When Finn got home on Wednesday, he found Kurt curled up sitting on the couch, still in his outfit of the day. Finn was worried about Kurt. He had barely said anything to Finn since Monday, and he didn't even go to Glee Club meeting today. And he hadn't been talking to Blaine since yesterday either. Finn let his eyes stay on Kurt's passive body as he dumped his bag.

This wasn't the first time he'd seen Kurt like this. The last time was when Kurt had been pushed into his locker, slushied and been taunted with cringe-worthy names and threats all in the space of ten seconds. Later that day, when Finn asked his step-brother if he was alright, Kurt immediately burst into tears and Finn let him cry on his shoulder while Kurt unleashed his feelings on Finn's team mates. The taller teen understood where he was coming from, but couldn't really do anything to help the sobbing boy.

Finn snapped out of his memory as he heard Kurt shift on the seat. He crossed over to the couch to look at Kurt. The boy's eyes seemed to be glazed over, like if the lights were on but no-one was home. Finn wanted to help Kurt; he looked so lost.

"Kurt." Finn softly called. He got no response. "Kurt." He tried again, a little louder, but still got no movement. "Kurt!" He practically shouted at his brother. It didn't work. Finn tried to wave his hand in front of Kurt's face, scare him, anything to get Kurt alert without touching him, because Finn knew that if he laid even one finger on Kurt's clothes, he would be punished by the boy himself. But desperate times call for desperate measures.

Finn took a deep breath to brace himself for what could happen. Slowly, he reached out a hand and placed it on Kurt's shoulder. Nothing happened. Finn called Kurt's name again, still with no response.

"KURT!" Finn shook Kurt gently, then placed his other hand on Kurt's other shoulder and shook him more forcefully. Finn stilled his actions and crouched to become eye-level with Kurt. After a few seconds, Kurt blinked and his eyes re-focused. He looked at Finn and tears began to form in his eyes. Finn then crushed Kurt in a strong, comforting hug to make his step-brother feel better while Kurt burst out crying and Finn patted his back. Though Finn knew about Kurt's wings, he was unaware that he was actually patting where his wings were coming out of his back.

They stayed in that position for what seemed like a lifetime, not that it felt bad or slow. It made Kurt feel like Finn would always be there if he was down, like if they were real brothers; always there for each other no matter the situation. Kurt, calmed down but still crying, slowly pulled away from Finn, who was still crouched on the floor. As soon as Kurt pulled away, Finn joined Kurt on the couch, sitting side-by-side with one arm around the distraught-looking boy.

Sobs echoed through the house and Finn was thankful that Burt nor Carole wasn't home to see Kurt. They would certainly keep asking the poor boy why he was crying and if everything was alright at school and if the bullies kept harassing him and all that. That would probably only make Kurt even more distressed, resulting in isolation and probably depression, or whatever that pamphlet said in Miss Pillsbury's office that Finn had to read the other day. While Finn continued patting Kurt's back, he scrunched up his face to think about what that piece of paper had said. It could help him with Kurt. However, he knew that when Kurt was ready to talk, he will talk. And it wouldn't take that long for the floodgates to open.

Soon enough, Kurt's sobs turned into sniffs, and those sniffs slowly disappeared as Kurt told Finn about what happened the day before.

Kurt skimmed over Blaine's invitation in the morning, which led Blaine and Kurt getting coffee in the city, then going to school. Finn nodded and recalled the letter that Kurt had left. Kurt then explained how Blaine had remembered Kurt's claim of 'being a ninja', and would like to see Kurt's skills. He briefly covered the slushie incident, as Finn was there and knew what had happened. Then, he explained what happened in the bathroom.

"He didn't do anything to you when I left, did he?" Asked Finn anxiously.

"No, he didn't." Kurt stated. Finn was about to say something, but Kurt continued. "He actually didn't do anything. He was just staring at my back, like where my wings were. I turned around and he hadn't noticed, so he ended up staring at my chest, but that doesn't matter. I asked him why he was still there, and then he just rushed out of the bathroom."

"Do you think he saw your wings?" Kurt shook his head. Finn gestured for Kurt to keep going with his recount.

Kurt explained how Blaine was silent and gloomy during lunch, then told Finn how he suggested to Blaine to change into his P.E. uniform, thus Finn meeting Kurt in front on the change rooms.

"He didn't-" Finn began.

"No, of course not. He was just changing and he took his shirt off in front of me." Kurt blushed at the image of Blaine's body. "I wanted to give him some privacy, so I left him alone."

The smaller boy then prepared himself for the next part.

"Do you remember how you were going on about the new agility set-up in the sports hall?" Kurt asked Finn.

"Yeah, but what's that gotta- wait no. You didn't-" Kurt nodded solemnly. "You should have told me, man. It wasn't even finished! That thing could fall down at any moment." Kurt gave a small laugh.

"That was what I said, but I climbed it without a second thought."

"Was Blaine with you?"

"He was. It wasn't his fault though!" Kurt became panicked. Finn furrowed his eyebrows together.

"What wasn't Blaine's fault? You climbing the unstable tower?"

"That, and something else..." Kurt drifted off.

"Come on, Kurt. You can trust me. I won't tell mom and Burt if you don't want me to."

Kurt sighed and braced himself.

"Okay. Once I got to the top, a football player came into the sports hall. He called me a fairy and started shaking the tower. I lost my balance and fell off." By now, Kurt had tears in his eyes once again. Finn wanted to say something, but realised that Kurt still had to finish. "One second, I felt I was falling, the next second, I was safe on the ground, being protected by Blaine." Kurt recalled Blaine's feathers, as they had looked sharp enough to cut through diamonds. He shivered. Finn put his hand on Kurt's shoulder in a sign of support. "I don't know how he did it, but I felt like it was my fault and that he didn't need to save me."

"Did the football player go away?" Finn asked through gritted teeth.

"Yes, he did." Kurt said, and then paused.

"Why are you avoiding us though? You do know that we had glee club on today?"

"After the jock went away, I told Blaine that I was sorry and that I wouldn't bother him again, so I'm trying to give him room. However, I'm not trying to avoid you guys, I just want to think about... things."

"But what did Blaine say?"

"He didn't," Kurt began. "Because I ran away after I said that." Finn stared at Kurt. He had never seen that side of him before. Blaine must be really different to Kurt than Finn had expected.

Finn looked at Kurt. He was looking down his hands in his lap, twiddling his thumbs, thinking about... something. Finn didn't want to dwell on this subject any longer. Kurt looked better than he had before they had started, which was good.

"So you okay now?"

"Yep, thanks Finn." Kurt looked up and smiled. Finn grinned back in his signature lopsided style, relieved that Kurt was fine for now.

"If you have anything to talk about, you know where to find me." Finn said as he stood up to retrieve his bag and go to his room. Kurt nodded and watched Finn as he climbed the stairs. Moments later, Finn reappeared, back-tracking down the stairs.

"One thing you missed at glee club meeting today," began Finn. "Puck's having an end-of-year party for the New Directions at his place on Saturday. I'm sure everyone is going, probably even Mr Schue. Do you want to go?" Kurt thought about it for a while, before finally nodding his head. "Cool, I'll text Puck that you're going." Finn disappeared up the stairs once again.

Kurt looked down to the carpeted floor, sighed and closed his eyes. He felt much better now that he had told Finn what had happened on Tuesday. His wings were stretched out behind him, piercing through the sofa, leaving no trace of damage. He didn't want for Blaine to rescue him like that. Nor did he expect the football player to interrupt his feeling of exhilaration. Kurt shivered at the memory of him falling. Then he blushed when he remembered how Blaine was holding him.

Kurt then panicked. What if Blaine had felt Kurt's wings when he was holding him? His secret would be revealed, and Blaine may be angry at the taller boy for hiding his wings from him. But Blaine could be angry at him already, with Kurt running away and not apologising more.

He folded up his wings and started heading to his room.

I might as well prepare an outfit for Saturday, the boy thought as he climbed the stairs.

Kurt checked his phone to see that he had many new messages, all from Mercedes and Rachel, asking him where he was and if he could help them for Saturday. He laughed to himself, and quickly replied to both of them that he was at home and, yes, he would help them for Saturday. Kurt hoped that this diva get-together would help him move his mind off Blaine and the accident.

The rest of the week went on agonisingly slow. Kurt still had to try to stay away from Blaine, in case the other boy was angry at him and decided that they needed to have a talk, which was the last thing Kurt needed. For the last two days of the year, Kurt tried his best not to think or look at Blaine. His feelings towards the other boy had grown since the last time they had spoken, which was when Kurt decided to run from his saviour. The perfect wing carrier that Blaine was didn't deserve such a clumsy and flamboyant carrier that Kurt was, he sometimes thought.

But distance makes the heart grow fonder, doesn't it? was the hopeful optimistic thought which always seemed to follow the previous thought.

Kurt had tried to not look at Blaine for the last two days. He didn't want to, but deep down inside, his heart was telling him that he needed to. Sometimes he would catch a glimpse of Blaine's face as they would pass each other in the hallways as they were changing classes. Sometimes, the two boys would even lock eyes for a moment, but instead of seeing anger in Blaine's eyes, Kurt saw that he was sad and broken. Even though the other boy would plaster on a fake smile to please everyone, Kurt knew that something had triggered Blaine to be like this. The smile was on his face, but it wasn't in his eyes. Blaine could trick anyone, but not Kurt, who had noticed that Blaine's wings were drooping and lifeless as he walked, instead of the strong, firm wings that Kurt had first seen.

He was puzzled. Kurt thought about Blaine's sadness as he sat alone during lunchtimes underneath the bleachers near the oval. He was doing this to give Blaine some space. When everyone else, especially Mercedes and Rachel, asked him why he wasn't joining them, he would just say that he was busy, which wasn't entirely a lie. He had been concentrating very hard on why Blaine was acting like he was. Blaine had every right to be angry at Kurt.

Finally, Friday came to an end. Kurt attended the last glee club meeting of the year, only to find Blaine sitting in Kurt's normal seat. As soon as Kurt walked into the choir room, Mercedes rushed up to Kurt and gave him a bone crushing hug, as if he had left them for weeks and this was his first time back. He noticed that Blaine's wings had been raised to their original height, and that they were glowing. Kurt looked at Blaine from over Mercedes' shoulder. Blaine looked at Kurt with a small smile. Kurt was surprised. Blaine shouldn't be smiling at him.

"Okay, looks like everyone is here," Mr Schue began as he clapped his hands. "Kurt, looks like you're back. Take a seat." Kurt walked towards Blaine and took the seat next to him. Blaine looked over to smile, which Kurt returned in a smaller version. "Were you told about Puck's party, Kurt?" Mr Schue asked. Kurt told the Spanish teacher that he had, while Finn was nodding his head, and that he would be attending. A series of 'whoop's were let out by the New Directions, and Kurt smiled. They were family.

"Good. Now, everyone, we need to plan some activities..." Kurt let Mr Schue drift on. He started to reconsider his outfit, as Kurt had caught Mr Schue saying the words 'everyone' and 'swimming pool'. Did Puck have a pool? A swimming pool meant swimming, and swimming meant being wet. Kurt gulped for two reasons. One, his idea for his outfit would have to be scraped, and two, everyone was going to be there. In a pool. Which included Blaine.

Reviews?
Woah longest chapter yet! This was originally going to have the party in it as well, but it's too long already.

Preview of next chapter:
Finn decided to go over to Puck's house a few hours earlier to help set up, but Kurt suspected that Finn just wanted to play against Puck on whatever new-fangled video game console that Puck owned.

Next chapter out on the 2nd. See you next month! :P