DISCLAIMER: I do not own Glee, nor am I associated with it or RIB. I don't own anything - there we go.

Don't Run Away

By: xSlythStratasfaction

Warning: Spoilers for Season 4 - an AU of 4x07 on. Basically a 'what if' Blaine transferred back to Dalton like he was planning instead of being talked out of it like Sam was able to do in the actual episode.

TRIGGER WARNING: Self-harm.

Kurt raced up the stairs two at a time and ran down the hall until he was right outside Blaine and Sebastian's room. It had taken him a little longer to get to Dalton this time around, since it had snowed the night before and the roads were slick, but the point was that he made it and that was all that mattered.

"Evening, Hummel. You wanna come in?"

Kurt looked up and rolled his eyes; Sebastian was leaning in the opened doorway, his signature self-righteous smirk plastered on his face as he watched Kurt fidget in the hall.

"You coming in or not?"

"I'm coming in. Shut up," Kurt said as he slipped past Sebastian and entered the room, immediately tensing when he realized Blaine was no where to be found. "Where's-"

"Anderson's at dinner with Jeff and Nick. They came and dragged him out about an hour ago, so that means he should be back soon." The boy gestured to Blaine's bed and then turned towards his own as Kurt took a seat. "I'm getting ready to go home for break, so you and Blaine can have your alone time or whatever the hell it is that you need."

"Oh, that's right. Dalton's out for Christmas break now."

"Precisely correct, Sherlock, which is why my bags are out, in case you didn't notice." Sebastian teased, "Anyway, Blaine should be back soon. Feel free to make yourself at home or whatever. I don't care, as long as you stay out of my way."

"I'd be glad to."

"Good."

Both boys sat in silence, the only sounds in the room being their soft breathing and the occasional sound of something being carelessly tossed into Sebastian's suitcase; behind him, Kurt grimaced as he watched handful upon handful of nice clothes get squashed into a tiny carry-on.

"Didn't your parents ever teach you how to fold clothes?"

"Of course they did. Do you think I was raised by animals?" Sebastian teased, faking a horrified look. He dramatically crumpled a crisply folded polo into a tiny ball and stuffed it into the suitcase, grinning when Kurt glared at him. "Did I hit a nerve, Hummel?"

"Yes and you know it."

"Good. I'm glad." Sebastian said as stepped back to admire his handiwork. Deeming things worthy, he flipped the case closed and leaned on it as he zipped the overstuffed bag shut. "Well, looks like I'm done here. Home sweet home I go." He hefted the bag over his shoulder and turned to Kurt, his eyes softening slightly as he looked down at him. "I know you and I aren't friends, nor do I ever expect us to be... but, thanks for coming in and seeing Blaine and everything. I hope you two can make up and at least be friends again-"

"That's what I'm hoping too."

"-and that you can finally get him to open up or something." Sebastian's green eyes flickered for a second. "Anyway, I've got to go. Merry Christmas, Kurt."

"You too, Sebastian. Thanks."

Kurt watched as the boy slipped out of the room; once Sebastian was truly gone, he stood up and paced the length of the dorm, his eyes raking over the décor of the area. Sebastian's side had random photos of him and some other Dalton boys, pictures of the lacrosse team and the Warblers. Blaine's side, however, was completely bare.

Something that might've been easier to explain since Blaine had just transferred back no more than two months ago; however, Kurt knew how much Blaine liked to take pictures and tack them up to things. He had dozens of pictures that Blaine had taken of the two of them, as well as photos of New Directions and others in a box in his closet at home. So, Blaine was bound to have photos around here somewhere... it just seemed he didn't have the will to put them up.

Sighing heavily, Kurt laid back on Blaine's bed and pressed himself into the thick pillows, breathing in Blaine's unique scent: a strange mix of berries, coffee, and spice that Kurt, at one time in his life, couldn't get enough of.

Now, however, it just hurt to breathe him in, like he was being suffocated.

Rolling over, Kurt turned his face away from the pillow and stared at the bare, cream-colored wall, his eyes wandering over the small imperfections in the drywall. He laid there for a few moments longer, still in the silence, until the bedroom door opened and Blaine stepped inside, immediately pausing at the sight of Kurt in his bed.

"You're here."

"You weren't expecting me?"

"No," Blaine whispered, stepping fully into the room and shutting the door softly. He walked over to the mini-fridge and almost stuffed a to-go container inside before he paused and turned towards Kurt, "Are you hungry? I have leftovers... it's, umm... a chicken fajita. I remember how much you liked them when you were here."

Kurt stared at the box and smiled sadly, "Dalton did have the best fajitas." He chewed on his lip roughly when the to-go box was pressed into his hands, "Blaine, I can't take this. I-"

"I'm not going to eat it anyway, so you might as well."

The conversation after that dimmed away. Kurt took a seat at Blaine's desk and nibbled on the fajita, eyes studying Blaine as the other boy walked around the room and dragged out his overnight bag, stuffing it with random clothes and toiletries.

"Have any plans for Christmas?"

Blaine froze, the pair of pants in his hands slipping into the open bag as he locked up. "I- I... no, not really."

"So what are you doing then? You're not packing very much."

"I didn't bring very much to begin with."

Kurt frowned, "Oh... I see. Well... umm, what are your plans?" His scowl deepened when Blaine folded his arms across his chest tightly. "Blaine?"

"Mom and Dad are flying to Costa Rica for the holidays. I was going to go to California to visit Cooper, but he just got a role in a film that's being shot in Fiji, so he had to cancel. I'm... staying home this Christmas."

Kurt's heart fell. He knew he shouldn't feel so bad for Blaine, not after what Blaine had done to him just months ago, but it still hurt to know that his best friend was going to be alone on Christmas, especially since Christmas was one of Blaine's favorite holidays (after Valentine's Day, of course.) Picking at the fajita, Kurt sat deep in thought, his mind racing with ideas. He could invite Blaine to spend Christmas with him or maybe he could drive over to the Anderson's place on Christmas and try to talk to Blaine there.

Whatever it was, it was sure to be an emotional, rough thing for the both of them, but it needed to be done.

"You should spend Christmas at my house."

Blaine scoffed, rolling his eyes as he started to pack more clothes away, "That's a terrible idea."

"I don't see why-"

Blaine turned on his heel, arms still full of clothes. He stared at Kurt with bright, watery eyes, "You can't tell me that me being at your house on Christmas is a good idea, Kurt! I hurt you! ...why would you even ask me to come over?"

"Didn't we already go through this, Blaine? You're my friend and-"

"Oh please, we're far from friends anymore, Kurt. I broke your trust and it took you until yesterday to even be able to speak a full sentence to me without being disgusted... and I don't- I don't even know how you managed that."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "I told you I'm trying, Blaine! I'm trying to trust you again. I'm trying to be your friend – your best friend - again! I'm trying to learn how to not be upset by that thing you did because even though it shattered my heart into a million pieces, I still love you!"

Blaine slammed his hands down on the bed, his back heaving as he swallowed several deep breaths. "And I told you you can't love me, Kurt. You just can't."

"Don't sit there and tell me what I can and cannot do. Don't you dare."

"I hurt you! What part of I cheated on you do you not understand?!"

Kurt shoved the half-eaten fajita away and stood up, nostrils flaring as he struggled not to launch himself across the room and slam Blaine into the wall. He was just so angry and hurt, listening to Blaine say those things to him and having all that horrible stuff being flung back into his face. It hurt. "Will you stop this?! Quit trying to push me away!"

"Quit acting like everything's okay!"

"I'm not!"

"You are! Trying to invite me over for Christmas doesn't change anything!"

"I was doing that to be nice!" Kurt yelled, his face burning hot as he grew more and more angry with Blaine. "I didn't want you to be alone for Christmas; friends watch out for each other."

"Friends don't hurt each other," Blaine hissed. "Friends don't do what I did to the people they love. Boyfriends don't fuck up their relationships by sleeping with random people! I did that. I fucked up!"

"God! Quit acting like I don't fucking know that!" Kurt thrust his pointer finger out, slamming it into Blaine's chest with such force that the other boy stumbled backwards. Blaine's eyes shot up to meet Kurt's and his mouth fell open in shock. Before he could speak, Kurt continued, "Quit acting like I don't remember you tearing my heart out and shredding it to pieces. Quit acting like I don't remember lying in bed that night just wishing I'd wake up from whatever awful fucking nightmare I was having – only to find out in the morning that it was all real and I couldn't change a damn thing! Don't you dare act like I don't remember this because I do and it hurts me every single day! I can't eat, I can't sleep. I can't even do anything without it reminding me of you or making me want to call you up and tell you about it... but I can't because you decided that what we had wasn't enough for you anymore!" His lower lip trembled as he finished yelling and he cupped a hand over his mouth to stifle the sob that erupted from his throat.

"Kurt-"

"Just don't. Please."

Blaine stood still, his lips pursed as tears ran down his face. He shook his head sadly and crossed his arms over his waist, "His name was Eli."

Kurt looked up, eyes widening when he realized what Blaine was doing. "No, please-"

"Just hear me out," Blaine pleaded quietly, watching Kurt with a sorrowful look. He waited for any sort of response and proceeded when Kurt just nodded his head slightly. "The guy- h-he friended me on Facebook. Just some random guy who came out of nowhere. He kept on sending me messages and wanted to get together and I- I didn't know what to say. He kept on commenting on how I looked and-"

"And you went to him?"

"It was the day you called me from Vogue, Kurt! You called me and then you said something about some woman calling and you needed to go because she had the best gossip and before I even got to say that I loved you, you hung up on me... I went to tell you and I got silence, nothing. You just let me go."

Kurt closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath as he did so.

Blaine continued, his voice low and shaky, "That wasn't the first time that happened. It was like every single time we got to talk to each other, something would happen. Rachel would barge in, you'd be busy, or something. It got to the point where I felt like- that maybe you were moving on without me."

"Blaine, I never-"

"You never wanted to talk to me about anything else but New York. I tried to ask you about what to wear for my debate and you brushed me off. I tried to call you the night I won and you ignored my calls... and then you didn't call me back and when you finally did, it was to talk about your party with Isabelle."

"I was busy, Blaine!"

"I know! God, I know that, Kurt! You were always busy and yeah, I know you had a lot on your plate but- but I was just sitting here, missing you, and it felt like you were having the time of your life without me and I felt so alone, Kurt. So alone."

"So you cheated?"

Blaine nodded slowly, a quiet sob slipping from his lips, "Yes."

"So you cheated because you felt alone? You cheated on me with some random guy, some guy you didn't even know because you felt like I was ignoring you?!"

"Yes. I'm so sorry. You have to believe me when I say that. I wasn't thinking."

"Obviously," Kurt mocked, throwing his hands into the air. "How could you have been so stupid?! I told you I was never going to say goodbye to you and instead, you go and fuck some other guy because you were lonely! As if I wasn't in the same fucking boat!"

Blaine just wrapped his arms around himself and cried quietly, Kurt's harsh words like fire against his skin. "I'm sorry," he whimpered, shivering as Kurt blew up beside him.

"You threw away our fucking relationship for some random slut you met on Facebook! You should be sorry!"

"I n-never m-meant for this to h-happen. I w-wasn't thinking."

Kurt felt himself grow angrier, his blood boiling as he imagined Blaine writhing beneath some faceless man's form. He couldn't believe what he had just heard from his ex's mouth: that this was caused because Blaine felt alone. Like Kurt hadn't had those same pains, like Kurt hadn't been hit on at all during his time in NYC, like Kurt hadn't turned men down because he had a boyfriend waiting for him back home.

He stood there in the silence, the only sounds being the pathetic sobs that came from Blaine and his own labored breathing. He pressed one hand against his stomach and closed his eyes, willing the nausea that was starting to overwhelm him to just go away. "I can't believe this," he muttered, his other hand coming up to pinch at the bridge of his nose.

Blaine stayed silent, his cries starting to die out as the minutes ticked away. Kurt kept still in his spot, his heart still beating wildly against his ribcage.

"Kurt-"

"I was alone, too, you know? I was in some big city trying to navigate my way around, trying to find a good job and I was so scared. I was away from my dad and my friends and you and even though Rachel was there, it wasn't the same. I missed you every single moment I was gone and god, even though it seemed like I was moving on to you, I wasn't, Blaine! I was so excited when you called because I finally had someone to talk to that I knew would be excited for me – not like how Rachel was, but truly excited... aka you!"

"Kurt, I-"

"And I know that I sometimes took over the conversation, I know I did, but sometimes I thought you wanted to hear about what New York was like... so that you'd be excited to get here. Not once did I think that it would've upset you... that it would have made you think I was leaving you behind because I wasn't! I was keeping myself preoccupied until you got there... and then you came and- and you broke my heart."

Blaine started crying again, his hands flying up to his face as he covered his eyes, "I'm so sorry!" He cried. "He didn't mean anything to me. I knew it was a mistake and I knew that I messed everything up the minute it happened."

"But it still happened."

Blaine nodded, palms running across his cheeks to stop the tears from falling, "Yes."

Kurt sucked his lower lip into his mouth and shook his head. "This was a mistake," he said to himself, looking everywhere but at Blaine's face. He stared across the room at Sebastian's stuff and sighed. "I shouldn't have come here. I'm not ready for this."

"I understand," Blaine whispered, his voice so soft and breathy that Kurt had a hard time even hearing what he said. He turned away from Kurt and walked over to his closet, stopping right outside the door. "I'm sorry for what I did and for hurting you, Kurt."

"So am I," Kurt said. His expression was blank and his voice was flat, making Blaine's heart ache terribly as he realized that all he'd done during this discussion was break Kurt's heart all over again.

"I'm sorry."

The door to the room opened and shut, Kurt exiting without saying another word, without giving any last response to Blaine's final apology and as soon as he was gone, Blaine fell against the closet door, his hands balled up in the fabric of his pants. His scabbed fingers tugged against the material and a dull pain ran up Blaine's arms as he felt the healing skin on his fingertips tear along with the pull of the fabric.

He deserved this. He deserved the pain. He deserved to hurt after what he did to Kurt.

But no matter what he did, nothing would ever compete with the pain of a broken heart.

A/N: Sorry for the delay. The holidays kept me busy and then I got the flu the day after Christmas so I'm still getting over that. However, while I was lying in bed, contagious with the fever from hell (and subsequently NOT able to go celebrate the New Year with my fam and friends like I wanted), I got to working on this, so if it's not the greatest chapter in the world, I apologize. Blame it on the flu! Anyway, so now Kurt knows most about what happened with Eli and he's still dumbstruck by it all and Blaine's still broken up over it and that will lead us into our next chapter, which focuses on Christmas (yay!)

So, I hope you stick around and if you have any questions or complaints or whatever, you can message me on here or my Tumblr and I'll do my best to answer your questions. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought. Constructive criticism is also welcome! Thanks!