Disclaimer: Yes, I've been lying to you all, I own everything -_- oh! And the song in this chapter is Everybody Hurts by R.E.M
Kane ran out of the room swearing, having seen Kurt on the verge of a panic attack and immediately felt a surge of helplessness. Where the heck was Blaine?! Retreating down the right corridor was Harrison and Kane could hear the low chuckle that was escaping the other boy's lips. Angrily, he made a mental note to report him later but, right now, he had to get help. A bang from upstairs lead the boy to the second floor and Kane hoped desperately that Blaine, or someone who knew where he was, had made it.
He had been wanting to apologize to Kurt since he had wrongly accused him of trying to ruin their kitchen. He should've that he wasn't though if he'd paused for even a moment. The first reason was because he had never seen Kurt before so he'd have to new, and what new kid wanted to get in trouble during their first days at new school? Especially one as prestigious as Dalton. Plus, there was also the fact that the gremlins were hanging around with him- they always work alone and prefer not to associate their pranks with others unless it's against them so it should have been a massive giveaway when he saw them with him. Really, if he had taken all of the facts into account, Kane would never have had Kurt afraid of him so he could've helped the other boy instead of running. Hell, he probably wouldn't have even got a punched stomach.
"Blaine? Blaine!"
He sprinted around the corner, nearly slipping on the unusually wet floor but he didn't care for that at that precise moment of time. At least, he didn't until he fell head over heels into a puddle, pulling another boy down with him as he struggled to regain his balance.
"What the- Kane?"
"Fors, quick, have you seen Blaine?"
The undisguised fear in Kane's voice made the twin answer without a moment of questioning; it was clear that something was wrong.
"Yeah, yeah he's just round the corner helping Theo get the last of the Lincolns out. Should I go get him?" But Kane had already disappeared.
"What?! Where is he?" Blaine asked desperately as the gremlins shared a look- again? That definitely couldn't be healthy. Kane had found Blaine seconds after he first crashed into Fors, the twin following him around the corner and trying to find out why he was so anxious and borderline hysterical. When he had found him, Kane had instantly told the shorter boy what had happened and quickly a serious expression fell over the usually cheerful one.
"D-downstairs."
"Should we go get a teacher..?" The twins asked, watching as Blaine turned to run down the stairs.
"Crap, yeah. No. Maybe? If he wakes up and there's somebody right by him he doesn't know, he might freak and do it again..."
"So what should we do?"
"I don't know! I need to go find Kurt," and with that, barely touching the floor for more than a second as he ran, he dashed away. Why had he even left Kurt alone in the first place? He should've been smarter; he should've stayed.
The doors to the room the boy was in already had it's doors open as he walked in, having managed to calm himself down slightly as if someone else is panicking when you have a panic attack, it only makes things worse. He hadn't been there for more than a second when he spotted the fragile teen curled in a tight ball, he was still unconscious but wincing heavily as if someone was hurting him. But there was nobody else in the room. Quietly, he walked over to Kurt and bent down beside him- he had failed his promise, Kurt hadn't been safe alone.
The teenager beside him seemed to had aged greatly whilst Blaine had been away, although the warbler knew this was impossible. Kurt's hair was now messy and untamed with small beads of sweat forming at the hairline. His body was tenser than usual as if he was trying to fight but the thuds of air which were seemingly being knocked out of him told Blaine the boy was failing. But what scared him the most was the way Kurt's face had been scrunched into a constant looking of twisted pain, Blaine had to fight back tears seeing this. Was this the hurt Kurt really felt under the mask he wore? If so, Blaine was amazed how he had the power to get up in the mornings; he was amazed he was even still alive.
Looking down at Kurt, Blaine was at loss for what to do. He felt helpless; he'd gone through panic attacks before when he had first moved to Dalton but they were never as long as this and had stopped quickly- only reoccurring when Blaine first heard about Mark. He should know what to do. He should be able to help... so why did he feel so powerless? He thought back to the last attack he had, coincidentally, the only one he could remember waking up from, and tried to remember what had happened. It remembered it was during a rehearsal but what had they done? They had definitely got a teacher but what else? Blaine cursed his poor memory, running a hand over the chestnut hair on Kurt's head, wiping away some sweat and trying to calm him down. He didn't even realise he had started to hum a tune until he began to recognise the tune. Blaine was about to stop, fearing it could scare Kurt before he saw the pale boy's features soften slightly. Hesitantly, the hum turned into lyrics, the soft melody breaking the tense silence and tiny, yet distressed, yelps.
When your day is long
And the night, the night is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough
Of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go
'Cause everybody cries
And everybody hurts sometimes
Sometimes everything is wrong
Now it's time to sing along
When your day is night alone, hold on
If you feel like letting go, hold on
If you think you've had too much
Of this life, well hang on
Everybody hurts
Take comfort in your friends
Everybody hurts
Don't throw your hand, oh no
Don't throw your hand
If you feel like you're alone
No, no, no, you are not alone
If you're on your own in this life
The days and nights are long
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on
Blaine nearly stopped as he saw Kurt stir slightly in front of him but dutifully carried on. After all, the boy didn't appear scared.
Well, everybody hurts sometimes
Everybody cries
Everybody hurts sometimes
And everybody hurts sometimes
So hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on
Everybody hurts
Somewhere during the last verse, Kurt's eyes had fluttered open and were watching Blaine. The pale teen didn't appear scared, more curious and wondering; on Blaine's eyes he greatly resembled a young child as he lay in front of him.
"Kurt? A-are you alright?"
Kurt seemed to sadden at that, as if he was remembering where he had been taken in his dream. He pulled a forced smile for Blaine, trying to keep his emotions at bay. It's not like Blaine should care- he wasn't obligated to look after him. But on the other hand, this was the third time he had woken flashback to find Blaine at his side. And each time Kurt found himself trusting the boy more and more, even though he didn't want to.
"No, you're not," whispered Blaine, noticing a tear gather in the corner of the other boy's eye, silently offering his arms out for a hug. He was fairly certain that Kurt would refuse so he was surprised when he felt a warm body against his. He gave a watery smile- he must be making progress. "It's okay, Kurt; you're okay."
A knock a the door brought Kurt back to reality and the porcelain male jumped away from Blaine who, in return, gave him a concerned look. Kurt nervously stared at the floor, wrapping his arms around himself where Blaine's had been. Had he really been so stupid? A gay guy hugging another guy. All kinds of rumours could spread and Kurt would be back to receiving homophobic comments. Of course, Dalton claimed to have a no bullying policy but Kurt didn't want to push it.
"Kurt? My name's Miss Bailey, or Penny. Whichever you prefer; I'm the nurse at Dalton."
The said boy risked a glance up and saw a tall, ginger woman, who looked remarkably like Carole, approaching him, wearing a tentative smile. Kurt's eyes widened as she knelt beside him and Blaine, sensing the other boy's fear, gently reached out and rested a hand on his arm in comfort. Unflinching, Kurt surprised himself by not pulling away but allowing Blaine to rub vague patterns into his blazer. Of course, he bit his tongue slightly out of habit but the other boy didn't seem to notice.
"Can you tell me how this happened?"
"Oh, Kurt doesn't talk," said Blaine, not turning away from the other teen; he had promised Kurt would be safe and he'd be damned if he broke it again.
"Okay, in that case Kurt, you're going to have to come down to the infirmary so I can make sure you're alright," she turned to Blaine, "do you have his parents' numbers? I'll need to check he's not allergic to anything in case I need to give him tablets."
Wait, this woman was going to call his dad? She couldn't do that! His father was still recovering from his heart attack and if he got told Kurt had had a panic attack, it would add unnecessary strain which could lead to a reaccurance. Kurt couldn't lose his dad, he was the only family he had, sure Carole and Finn seemed to like him, but what if they were just doing it to stay in Burt's good books? He needed his dad and if that meant him refusing to visit the nurse, then so be it.
"..Kurt?" Kurt looked up to see Miss Bailey giving him a searching look, "I asked if you were able to stand up? I can get a wheelchair if you feel to lightheaded to do so?"
The familiar sensation of fear bubbled back to Kurt, no way was he being pushed around when he wasn't ill and no way was he going to the information. And definitely no way was he letting her phone his dad.
"Kurt..?"
Pleading with his glasz eyes, the chestnut haired teen shook his head apologetically and jumped to his feet, nearly doing it to fast and fainting, but he determinedly persevered, running out the door and leaving Blaine and Penny alone in the room. He heard Blaine calling behind him but for once was grateful to his old bullies for making him so good at sprinting from constantly having to get away from them. Really, running away was becoming something of a habit for Kurt.
Blaine was filled with a sense of deja vu as he walked into his dorm and saw Kurt curled on his bed, pleasantly surprised that this time he wasn't having a panic attack. The room was exactly as he left it on Friday and was pleased the two boys he had met (Finn and Puck?) hadn't messed up his side when they slept over.
He had promised the nurse that he would try to convince Kurt to visit her but he doubted that would happen. Kurt barely communicated with him; there was little chance he would with a stranger. Softly walking towards the other boy, Blaine noticed the teen's body shaking, whether from cold or sadness. Silently, Blaine picked up the warm throw blanket he kept beneath his bed and placed it over Kurt's shoulders. Kurt raised his head at this, moving away from Blaine ever so slightly but keeping the blanket on him. It felt oddly safe having an extra layer of protection to hide behind and he wondered why Blaine hadn't shouted at him for running off. He should be annoyed. Karofsky always had when he did so. Made him pay double as much as he usually would. At the back of his mind, it suddenly occured to him- maybe Blaine wasn't going to get angry?
"Kurt?"
Ah. He should've known he wouldn't get away with it so easily, but still, it had been nice to hope.
"First of all, I made you a promise; I told you you'd be safe and I broke it- you weren't. I'm so, so sorry Kurt."
Okay, that...that was not what he expected. But he didn't think for a moment it wasn't genuine, Blaine had a pleading sadness in his eyes that one could not fake. But why should he apologize? Kurt was used to being let down.
"You probably think it's weird, but you know, I don't want you to get hurt. You don't know how.." Blaine sighed, fumbling with his fingers nervously and gently sat on the edge of Kurt's bed.
"Can- can I tell you a story?"