Morning classes had begun, and the corridors were empty. Finn stood and listened, unsure. He heard chairs scraping across the floor and the muffled noise of chatter from behind closed doors. A teacher shouted and someone laughed.
He walked to the boys' bathroom and listened at the door. A tap was turned on and off again and then he heard someone kicking a bin in anger. He knew Blaine was hiding out and he paused for a moment; he didn't want to say the wrong thing and diplomacy wasn't particularly a strong point of his.
It was suddenly very quiet from inside the bathroom. Finn took a deep breath and walked in. Blaine was standing there looking at his reflection in the mirror. He turned to look at Finn. His eyes were haunted.
"Hey buddy," Finn said. He smiled and went to the sink next to Blaine and peered in the mirror. He tweaked a bit of hair, then glanced at Blaine's reflection. "Whatever it is, I just want you to know that you can trust me."
Blaine said nothing. He was rigid and Finn noticed his hands were clenched by his sides.
"You can trust all of us," Finn said.
Blaine grimaced. "What do you want, Finn?"
Finn turned to face Blaine. "I want to help," he said. "I saw what happened in the choir room."
Blaine's eyes blazed. "What happened exactly?"
Finn didn't reply at first. It was obvious Blaine was terrified and getting him to admit he needed help was not going to be easy, but he was a friend. He had to try.
"I can protect you," Finn said. He knew how futile it sounded.
Blaine laughed with derision. "Is that so?"
"Yes!" Finn was angry. He felt the injustice of what was happening, but he felt powerless too and he didn't like it. "Let me help you," he said. He reached out a hand, but Blaine stepped backwards.
He shook his head. "You can't help," he said quietly.
"Who is it?"
Blaine's eyes had filled with tears, but he stared at Finn unashamedly.
"You can't help," he said again. His voice was barely a whisper.
Finn closed the gap between them. "I can if you let me." He reached out a hand again and took the hem of Blaine's jumper. Blaine winced, but he didn't move.
Finn lifted the jumper and saw the discolouration on Blaine's body. The violent purple bruising that was splattered over his white flesh.
Blaine stared at Finn, watching him.
"You can't help," he said again and took his jumper from Finn's fingers and hid his body again.
It was worse than Finn thought. Blaine had been pummelled. And some of the bruises were yellow. Old. He wasn't sure what to say, but he sensed that Blaine was ready to run.
"Is it someone in school?" Finn said. He tried to keep his voice even. He wanted to smash whoever it was hurting Blaine.
Blaine shook his head. "Look. I know you want to help. And I know you probably think this is bad, but actually, it was more a misunderstanding and I'm pretty sure it won't happen again."
Finn frowned. He noticed Blaine had looked down and was now unable to meet his gaze. He was protecting someone.
Blaine looked up and smiled suddenly. It was out of place.
"I appreciate your concern," he said. "Really I do, but it's personal, and I would appreciate it if you could keep this to yourself."
"Please, Blaine. Don't do this."
Blaine ran his hand through his hair in agitation. "I'm asking you to leave it," he said. His voice wavered. He looked desperate and, Finn thought, scared.
Finn nodded. "Okay," he said. "I'll back off and I'll tell everyone else to back off, but you have to promise two things."
"Well, that depends," Blaine said, trying to sound flippant.
"You have to promise not to be afraid of asking for help. Night or day," Finn said. "I'll come."
Blaine nodded. Just a slight inclination of the head.
"Okay," he said quietly. "And the second thing?"
"You have to come to the auditorium." Blaine went to protest, but Finn stopped him. "I think Brittany has a treat in store or everyone," he said.
"Well?" Mr Schue said, as he walked to meet Finn.
"He's on his way here," Finn replied. He waited until Kurt was within ear shot. He deflected his question. "He promised to come," he said, "but he wanted me to ask you not to say anything." He sighed, troubled. "He's not ready to talk," he said. "We need to give him time…"
"Time for someone to continue bashing him?" Kurt hissed angrily.
Finn put a hand on Kurt's arm. "If we push it," he said. "He's going to run away. He just needs to know we're here for him and when he's ready…
"This is ridiculous," Kurt said interrupting him.
"Finn's right," Mr Schue said. "He knows we know and that will make it easier for him to come to any one of us. When he's ready."
"And in the meantime?" Kurt knew they were right, but he hated feeling so helpless. "There has to be something we can do."
"There is," Finn said. "We show him he's not alone."
Blaine was sitting next to Kurt. He took his hand and squeezed gently. It meant so much that he had said nothing. He had walked into the auditorium and was relieved there had been no knowing glances or awkward murmurs. But he knew Kurt would be struggling not to ask him; not to try and push him to get help. He knew he would be feeling worried and angry, but his silence meant he understood his reasons not to talk.
"Thank you," Blaine whispered without looking at Kurt.
Brittany was sitting crossed legged on the stage. She had Lord Tubbington in a cat basket facing her and Puck was sitting, looking somewhat bemused, with his guitar. He was strumming the tune to Cat Steven's, 'I love my dog', only Brittany had changed the lyrics to, 'I love my cat'. She was singing shamelessly to Lord Tubbington and when the song ended, she stood up and faced the other Glee members.
"I just think Cat Stevens didn't fully understand, with a name like Cat, the confusion he would cause, when he sang about a dog. By changing his lyrics, I think I have probably created a truer and more personal, song. One he would be proud of." She smiled at everyone. "Plus, everyone knows, cats are way better than dogs."
Kurt stood up.
"I have a song," he said. He looked at Blaine. "This is for you," he said. He smiled and walked up to the stage, wiping away his tears.
He gave Puck some sheet music and turned to face the other Glee members, but he only saw Blaine.
He began to sing and his voice filled the auditorium;
'How can I tell you, that I love you…'
Puck began to strum gently on his guitar. It was a haunting melody. Beautiful.
As Kurt sang, he was unable to control his tears, but it didn't matter. His soul was speaking to Blaine's;
'Wherever I am, I am always walking with you,
Always walking with you…'
Blaine sat feeling as loved as a person could feel. For a moment, Finn's words in the bathroom and Kurt's expression of love filled him so completely and he felt less afraid. He glanced at Mr Schue just as his teacher looked his way. He saw the care and love in his eyes too.
Maybe they could help.
Kurt finished his song and time seemed to stand still for a moment.
Blaine stood up and as he did, pain exploded across his side as if a fist had landed. He screwed up his face and held his breath as it peaked and then subsided. Before he opened his eyes again, he saw his dad's face. It was coloured red with fury, and he was shouting and spitting as he stood over Blaine.
If he told anyone, things would get worse. The very best thing he could do, was keep a low profile and pretend. He looked at Kurt and smiled.
"I have to go," he said, and he walked from the auditorium.