A/N: Oops it's been a while since I updated. I know I know, I promised more regular updates. Life has just been… life. Ya know. Anyway, here is the next chapter I hope you enjoy! I also have another Klaine one-shot that was recently published called "Let the Games Begin." It was originally supposed to be a chapter of this challenge but got fat too long. So, if you like the style of this story, you might like that one too.

Song: Boats & Birds: Gregory and The Hawk (This is one of my favorite songs of all time)

Lyrics: "Leave me your stardust to remember you by."

Summary: Kurt and Blaine have a very honest discussion about what happened the last time Blaine attended a school dance. Or alternately, how Kurt came to find out he's not the only one with scars.

Rating: T- Mentions of violence, bullying, and homophobia. No slurs or harsh language is used. Does mention the non-cannon death of a character.

"Do you just not want me to be myself is that it?" The words were tumbling out of Kurt's mouth before he could stop them. He knew it was a low blow, especially after his boyfriend had agreed to go to the dance despite his experiences at his middle school Sadie Hawkins dance. Kurt didn't know the full details; he really didn't need to. All he knew was that Blaine and his date had the "crap beat out" of them (Blaine's words, not his own) and he knew he should be sensitive to that. But, it still hurt. He was still angry that his dad, brother, and boyfriend were all seemingly teaming up against him.

Blaine cast his eyes downwards before he answered quietly, "no, Kurt, I always want you to be yourself."

"It doesn't seem like it right now."

Blaine took a deep breath before looking Kurt directly in the eyes. "I want you to be yourself when it's SAFE!" His voice rose as did the red in his face. Kurt could see his boyfriend was getting angry. He knew he shouldn't push but he couldn't help himself. He was equally as mad.

"I know exactly what the world is like, Blaine! Remember?!"

"You have no idea what the world is like!"

"Oh! And you do?! If you're embarrassed by how stereotypical I am the least you could do is tell me! I've always been like this; it shouldn't be a surprise!"

"I like you for who you are, Kurt! But, did it ever occur to you that I don't want another person in my life to die because of who we are?!" Blaine pressed a hand to his mouth and crumpled in on himself, throwing his body like a rag doll onto Kurt's bed. The shaky sobs that escaped shocked the older boy, who stood motionless on the opposite side of the room. The anger and tension immediately dropped as Kurt took a side step and closed his bedroom door quietly. He knew he wasn't allowed, but no one needed to see this moment.

Once he had given Blaine a moment to calm himself, Kurt simply put a hand on his back to let him know that he was there. It took another few minutes for the Warbler to turn himself back toward Kurt and meet his eyes. "I'm sorry," he mumbled weakly.

"Why are you sorry, I'm sorry." Kurt lowered himself fully onto the bed and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. Their eyes met as Blaine sniffled again and snuggled himself into Kurt's embrace, their bodies slotting together almost on instinct. "What happened you, Blaine?" Kurt asked into the air thinking that the younger boy wouldn't answer. Instead, hazel eyes glistening with unshed tears met his and Blaine drew in a shallow breath before starting to talk.

"His name was Aaron and he went to school with me. I was in 8th grade and Westerville was a little non-traditional in that we shared the building with the high schoolers because there wasn't enough room for us in the middle school so…" Blaine trailed off and the look in his eyes made Kurt think his mind was drifting elsewhere. It only lasted for a moment before the younger boy continued. "There was the Sadie Hawkins and the 8th graders could go too, which was unusual for events. Usually, they separated us all… and Aaron was—was—well—he was Aaron…" Kurt watched his boyfriend's lips quirk into a sort of sad smile. "You really would have loved him, Kurt. He was the first openly gay kid I met and he was such a good person and—and—he just-he was—wow… I didn't love him like that, we weren't even together. He just thought maybe we could be friends and share stories and get to know each other better. We both thought we could be there for each other when there was no one else…" Blaine's voice cracked at the last part.

"It's okay, B." Kurt just hugged him closer. "He was your date to the dance, right? The one where you guys got beaten up?" Blaine just nodded. "He got hurt really badly didn't he?" Blaine nodded again, a fresh wave of tears pouring down his cheeks. Kurt leaned down to kiss away the salty droplets before letting Blaine continue.

"We left early because Aaron wanted to go watch a football game he recorded and we were both kinda, I don't know… not okay… I guess. We got a lot of attention for being there together. We just wanted to go home and watch a football game… nothing else. We just wanted to be normal." That was a feeling Kurt could understand all too well. The want to feel normal and the aching in his chest to just be treated like everyone else. Blaine's voice broke him out of his internal thoughts of himself. "He uhh.. he kind of… well…" Blaine took a deep breath. "He kissed me outside. I told him I hadn't had my first kiss yet and he said that wasn't okay. He said I deserved to have everything that everyone else was going to have… so he kissed me. It was.. nice." He smiled at the memory, "sorry…"

"Hey, it's okay." Kurt let his hand drift towards his boyfriend's hair, rubbing calming circles into his scalp. "I know…you don't have to apologize for thinking about it."

"I really do like kissing you the best, ya know."

"I know."

"So uhm… so, he kissed me and they must have seen. The guys who had been bullying me all year, I mean. Before his dad could get there they cornered us and they—" Blaine paused and sat up, pushing Kurt's arms away from him and curling in on himself the way he did when they had been fighting, his eyes cast downwards to the comforter. "They separated us and they beat us. I just remember feeling so much pain and I saw red… actual red… I know now that it was blood, I wasn't sure while it was happening. And Aaron—he was just—he was screaming. Before I passed out I just remember him yelling for me to go and run and I just- I couldn't I was already on the ground. I woke up in the hospital 10 days later. Two days after I got out I was at Dalton. My dad couldn't risk letting this get out and ruin his chance for re-election." Blaine rolled his eyes and Kurt just reached out and squeezed his hand. John Anderson wasn't exactly the most caring father. Sure, he let Blaine go to Dalton, but only because had the news found out it was his gay son that had almost died outside of a school dance, his political career would never recover. It wasn't about Blaine's safety; it was never about Blaine.

"What happened to Aaron?" Kurt was almost too afraid of the answer.

"He… didn't—uhm—he didn't make it…"

"I am so sorry, B. I'm so sorry."

"You weren't there, it's not like you could have stopped it from happening."

"I'm just sorry we don't live in a world where it's safe to be ourselves."

Kurt let himself collapse against the headboard, the bed making a squeaking noise he was sure could be heard form miles away. If he wasn't so worried about Blaine, he'd be nervous that his dad or Carole would thin the worst of them. "I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you before," Blaine looked at him questioningly. "At Breadstix, when you said you were worried about the dance. I wasn't really listening to you. I mean, I heard you but I didn't hear you. You were trying to tell me you were scared and I was too self-absorbed to really listen to you."

"You deserve to be excited, Kurt.

"And you deserve not to feel terrified you're going to die." Kurt suddenly found himself with an armful of Blaine, sobs wracking his small body. The boy may have been built like a fighter, but in Kurt's arms, while scared and vulnerable, he looked so tiny. Kurt just held him there and let him cry, until his body stopped shaking and his breath became deeper. He looked down to see Blaine's eyelashes still damp with tears had fluttered closed, he had basically cried himself into exhaustion.

It was about an hour later when Burt found his way into his son's room. "We've been through this, Kurt," he sighed. "you gotta keep the door ope—" He was cut off by Kurt shushing him as he walked into the room. "Is he okay?" He looked toward Blaine who was curled up as small as possible, tear tracks staining his cheeks, and his closed eyes puffy and raw.

"He'll be okay, I promise."

As Burt went to walk back downstairs he heard Kurt call back to him. "Dad?"

"Yea, kiddo."

"I love you. You know that right?"

"I love you too, Kurt."

A/N: Thank you all for staying with me even when I'm not updating as frequently as we would all like. If you're a fan of fan culture and various fandoms consider throwing a listen toward my podcast: Food For Nerds. I've talked about Glee a few times but we also cover topics like fanfiction, representation, the social media boom AND we have fnaomd specific episodes. "See" you all next time!