"And so you threw up all over the sink?" Mercedes confirmed after Kurt nodded.
As soon as Blaine had dropped him off he had called Mercedes and called for an emergency talk. Mercedes was sitting crossed legged on his bed flipping through one of his vogue magazines when she had stopped to look up when Kurt confessed the throwing up incident at the Lima Bean. Kurt cringed at the memory "I humiliated myself, and he reacted so calmly,"
"Let me get this right, he's worried about your weight AND he asked you on a date? What a darling!"
Mercedes gushed "He's a keeper, I knew he'd come to his senses eventually,"
"Didn't you hear about the part where I threw up, because I really don't want to repeat that Mercedes… It was awful, he even got a cloth to help clean it up from the manager working there. I'm sure my face looked like a beetroot, with him being so close while I had made myself look like a fool,"
"Aww I think it's sweet," Mercedes commented not really listening to Kurt's worry.
"I think he's just being too polite to reject me after I threw up,"
"You're too hard on yourself Kurt, he asked you out after he told you his concern about your weight, and we always give ourselves little credit anyway it's human nature, of course you're not going to see how amazing you are, that's why there's people like Blaine out there, so just enjoy the date tomorrow, kill an outfit to his friends, you'll be fine I promise,"
Kurt agreed to that and decided to talk about Mercedes day and her parents how they're finally treating her less like a child now and so the talk went on for half an hour before she had to go home as they had school the next day.
Kurt arrived at school the next morning in the mood that he was hoping to avoid that day when Karofsky and his gang met him at his locker with no such luck of escaping they all cornered him and the bell for class had already rung, so there was no one left in the hallways. Kurt held his head high and continued to walk past not intending on pushing through but they grabbed both his arms.
"Well well well, look what we have here," Karofsky flashed him a cruel smile "Fresh meat,"
"You mean pathetic stale meat, there's nothing on him, look how skinny he is. Jacob said he was taking 'dance lessons' as though he can't be any more of a loser," Azimio snickered back mocking the dance lessons as the others laughed.
"Before you judge me make sure you google yourself you Neanderthals, let me go before you hurt yourselves,"
"Nobody likes a wise guy, I'd shut my mouth if I were you. Fairies like you shouldn't get a right to walk in this hallway," Karofsky gritted.
"Oh and idiots should?" Kurt rolled his eyes but fear began to conquer him when Karofsky snapped his fingers and the two jocks holding Kurt's arms tightened their hold on him and he felt a heavy hand over his mouth, forcing him to walk with them to the boys McKinley Gym which was emptied of students.
To his horror he watched as they found one of the boys' taller lockers and opened it, it was near the back of the room next to the weights as he tried to kick them of or scream but he felt weak and Azimio's hand was too heavy as they shoved him in, not afraid that they were scraping the sides of his skin in the process and squeezed him in the tight space.
He heard a lock being turned as well as Azimio's voice on the outside. He tried hitting the door but to no avail.
"Who'd look for a faggot anyway,"
Blaine came to mind and he realized he was going to miss his date if they kept him there and then Blaine wouldn't want to have anything to do with a guy that stood him up or he might be worried, Mercedes would be worried. He wished he could call her but the jocks had been smart enough to grab his phone out of his pocket much to his thoughts on them being stupid. He wasn't sure who had it, as they were now throwing it to each other as though it were a football while they talked as he could see through a crack in the locker.
"What about those glee losers or his dad?" The kid who he remembered to be called Bobby asked as he was his partner in French when Mercedes had been away once and he hadn't known a thing he was saying that day either which mean't his intelligence was limited.
"Forget them, Football's cancelled, nobody will come here today, we'll come in the morning and open it up, once we lock the door nobody will even hear him scream,"
He didn't tell them that his dad was the best father in the world in case Burt did ever hear about him not attending school, which would result in him doing something about it; and telling them that would risk his chances of that happening or put his dad in danger, who was the most important person in the world to him, so that was out of the question.
"Coach called in sick as well, and I know for sure my father wouldn't give a damn if I went missing for one night, if anyone asks he's at the gay club or a girl's sleepover," Karofsky added.
Yeah well when your son bullies kids to the point of locking them in a locker I wouldn't go looking for them either. I'd lock them up. Kurt thought bitterly about Karofsky's own father.
"You won't get away with this!" Kurt yelled.
A slam at the door on the outside made him wince but he didn't let a sound escape his mouth that showed any weakness while they were in the room.
"Shut up Hummel, we're playing it easy as it is, oh and when we let you out tomorrow if we find out that you told somebody about this we'll be sure to beat you so hard that you can't walk, and you'll be praying that you were already dead" Karofsky threatened his eye peeping into the hole that Kurt was looking through. Kurt's eyes widened with fear at the determined and wicked look Karofsky held there before returning to his original place.
His heart was pounding from the scare of the eye popping out of no where. His back had hit the wall and he scrambled as far to the corner as he could. The bullies argued a few more times finally agreeing with the plan to let him out the next morning and he was too scared to say something else or even let out a breath in case they were true to their word of beating him up and so far their actions proved them capable of such a thing. Karofsky's look had terrified him.
He screamed finally after half an hour later or what seemed like it and when he heard them lock the main entrance to the gym laughing"Let's go eat some lunch, I'm starved," He screamed a few times but as they said no one came. His heart sake as he remembered how excited and nervous he had felt that morning to wake up and finish school.
"Anybody there?!" Kurt called A few more times banging the locker before tears escaped his eyes. It was useless He tried a few more times but it didn't even echo in the room as he looked around him and felt himself blackening out as the space got smaller and smaller and smaller and eventually he didn't remember much after that.
To say Mercedes was worried was an understatement when Kurt didn't arrive at school and she had already called his dad who said he should be there.
Burt started to worry at her call and she assured him he's probably just stuck in traffic, as he drives to school now. When Kurt didn't show up for cheerleading practise she knew something was wrong and called Blaine, hoping to god he was with him.
"Oh hi Mercedes! What can I do for…"
"Is Kurt with you?" Mercedes voice sounded panic and urgent as Blaine frowned. He was just picking out his clothes on what to wear for their date that night, he was also going to tell Kurt that he had found some simple Zumba exercises which wouldn't affect his weight too much and was fun at the same time, plus the moves could be adjusted for those who wanted a heavy workout.
"Ah no, wait isn't he at school right now?" Blaine asked looking at his watch, it was only 2:30pm. Maybe he left early? He was going to leave at 3:30, but he honestly didn't mind leaving early.
"He hasn't turned up for school at all. I called his home and his dad said he wasn't there, I know Kurt wouldn't want his dad to worry about him, but I don't know where he is, and none of the kids I know at school have seen him, I'm running out of options."
"Is he upset about something?" Blaine wondered aloud.
"I don't know, but he would have told me so, I know him,"
Blaine stopped looking for the perfect bow tie and started running a hand through his curls, holding the phone to his right ear while he looked for his car keys using his other hand
"Alright, how about I go to his house again and say I'm just there to see if the date's still on for tonight. My friends aren't expecting us till 7 anyway and if he's not there I'll come over and help you look for him, did you ring his mobile?"
Mercedes nodded but remembered Blaine couldn't see her.
"Yeah, no answer, it isn't like him, I'm really worried,"
"Alright, I'll go now, I'm sure you got class, so call me when you're on the way to your next one. Keep me updated; I'll head to his house now, but it'll take me two hours to get there, so let me know the minute you hear anything, I'll have my phone connected to the navigator, so don't worry about me driving or anything okay if you need to call,"
"Yeah alright, thanks Blaine,"
"Don't mention it. Talk to you soon, and thanks for letting me know, I hope he's okay,"
"Me too," Mercedes said sincerely as they hang up.
"Where are you white boy?" Mercedes wondered as Blaine got to his car immediately. If necessary he'd call Wes and cancelled the night, but he had to make sure Kurt was safe.
Blaine new all too well what high school boys did to guys like him and Kurt. It's a part of the story he hadn't told Kurt yet why he was also a Zumba teacher. Kurt being more flamboyant than him was what made him so proud to ask him as his date but he also felt protective of the other boy ever since he saw his hand and the familiar pain in the other boy's eyes he had when he was in high school, he felt a connection. It was strange of Mercedes's call too, he had been feeling weird all day even though he just brushed it of as nerves for that night, now he understood the worry he had. It was probably because Kurt hadn't called him all day and now he was hoping Kurt was okay and it was just him and Mercedes being overprotective.