(7) I Won't Let Go
Don't Be Afraid To Fall
Finn was glad that he lived in a small town at times. He had close ties with people that could hook him up with cool things. That was one perk. But a downside of living in a small town like Lima, Ohio, was how quickly news traveled.
People already knew that he and Kurt were stepbrothers, so they all got nosy and suspicious when he showed up to school without him. He managed to ignore the stares and whispers at least until he reached Glee Club.
He walked through the door and immediately was bombarded with a myriad of questions asking about Kurt.
"What happened?"
"Is he ok?"
"Why isn't he here?"
"Is he still in the hospital?"
"Who's ass do I need to kick?"
"Is he hurt?"
"Will he be ok?"
Mr. Shue intervened before things could get out of hand. "Guys!" He yelled. "Let Finn breathe... If he feels up to it, he'll tell us what happened." He placed a hand in Finn's shoulder. "Alright?" he whispered. Finn nodded.
"Mr. Shue, can I have the floor?" Finn asked. Mr. Shue nodded and stepped aside. "As you all know, Kurt was hospitalized on Friday." Murmurs came in from all sides of the room. He inhaled deeply. How would he- how could he break the news to them? They cared about Kurt so much. Even if it may not seem like it at times, they were a family... A dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless.
The looks on their faces... It was almost too much for Finn to handle.
"Mike, Sam, Artie, and Puck were there when he we found him, so all they know is that he was attacked... But... He... Kurt was raped..." Any murmuring or talking had been silenced and every member of the club had their mouths hanging open I'm shock.
"Who-?" started Rachel.
"... Karofsky..."
Rachel, Mercedes, Tina, and Santana all had their hands to their mouths in shock. Everyone else stared and sat in silence and disbelief. Puck was the first to break the silence, and when he did, he made sure it was shattered.
"That's it! I'm out of here! I'm gonna go find that son of a bitch and BEAT HIS ASS!" He got up and was followed by the rest of the New Directions who were shouting in agreement.
Mr. Shue had to hold him back. "PUCK! CALM DOWN!"
"He's been arrested anyways!" cried Finn.
"Does it look like I give a flying fuck! I'll go down to the big house and kick his ass there!"
"Puck chill!" cried Mr. Shue.
"No! YOU CHILL! I can take getting slushied every now and then and I've even been thrown in a dumpster a few times!... But when somebody goes and does something like THIS!" There was obvious disgust in his voice as it cracked. He shook his head. "I don't mind being called names, and being teased... Being here is worth all that! But when they go and hurt one of us... When they go THIS far... That's my boiling point. This. Ends. Now."
Finn desperately wanted to join them, but he knew that's not what Kurt would have wanted. "GUYS!" he yelled. Everyone stopped in their tracks and instantly silence followed. "You guys think I wasn't pissed off, too? Well as a matter of fucking fact, I was! I wanted to fucking kill him, and not even as a figure of speech... But think of what Kurt would have wanted..." Some members looked down at their feet as their tears dripped to the floor. "Violence is the LAST thing he would have wanted us to resort to... Like I said, Karofsky's been arrested. We just have to let the legal system run it's course."
Tina looked up at him, eyes smeared with wet mascara, and asked the question that he'd been to afraid to ask himself.
"What if it's not enough?"
XXX
After Kurt had let himself fall apart (something he promised he'd leave to his own privacy), he notified Carole that he was staying home and then went into his room and laid on his bed.
He decided to have a movie marathon and kicked it off with one of his all time favorites: "The Sound Of Music". He popped it in the DVD player and vaguely payed attention to it as he began to read the latest copies of Vogue.
He looked over to his nightstand where his phone rested. He knew it was silly, but he really wanted to talk with Blaine. To be in at least some sort of contact with him. He knew Blaine was probably at school, but they'd texted before during class. So he picked up his phone and scrolled through the contacts until he reached "Blaine Anderson".
New Message To: Blaine Anderson
Hey :)
Blaine sat in his room, his head throbbing, lying down in his bed. He turned and stared at the ceiling. Why was it that he felt so... Odd when Kurt wasn't here? Like a part of him was missing or somewhere else. He couldn't quite explain it, but his chest felt so... Empty.
His phone buzzed and he looked over to the nightstand as he grabbed it.
New Message From: Kurt Hummel :) :
Hey :)
Blaine smiled as he typed out a reply.
To Kurt Hummel :) :
Hey :D how you doing?
Blaine immediately regretted sending that text. "How you doing?" The guy had just gotten raped for Christ's sake! Of course he wouldn't be doing well!
Blaine groaned and facepalmed himself for being such a moronic idiot. His phone buzzed again.
New Message From: Kurt Hummel :) :
I'm ok, I guess. Finn (apparently my new mother) made me stay home today.
To Kurt Hummel :) :
Well, that's a weird coincidence, my mom made me stay home today too...
New Message From: Kurt Hummel :) :
Yeah... I'm mostly just bored. Watching The Sound Of Music. If you want, you can join me :)
To Kurt Hummel :) :
I'm already on my way :)
Without another distraction, Blaine grabbed his jacket and headed towards the Hudmel household.
XXX
As soon as Blaine had texted that he'd be over in a while, Kurt's heart leapt with joy. But he didn't text back, it would be dangerous if he was driving.
Blaine arrived at the Hudmel household about twenty minutes later. He nocked on the front door and was greeted by Carole. She smiled. "Hi, Blaine. Kurt's upstairs. I'll go call him for you. Come on in."
She led Blaine in and he sat down on the couch as she walked upstairs to get Kurt. She returned a few minutes with Kurt at her heels. He smiled when he saw Blaine and wrapped him in a hug.
Carole smiled and went to grab her keys. "Boys, I have a patient to see. I wasn't supposed to be in call this week, but duty calls. Can I trust you two not to burn the house down?" Her boss had gone easy on her considering the... Situation. But people got sick, no matter what the circumstances.
Kurt smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, Carole, I'm not like Finn. I know not to put foil in the microwave."
She smiled and left with a nod. She knew she could trust Kurt.
When she left, Kurt asked Blaine. "So, I'm watching The Notebook right now. You wanna come and watch it with me?"
Blaine smiled. "That's fine with me. I LOVE that movie."
Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand and led him up the stairs. He wondered if Kurt had felt the same tingles in his hand that Blaine felt now, the day they first met, when Blaine was leading him down the Dalton hallways.
They hardly payed attention to the movie, though. They were much too busy talking to each other, laughing about Liza Minnelli and Elizabeth Taylor and whatnot.
Kurt rolled back on his bed and laid down. Blaine laid down next to him. "I don't think I've ever had this much fun with any of my friends," said Kurt.
Blaine smiled. "Same here. Don't get me wrong, the Warblers are great, but they just don't understand me like you do."
"And I've never met anybody else who's actually gay, except for-" Kurt froze as he remembered. He felt a lump forming in his throat and immediately tried to swallow it back down.
"Kurt-? Are you ok?"
He nodded stiffly. "I'm fine... I-I'm over it already," he croaked.
"Kurt, you and I both know very well that that's a lie... If you need to cry, I'm here. Don't be afraid to fall apart, Kurt. Because I will be waiting right here to catch you, no matter what." His voice was beginning to crack. "I will be there, to pick up the pieces and put you back together. I will hold you tight and let you cry if you need to. I will listen to all your problems. I will never, EVER judge you. I will not let anything, or anyone hurt you anymore... I promise you Kurt. I will hold you here in my heart... And I will never let you go."
After a few seconds of complete and utter silence, Kurt buried his head into Blaine's chest and began to sob. Screw the self promise. Blaine holding him felt so right, and warm, and perfect, and even though everything was falling apart, it seemed that when he was here, with Blaine, everything was just falling into place.
XXX
A few hours later, Kurt still had his head laid down on Blaine's lap. They were watching "Dear John" now and Blaine was stroking Kurt's hair. Kurt's eyes were fluttered halfway closed as he began to feel a bit drowsy.
He turned his face upwards towards Blaine. "Blaine?"
"Yeah?" Kurt repositioned his head back to where it was before and Blaine continued to stroke his hair.
"This is going to sound ridiculous... And crazy and silly but...I think I love you..."
Blaine shook his head. "It's not silly," he said. "And in all truth... I think I love you too."
They sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of the day. Eventually, Kurt fell asleep and Blaine held him there and not once did he let go.
XXX
A/N: I'm not gonna lie. When I was writing Blaine's little mini speech, "I Have Nothing" (Kurt's version, of course) came on my iPod and I teared up a little bit (ok, so I teared up a LOT).
Reviews are love for our Kurtie and they show that you love him :)