Hi guys.

For a start I'd like to say this: As some of you may know, I've been hospitalized for a week now (don't worry, I'm fine!), and that's why I've been quiet for a while (not on tumblr tho, I spend all my time there when I'm chained to the hospital bed!).

On another note, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to amest-ibovvered, because it's this lovely girl's fault that there will even be an update today. Thank you so much for your review, sweetheart! It woke me up from my post-hospital-depression.

And now I won't keep it from you guys anymore! I'm sorry it took me so long, but I do think I'll be quicker from now on. If not? Spam me. On tumblr, twitter or here. Anywhere. That apparently helps XD ENJOY!

It didn't take them long to get everything packed; some clothes, a little money (Merv had insisted to lend them some) and then some food. Kurt dressed in a new set of Blaine's clothes and soon they found themselves standing outside the house; ready to leave.

"Good thing we live outside the actual village," Merv mumbled as he got the bag fastened to the horse. Viola stood in the doorway with tears in her eyes. Val was hiding behind her with a confused look. He didn't know why Blaine was going; he just knew that something was wrong. Rose was nowhere to be found.

"You'll have to go by foot into the north side of the forest," Merv said and handed Blaine the reins. "And if people ask-"

"Just tell them I stole your horse. I don't want you to get into any trouble," Blaine said.

"You are no trouble for us, Blaine," Viola ensured. "We will tell them, that you're not here, and nothing else." Merv nodded at this. Val suddenly stepped forward and ran with open arms to Blaine. He hugged the older boy tight. Blaine felt a sudden pain to his chest. He'd finally found himself a home, where he belonged, and now he had to leave it. He locked eyes with Kurt. He couldn't leave the other boy, and he was in as much trouble as the brunette. He petted Val's head gently and then pried his arms away.

"Listen Val," he said softly and looked the young boy in the eyes. "Don't ever let the bullies bring you down, okay? You're a magnificent fighter, so you'll be able to defend yourself, but even if you're different from the others, you're still a hundred times better than they are. Okay?"

The tall boy nodded and rubbed his eyes, so his tears wouldn't spill. Then he turned to Kurt, who looked a bit shaken when the suddenly fierce looking green eyes were directed at him.

"Take good care of him," Val said with a calm voice. He saw Blaine as an older brother, and he wouldn't forgive anyone for hurting his family. Not even if it was the boy, Blaine loved. Perhaps Blaine had only just realized his own feelings now, but Val had seen the two teens together. He'd seen the way Blaine looked at the beautiful brunette. Heard the way his voice softened when he spoke of him. Yes, Val had known about Blaine's love for a long time. After all they weren't so different from each other, the two boys.

Kurt nodded as an answer to the younger boy and then turned to look at Blaine. The curly haired teen had tears in his eyes, but he quickly rubbed them away and grabbed the reins.

"Goodbye," he said with a thick voice and then gestured for Kurt to follow him.

"Be careful!" Viola said and pulled her own, biologic son into a hug; as if she could comfort the boy who was now leaving them through him. Blaine waved behind him and then the two teens were on their way away from the village; and from Karofsky.

They walked in silence; much like they always did, except the fact that Blaine did not speak nor smile. And Kurt didn't either. They were both paranoid and scared. Because what if Karofsky came after them? Blaine suddenly cursed himself for leaving his sword back at the castle. He should've thought about protecting himself - and now Kurt - instead of just thinking about how he wanted to forget everything that could be associated with that place. There wasn't much he could do without a weapon; he might be an excellent fighter, but Karofsky was twice his size and the powers behind the broad man's punches were not to be made fun of.

A sudden movement to the left made both boys turn; Blaine positioned himself with parted feet and was getting ready to defend them - when Rose stepped out of the bushes. Blaine relaxed but narrowed his eyes.

"Rose, what are you doing out here?" He asked.

"I wanted to say goodbye," the small girl mumbled and looked down.

"Well, you should've been at the house, it's too dangerous out here, you shouldn't-" He was interrupted by Kurt. The brunette held up a hand and then walked over to Rose. He bent slightly in his knees, so their eyes were in the same height. Blaine had not noticed the tears in the girl's eyes, but Kurt had. He tilted her chin up with his left hand and Blaine got a lump in his throat by the look the beautiful boy sent Rose. His whole face was relaxed and a small smile was playing on his lips. His eyes had taken a deep blue color and they were warmer than Blaine had ever seen them.

Kurt reached out and brushed the hair that had fallen into Rose's eyes away. The blond girl had stopped crying, but she still looked like someone had stomped on her heart. Kurt wrapped her into his embrace and held her tightly to his chest. Rose quickly buried her head in his shoulder and sobbed quietly. Blaine was stunned. Why was Rose crying? And why is Kurt consoling her? The curly haired teen heard noises and felt his pulse rise again.

"We really have to go now," Blaine said softly, as the two let go of each other. "Rose, take care of yourself, okay? I'll…" He looked at Kurt. "We'll be back again someday, I promise."

The blond nodded and then she smiled at both of them, before she turned around and ran back to the village. The noises began again; louder this time, and Blaine turned around to see Kurt walking through the forest with long, quick steps. Blaine took the reins of the horse and followed. They kept walking in silence for a while, the noises from the village now all gone. The only noise now was the sound of their feet crunching the leaves on the ground.

Blaine walked behind Kurt; his eyes sliding up those slim, yet muscular, pale legs - which suddenly bent slightly. And then Blaine was slapped across the face. He was just about to apologize to Kurt for being a creepy, pathetic excuse for a man, when he realized that it wasn't the brunette who'd hit him. It was a branch. Oh, so that's why he bent… Blaine felt himself blush. Must be God's punishment.

They walked for hours, trying to stay away from the paths that were used often, but it was hard. The sun was setting, and Blaine was tired and sore. He couldn't even imagine how the brunette felt, so when he thought they were at a safe distance of the village, he began searching for some kind of place, where they could sleep for the night. He found one quickly and even though Kurt looked a bit nervous, he nodded when Blaine asked if it as okay to get a bit of rest.

The sky darkened fast but Blaine managed to make a fire, so the area was at least a bit light when they sat down. They shared a bit of bread and soon Blaine found himself setting up the tent they had borrowed from Merv. They could just as well sleep here and then get an early start the next day.

"You can sleep in the tent," Blaine said softly when he was finished setting it up near the fire and prepared to get some stuff out to sleep on the ground. He didn't mind. It was not like it was that cold outside yet. But he didn't get to reach into the tent, before Kurt had put a hand on his arm. The brunette looked at him with his big glasz eyes and then shook his head very, very slightly. Blaine almost choked on the breath he was inhaling. Kurt wanted to sleep with him? Oh my God, you could've phrased that so much better, even in your own mind, Blaine scolded himself.

The two teens crawled into the tent; both blushing slightly. Blaine tried to tell himself this was no big deal and Kurt… Well, who knew what the brunette thought?

The curly haired teen reached into their bags and found several blankets. He handed some of them to Kurt, while silently thanking Viola for having packed so many. Who knew how long they'd be on the run, and winter was approaching. Blaine slowly shuffled down under the duvets and shifted around a bit till he was lying comfortable. He looked to his right to see the brunette do the same.

Blaine smiled softly. The circumstances could have been better, and even the weather was against them, but he was lying next to the most beautiful boy, and they were to spend a lot of time together from now on. Maybe Blaine would even get a chance to tell the brunette his feelings.

"Goodnight Kurt," he whispered.

xxx

Blaine was woken by a terrible sound.

He instinctively knew it was Kurt. His first time hearing the voice from his unrequited love, and then it had to be in a scream. It was bright and hoarse and it cut through Blaine's dreams and he sat up abruptly. What- He didn't even get to think, before he was hurled out of the tent by a pair of broad hands. Blaine panicked; he needed something to defend himself with, but he couldn't reach anything. And then he was thrown onto the ground with such a strength he was afraid he had broken something. He groaned and closed his eyes, until he heard a whimpering sound. His eyes flew open and he saw a short, but large man stand over Kurt's body.

"It's just two kids," the man laughed as he pulled Kurt up by his ears. The horrible cry that broke through the brunette's throat had Blaine's eyes tearing up. Why was this happening?

"You're right, Ben," the other man, who had thrown Blaine out of the tent, said. Then he took a few steps closer to the curly haired teen who was still lying on the ground. The man grabbed Blaine's left ear, and he cried out in pain. It hurt. It hurt so badly. His guts cramped together, when he saw the man pull out a knife and play with it in his hand.

"Maybe we should take a souvenir with us; just so we won't be forgotten," the stranger said and roared with laughter.

Blaine was scared. He was so scared. This was his ears. They wanted to cut off his ears. He was terrified. He didn't dare to move even the slightest inch. His eyes filled with tears. It hurt; the way the man had a tight grip around his ear, and he just knew, they'd cut it off, and leave him bleeding, or maybe even beat him first, and he'd never be able to escape to a nice place with- His mind stopped for a second. Kurt.

Just as he crossed Blaine's mind, the other young man received a kick to the stomach, that had him flying back down onto the ground, and Blaine couldn't keep still anymore. Let them take my fucking ears, he thought angrily as he bend his legs and kicked the man over his ankle; just where he knew it'd hurt the most.

The man slackened his grip on Blaine and roared in pain. The curly haired teen didn't need more than that to leap to his feet and run over to the other man, who had just turned around to see what the fuss was about.

This man has a sword, Blaine thought smugly. He had learned how to lure swords out of his enemies. He knew exactly what to do. He stepped close to the surprised man, but before he could catch him, Blaine turned around on his right foot and grabbed the sword in the man's belt. He pulled the long weapon out and kicked the man in the back of his knee, so he fell over.

Blaine stepped in front of Kurt with his legs in fighting position. He no longer felt the fear. Only the adrenalin running through his veins. He was a fighter, and he would protect Kurt with his life. The man on the ground scrambled to his feet and walked a couple of steps back. What could he do without a sword?

"Get lost!" Blaine said loud and clear; taking a step forward to prove his seriousness. He needed them gone, so he could tend to Kurt. The two men shared a look, but then ran away. Blaine may be small of his size, but even for the untrained eye he was a good fighter. His position was not one of an amateur. As soon as the two men was out of sight, Blaine turned around and fell to his knees; throwing the sword on the ground.

"Kurt," he said softly and reached out a hand to caress the other's cheek. "Kurt," he repeated a little louder, when the brunette didn't open his eyes. Oh no. What if he had hit the ground too hard? What if he wouldn't wake up? No, no, no.

Just as Blaine was beginning to panic the other teen's eyes fluttered open slowly.

"Oh thank God!" Blaine gasped and pulled Kurt into his embrace without any hesitation. "Thank God," he muttered into the brunette's neck. Kurt whimpered and squirmed a bit in his arms, and then Blaine realized the boy surely must be hurt and he was most likely crushing him.

"I'm sorry!" He said quickly and gently put Kurt down on the ground again. The brunette squeezed one of his eyes shut, as if he was concentrating very hard and then shook his head, but instantly stopped. Blaine could see it hurt.

"Wait here," he said and could've bitten off his own tongue. It wasn't like Kurt could move very much. Then he ran over to the tent and found the bandages Viola had packed. I am going to buy that woman a castle one day, he swore gratefully and ran back to Kurt.

"Can-" Blaine started, but he didn't even need to ask, because a second later Kurt pulled himself up into sitting position. The brunette's jaw was tightly set and Blaine saw no need to ask if he was okay. He clearly wasn't, but pointing that out to the other teen might not be a good idea.

While Blaine bandaged Kurt's chest (trying not to stare too much) and stomach, a lot of thoughts were going through his head. If Kurt could scream, surely he could speak normally too. So why didn't he? If it was because he didn't want anyone to know, why hadn't he at least talked to Blaine, when they were alone? Maybe he didn't trust him enough. And that thought kinda hurt. It hurt so much Blaine didn't notice that he tightened the bandages way too tightly around Kurt's injured ribs. The brunette flinched and let out a strangled noise that made Blaine look up and then quickly loosen up the knot slightly.

"Kurt, listen to me," the curly haired teen said softly. He didn't feel save here. There was no telling if those men would come back, and Blaine had no idea if he could actually fight them off with Kurt lying on the ground like this. "You'll have to get up on the horse, do you understand? I'll help you, but you have to try and hold on by yourself, okay? We have to get out of here."

Slowly Blaine got Kurt to stand on his feet; his legs shaking violently. He led the brunette over to the horse, but then remembered they had to pack all their things. He let Kurt support himself to the brown horse and quickly packed all their stuff together in the bags. He fastened them on the horse and then helped Kurt up. The slender teen's jaw was tensed and he looked like he was in a lot of pain. Blaine tried to find comforting words, but none were let out of his mouth. He had no idea what they should do. But one thing was for sure: they had to get away from the forest.

As they walked further along the path in silence, Blaine looked up at the boy beside him. He really wanted to hear Kurt's voice. He really, really needed to hear the brunette speak, not scream. Blaine couldn't get the scream out of his head. But he didn't want to push the other boy. If he could talk, but chose not to, there had to be a reason behind the silence. And Blaine didn't know if he was allowed to know it. But it still made his heart ache. What could make the other teen just stop talking? What horrible things had happened to the boy?

Have mercy on me you guys; I let you know he can speak, right? So you forgive me? And you'll tell me what you think? Please?

Oh, and also: HDGHADGKADGKABDGKGHKEGHKEAG. 8th November. *DEAD*