locker slams, the slurs, the dumpster tosses, the slushies. He was done.
He didn't want to put up with it anymore. And he wouldn't, if only for Blaine's sake. He knew he was pushing him away, and he knew it was hurting him. Which he didn't want.
So, although the rational part of his brain kept reminding him what had happened the last time he did this… he refused to be the victim.
And his chance arose the next day when he was walking down the hallway alone. Karofsky whirled around the corner, shoving him hard into the lockers.
He winced in pain, but kept a straight face. It was now or never.
"Out of my way, fag." Karofsky hissed, shoving him once more.
"I don't see the point in that." Kurt said, straightening up as he adjusted his Marc Jacobs jacket.
"What?" Karofsky stopped. Kurt didn't talk back anymore.
"There was plenty of space around me for you to traverse your poorly dressed self down these lowly halls." Kurt said nonchalantly. "It's not my fault at all you chose to go to the one spot I was occupying."
Karofsky couldn't come back with a quick retort to that one, so he said, "You fags need to know you have no place here."
"You know, Dave." Kurt said, leaning against the wall. "When you call me all those degrading names, you really are only insulting yourself and your intelligence."
"What are you playing at?" he growled, advancing on Kurt.
Kurt lost his hold of the cool façade he was portraying. His features darkened. "You feel you have the right to make my life miserable just because you can't come to accept yours!"
Kurt jabbed a finger to his chest. "If you put half as much effort into medical research that you do terrorizing me, you could've found a cure for cancer!" Kurt threw his hands up.
"You know what you need to do?" Kurt said to a silent Karofsky, "You need to grow the hell up and man up to this. Because I can walk away from this and move on. You can't."
And with that, he stalked down the hall.
Kurt took a cleansing breath as he walked. That felt good.
He wasn't exactly sure where his feet were taking him, but when he stopped in front of the wide auditorium doors, he understood.
Entering silently, he called out to the band, "Mind giving me a hand?"
Slam!
Blaine jumped when the noise echoed throughout the almost empty school. Having a terrible feeling in his gut that that was his boyfriend alone with his tormentor, Blaine ran towards the noise.
When he reached the edge of the hallway, though, it wasn't a replay of the scene Kurt had come to him about all that time ago.
He watched as Kurt basically told Karofsky off. He saw Karofsky grow more and more flustered, his jaw opening and closing like a fish. He heard Kurt's last shout ring in the stillness before he stalked off in the opposite direction.
Karofsky rubbed his hands across his face before taking a deep breath and punching the locker in anger. Blaine stayed cautiously hidden around the bend until he had gone down a different hall.
He headed out to find where his boyfriend had gone, muttering to himself, "That's how it should have gone the first time."
He hadn't been searching for long when he ran into Mercedes and Rachel. He told them the story of what he saw, and they joined him in looking for their beloved countertenor.
They heard a few tinkling notes in the distance. "Kurt," Blaine breathed, immediately heading towards the music.
They soon reached the doors of the auditorium, feeling extremely thankful they had janitors that did their jobs when they opened without a sound.
They were joined by the rest of the New Directions (drawn by the music, Blaine guessed,) just as Kurt began to sing.
Give me a disaster
Give me emergency
Stand me at the head of the Crusades
Without a remedy
Blaine smiled and closed his eyes Kurt's voice reached his ears. He loved to here his love sing; sometimes he was convinced he wasn't actually human, that he was literally an angel.** No true mortal could posses a voice as otherworldly and melodic as this.
Show me to the shipwreck
Show me how your bones shake
And when I'm at the edge of sorrow's blade
Show me how a heart breaks
His face was set into a determined, if somewhat sly, mask as he sung. He didn't notice the crowd of people huddled in the corner of the room. They tried to stay hidden as to not distract him.
Be steady on your feet
No matter the trouble you meet
As the song picked up, Rachel, with a smile on her face, motioned for everyone to follow her. She made her way slowly and silently down the aisle and closer to the stage.
Lions make you brave
Giants give you faith
Death is a charade
You don't have to be safe to feel unafraid
At that last line, Blaine smiled proudly towards his boyfriend. He wasn't safe, not completely. But he also wasn't afraid.
And the best part?
He was back.
Find me at the bottom
Looking at the vultures
Standing in the heart of the disease
Following the hard curves
Kurt remembered how he had felt when he was writing this song; He had felt broken, defeated. But he also had felt angry. He felt sick and tired of being the victim. And so he wasn't. It was liberating; like he could breathe freely and live without judgment.
Which, while not completely true, was a nice thought.
I'm looking for the thunder
I'm looking for the blackness
I'm learning how to get up off my knees
And all it takes is practice
Kurt had practice. And while it was not in the most conventional of manners, he was still, in a way, grateful for it. It had helped shape him into the person he was today.
And the person he is had just so happened to attract the attention of a certain curly-haired tenor.
So really… he had Karofsky to thank for all this.
Be steady on your feet
No matter the trouble you meet
Kurt had just hit that magic note when he noticed movement in the audience. His eyes widened to see the entire Glee club, sitting front row. He must have been more preoccupied than he thought.
Blaine made a swirly gesture with his fingers; the universal signal for "Go on!"
Kurt sang with renewed vigor.
Lions make you brave
Giants give you faith
Death is a charade
You don't have to be safe to feel unafraid
The music faded to the background, and Kurt's stare was more confident than ever. But his gaze was fixed over the heads of all his friends. This presence he had noticed. And he was singing straight to him.
I'm not the hunted
I'm not the marked
Just searching for wisdom in the dark
Karofsky met Kurt's eyes as he continued the song. Kurt was determined to get this message across; he adamantly refused to back down until he did.
Lions make you brave
Giants give you faith
Death is a charade
You don't have to be safe to feel unafraid
The song picked up as Kurt repeated the chorus; waiting, just waiting, for that gleam of understanding in the football players' eyes, that little hint that will tell Kurt if he was successful. Just as Kurt was sure he found a clue, a little spark, Karofsky broke their gazes. Kurt kept singing and watched as he shuffled back out of the auditorium.
You don't have to be safe to feel unafraid
You don't have to be safe to feel unafraid...
Kurt was still staring towards the corner of the auditorium as the last notes faded into silence, only to be replaced by the whoops and cheers of their fellow Glee mates.
Blaine had a feeling he knew who had been there.
He walked to meet Kurt when he descended the stage stairs. He connected their lips in a passionate embrace.
"You're back." Blaine whispered once they had pulled back slightly.
Kurt smiled back. "Yeah, I guess I am."
The next day, everything seemed to go back to normal. Kurt and Blaine were attached at the hip and constantly holding hands, whispering to each other, and sneaking kisses when they thought no one was looking.
The two were discussing the latest issue of Vogue with Mercedes on their way to their next class when they saw him.
Kurt narrowed his eyes as Karofsky walked towards them, slushie in hand.
Blaine's eyes widened as he got nearer, nearer, nearer—
But instead slushied poor Jacob Ben Israel next to them.***
Kurt watched the scene with calculating eyes, picking up on the minuscule nod Karofsky sent his way.
"Well, I wouldn't call it 'improvement'…" Kurt commented as they continued walking. "But it's a start."
(A/N): Take the chappie! I hope it makes up, at least a little bit, for not having any Glee this week. Stupid Fox, Ryan Murphy... :(
Random Author Comments
*Comes from experience. Thanks, Meg.
** Good thing I read through this one. It used to say "… that he was literally an angle." XD
*** I had a couple different ways this could have ended. Maybe I'll post a (quite short) one-shot of the alternative endings if anyone's interested? Let me know in a review!
PLEASE READ:
I will be away from a computer for a couple of days; at least until Friday. Sadly, that means no updates. I'm getting new carpeting in my room and my desktop (the one I write on) has to be taken out as well. As does EVERYTHING else in my room…
Including my 2 whole boxes of books. ;)
SO I have to go work on packing up my entire room and two days of make-up work from an IB school… at least I have the Hunger Games to look forward to. :D
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~DFTBA and Best Wishes!