Trials, as it turned out, were a LOT more interesting on TV.

The EMTs were called to the satnd, followed by the security guards and the officer who arrived at the scene of the attack, followed by the doctor who'd treated Blaine at the hospital.

Mostly, it was the same thing being repeated over and over and over again. Blaine was attacked by three kids with baseball bats, beaten within an inch of his life. What nobody failed to mention, though, was that it was all his fault. With each retelling, the attack played in his mind's eye. His fingernails dug further and further into his own arm each time the story was retold. At one particularly graphic testimony that included pictures, he was dangerously close to a panic attack.

Carole must've noticed him tensing, because she took one of his hands and both of hers. "Take a deep breath, sweetie. It'll be over soon," she whispered. He obeyed.

"Kurt, if you need a glass of water or something," Finn asked, but Kurt just shook his free index finger at him.

"I'm FINE!" he whispered through gritted teeth.

"Kurt…" Burt said in a warning tone. Carole shushed him.

By the end of all the witness' recanting of the events the day Blaine was injured, it was like he was watching an episode of Law and Order which he'd seen a gazillion times and knew every line by heart. Except this was real-life. Only, what they were saying wasn't a script, and after awhile, he began to tune them all out.

That is, until Mike was called to the stand.

To see Mike Chang nervous was completely unsettling. Mike was always so cool and collected, but the dancer was the first of Kurt's friends to be called on the stand, and Kurt knew for a fact that he hated speaking in public, which was a big reason why he never really spoke up much during his first year of Glee Club.

"You're on the football team, correct?" Mr. Hughes asked.

"Yes," Mike answered.

"Then you knew the defendant well?"

"Not that well, actually," Mike answered.

"You went to the same school and shared a common activity. So why don't you consider the defendant a friend of yours?"

"He kind of ran with a different crowd. The guys I hang with on the football team are also in Glee with me, and those are the guys I spend most of my time with. When my girlfriend lets me, anyway."

This elicited a small laugh from the courtroom, but the judge rapped her gavel.

"And why didn't you 'hang out' with Mr. Karofsky?"

"Because the guy's kind of a douche bag," Mike said, which earned him a chuckle from the courtroom.

The judge tapped her gavel on the desk. "You will watch your language in my courtroom, young man," she said, glaring at him over the rim of her pink-framed glasses.

"Yes ma'am."

"So what made you stay away from Mr. Karofsky?"

"He had a reputation for picking on just about everyone."

"Have you ever seen Mr. Karofsky picking on people?"

"Oh yeah, absolutely. The thing is, a lot of the other guys on the team always picked on the geeks and losers, that's just the way things are. Not me, of course. But Dave would take it to a whole different level."

"Could you clarify that?"

"I mean, before, he'd just give people slushy-facials…"

"And what does a slushy-facial entail, Mr. Chang?"

"It's a slushy thrown in your face."

"And it's meant to humiliate a fellow classmate?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, uh, yes. Karofsky'd even do it to his fellow teammates if he felt they deserved it."

"And what, in your opinion, were Karofsky's criteria for "deserving" a facial slushy?"

"Usually, they had to do with Kurt. He had a real issue with him."

"You're speaking of Kurt Hummel, I presume?"

"Yes."

"And why was Mr. Hummel such an issue for Mr. Karofsky?"

"Kurt is gay."

"So you think Kurt was targeted because of his sexual orientation?"

"Objection! Speculation!" John Karofsky interjected.

"Move to strike."

"Oh no," Mike said. "The guy was a TOTAL homophobe. No speculation about it. He even targeted our friends Finn and Puck…I mean, Noah Puckerman…if they tried to back off of Kurt. Artie Abrams, another teammate and I, even told him to lay off Kurt not too long before Kurt transferred and Sam got punched and Artie got knocked out of his wheelchair because of that."

"And the coach had to step in to stop the altercation, correct?"

"Yes."

"What else has Mr. Karofsky done to harass Mr. Hummel or anyone who was known to befriend him?"

"Objection," Mr. Karofsky said. "Prosecution seems to think that Mr. Hummel is the victim in this trial, not Mr. Grey."

"Shows motive and attitudes towards my client's sexual orientation prior to the attack on Mr. Grey, Your Honor, which is key part of our argument."

"I'll allow the question," Judge Delgado said.

"Routine tosses in the dumpster was the main thing, but Karofsky started physically shoving Kurt into lockers. We never had any proof, but it was fairly clear that Karofsky actually broke into the Hummel house around Thanksgiving, killed a stray cat, and wrote a threatening message on the wall."

"Objection, speculation!"

"Move to strike," Mr. Hughes barked.

"Could you please explain what you saw on the night in question?"

"I saw a kid being attacked with baseball bats with three guys from my school."

"And why didn't you intervene? Try to stop the fight?"

"They're big dudes with baseball bats. Plus, I would've been trespassing if I'd actually gone in to try and break it up."

"So what DID you do?"

"I told my friend Sam to call 9-1-1 while I got the whole thing on video."

"Can you point out the attackers in the courtroom?"

"They're sitting right over there," Mike said, pointing to Karofsky's table.

"Let it be shown that the witness is pointing to the defendant, Dave Karofsky," Mr. Hughes said. "No further questions, your honor."

"Mr. Karofsky, your witness," the Judge said.

"Mr. Chang, could you please tell the court what you were doing, exactly, on Dalton grounds?"

"We were just in the neighborhood," Mike said with a grin.

"Young man, did you have reason to be there?"

"Well, yeah. We were looking out for Kurt."

"I mean, did you have permission to be on school grounds?"

"We were outside the boundaries of the campus."

"So…did you get a clear picture on your cell phone of the attack?"

"Well, you don't use your cell phone if you want a great picture, but I recognized the attacker right away."

"What time of day did this take place?"

"Around five o'clock in the afternoon," Mike answered.

"It gets dark early this time of year, doesn't it? How could you see them if it was dark?"

"I could hear their voices."

"Did you get releases signed from the individuals you filmed in the video?"

"Well, no. But I didn't post it on YouTube or anything," Mike said.

"Just answer the question, Mr. Chang."

Mike sighed. "No."

"Your Honor, I move to expunge the video taken from Mr. Chang's cellular phone on the grounds that it was illegally obtained and it is not actually possible to identify the attackers in said video."

"Your Honor, clearly Defense is reaching if he thinks the video is inadmissible."

"Mr. Karofsky, I've seen the video," Judge Delgado. "I have to agree that I could barely make out your clients. The phone, therefore, shall be inadmissible. However, witness testimony on what occurred is acceptable."

"No further questions, your honor."

On his way back to his seat, Mike laid a reassuring hand on Kurt's shoulder.

Kurt looked up and nodded.

"Prosecution, your next witness, please?"

"We call Kurt Hummel to the stand."