Author's Note: Okay, so this is the next chapter. I was going to include Karofsky's visit to Kurt in this chapter, but where I ended it seemed to fit better. Hopefully I can update again soon. My muse seemed to have deserted me for awhile. I'm sorry for the long wait! We're going to figure out how and when Kurt and Puck became such good friends in a flashback in an upcoming chapter. Keep an eye out. As of now, the voting for who Kurt should end up with is OVER. You'll find out who won eventually. :D Reviews always make me happy and inspire me. Anything specific you want to see? Let me know.

I have no beta. Does anyone want to take that job over? If so, PM me.

"We're going to release you in two days." Kurt stared at his shrink in disbelief. He let the words sink in, having a hard time believing them. He was going to be free. Finally free. He'd be able to wear his designer clothes again, and he'd be able to sing with New Directions and go to class and be outside. Finally. He'd missed normal, mundane things: texting Puck, going shopping with Mercedes, sleeping in his bed, wearing the clothes he wanted, styling his hair. It was in desperate need of a cut, hanging in his face far more than he liked. And without hairspray, it wouldn't stay put.

"Really?" he asked, excited. At the doctor's nod and slight smile, Kurt asked to be excused early from therapy. Granted permission, he stood and hurried from the room, almost running smack into Blaine, and his two friends Wes and David.

"Guys, guess what?" he crowed, high voice carrying as he approached them. "I'm getting out in two days!"

Blaine looked sad. Wes and David seemed happy for him though, murmuring, "Congrats," before patting him on the shoulder and leaving him and Blaine alone.
"I'm sorry, Blaine," Kurt rushed. "I just...I'm really happy to be going home, you know? I miss my family, and my life, and I'll miss you. But I promise to write to you, and we'll keep in touch, okay? And when you get out we'll still keep in touch. Phone calls, emails, texts. Okay? Don't be upset. Please don't be sad, not when I'm so happy."
"You're leaving me, Kurt," he said, eyes downcast. "Who will talk me out of my stupid ideas? Cutting isn't something I like, you know. It just...it hurts. And it helps me forget. And that's all I really want. But now that I met you, I've got something else to look forward to. I like you, Kurt. I thought you'd notice by now, but you're oblivious. I want you, and now you're leaving. I don't... I don't want you to go."

Kurt stood still for a moment, trying to process what Blaine had said. Blaine liked him? It was just his luck, Kurt mused, that an attractive, gay boy who happened to like him also happened to reside in a mental hospital. And then Blaine's lips were on his, and that was nice but nothing spectacular. Blaine's tongue pressed insistantly against Kurt's closed mouth. Not wanting to hurt his feelings, the countertenor allowed his mouth to open, and Blaine's tongue thrusted inside. Before long though, Kurt had to pull back.

"I'm sorry, Blaine..I just can't. It's not...it's not you, as cliché as that sounds. I just can't," he tried to explain. Blaine nodded slowly and turned away, shoulders slumped.

"Is that one guy who came to see you your boyfriend?" he asked suddenly, turning back. Kurt shook his head slowly.

"No. We're just friends. But it's not that I don't like you, Blaine, I do. I just can't be in a relationship right now. I'm not stable. I need to get back on my feet."

Blaine left him in the hallway by himself, nothing but his breathing to keep him company as his happiness drained slowly.

"Kurt told me you went to visit him," Puck said conversationally.

Dave kept his arms folded, distrust clear in his eyes. "Yeah. So what?"

"Don't fuck with him, Karofsky. He's fragile. Yeah, you saved him when we couldn't, but I'm his friend. One of his best friends, as weird as that is. And I won't hesitate to kick your ass if you hurt him."

Dave studied Puck's face for a moment before a wide grin split his mouth. "You like him, Puckerman. You like Kurt. And you're being such a pussy about it. Stuck in the friend zone. Maybe it's a good thing me and Kurt weren't friends before, 'cause at least he knows I don't wanna be 'just friends'."

Puck's fists clenched. "Karofsky, I swear to God. Don't fuck with him. He's my best friend, and he's been there for me through a hell of a lot, even locked up like he is. I will not let you break him."

Dave snickered. "This is great. You're acting like a big brother, but I know what you wish you could act like. A territorial lover. But you're not, and you won't be. Kurt's going to want to be with me. Why not? I'll come out for him, and take him places, and buy him things like you never will. And not to mention, I'm the one who realized what was going on with him."

"I never bullied him as badly as you did," Puck countered, lips curled in a snarl. "And we're best friends. He'll trust me. Not you. I won't fight over him; he needs to be happy. He deserves it. So I'll let him make his choice. But if he chooses you and you fuck him over, I will end you. Got it?"

Despite himself, the hockey player could feel a budding respect for Noah Puckerman. "Same goes for me, you know. If he chooses you and you hurt him...You'll sing higher than he does for the rest of your life."

The two jocks walked away from the conversation with a better understanding of each other, and the reassuring knowledge that both of them would do their utmost to keep Kurt safe.