Author's Note: Hey! So, I've been EXTREMELY busy lately… I'm trying to get updates in whenever possible, but they do take some time, so I apologize for the long wait. This next chapter has a ton of canon dialogue, and some new plot twists that I hope people will enjoy. Also, thank you all SO MUCH for the reviews. They make me so wonderfully, extraordinarily happy! :)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the show Glee. Also, I do not own certain dialogue used in this chapter.

~Chapter 5: Our Pasts, Our Confessions~

Kurt was already backing away from Blaine, his wide eyes locked on Karofsky. "I'll be r-right back," he stammered. "Bathroom."

Without even pausing to check on Blaine's response, Kurt hurried away, pushing through the packed crowds and heading for the door at the far end of the gym. He was pretty sure that it led to a hallway and- with any luck- a place to hide.

Kurt knew that coming to this dance had been a bad idea. Not only was he risking a harsh insult or two, but also a painful beating, based on the impression he had been getting from this Karofsky guy. Truth be told, Kurt had to admit that dancing with Blaine had really been pushing his luck… maybe he deserved whatever was about to happen for being so naïve.

Finally, Kurt slipped out the door. The hall was bright and cool compared to the stuffy darkness of the gym, and graciously empty. Kurt had been feeling a little claustrophobic. He let out a sigh and paused for a moment, trying to calm down. Everything would be okay. He could take care of himself, couldn't he?

Heading for the water fountain at the end of the hall, however, Kurt started violently at the sound of a door slamming behind him. He hesitated, and then turned to glance over his shoulder.

Crap.

Kurt jerked his gaze back in the direction of the hall in front of him and picked up his pace a little. He could feel eyes boring into him from behind.

"Girls' bathroom's the other way, loser."

Kurt bit his lip. He could just keep walking. He could leave Karofsky to throw insults at his back like stones, and pretend that they didn't leave bruises. He could just keep on being a victim.

No.

Suddenly, Kurt couldn't take it anymore. He whirled around to face Karofsky, and stormed ahead to clear the space between the two of them. "What is your problem?" he demanded exasperatedly.

"Excuse me?"

Kurt stared up at him, and let the anger he had kept bottled up inside for so long- anger at the bullies of McKinley… at society… at this boy who somehow kept finding ways to ruin his week- pour out of his mouth. He didn't know quite what had sparked this flame inside of him, but, abruptly, it had turned to wildfire. "What are you so scared of?" he retorted.

Karofsky jerked his head in the direction of the nearby bathroom door. Until now, Kurt hadn't even noticed it was there. "Besides you hanging around the men's room trying to peek at my junk?"

Sick. That's what Karofsky was… sick and confused and angry.

Well, now Kurt was angry, too. "Oh, yeah, every straight guy's nightmare, that all of us gays are secretly out to molest and convert you! Well guess what, ham hock? You're not my type."

"That right?"

"Yeah, I don't dig on chubby boys who sweat too much and are going to be bald by the time they're thirty."

It was then that Kurt realized he had hit a limit. He watched as Karofsky tensed, as he leaned forward with a clenched fist. "Do not push me, Hummel," he answered through gritted teeth.

"You going to hit me?" Kurt stared up at him. Karofsky was just like the rest of them. Just a scared little kid inside. "Do it."

"Don't push me!"

Kurt knew that he was pushing it. But he couldn't back down now. If he got hurt because of his persistence, fine. Karofsky needed to hear what he had to say. "Hit me, 'cause it's not going to change who I am," Kurt declared. He was shaking all over, although whether it was due to defiance or fear, he didn't know. "You can't punch the gay out of me anymore than I can punch the ignoramus out of you!"

"I said get out of my face!" Karofsky ordered.

"You are nothing but a scared little boy who can't handle how extraordinarily ordinary you are!"

Everything moved far too quickly after that. Kurt's back was pressed against the cold metal of the lockers, and Karofsky was on him. But he wasn't throwing punches at Kurt, he was throwing himself, and his face was suddenly too close-

And his lips were pressing into Kurt's and-

Kurt shoved away, shock taking over instantaneously, and lifted a trembling hand to his lips. They felt swollen and wet and very, very wrong. What the hell had just happened to him? What had he done?

As if also stunned, Karofsky stared at Kurt for a long moment with wide, frightened eyes. Then, suddenly, his face morphed into something strange, something lost between anger and regret, and he slammed his fist against a locker. Kurt jumped at the noise, and then stood frozen, watching as the other boy walked away… gone with his stolen first kiss.

Finally alone, Kurt crumpled to the ground and burst into tears.

x.x.x

"Kurt?"

He felt trapped inside his own head, unable to even respond to the soft, concerned voice of the boy who had finally come to help him.

"Oh, god, Kurt, what happened?"

Suddenly, Kurt felt a pair of steadying hands rest against his shoulders. He looked up, his own gaze hesitantly coming to meet the worried, hazel eyes now staring back at him.

Blaine.

Kurt burst into another heavy sob, watching Blaine's face blur into nothing as his eyes flooded over with tears. He barely even registered it when the other boy slipped his arms around Kurt, pulling him carefully to his feet and leading him out the lobby doors. Kurt coughed into the chilly nighttime air and rubbed at his eyes, falling back onto a bench as Blaine lowered him down into a sitting position.

"What happened, Kurt?"

Shivering, Kurt tried to make sense of it all. He had been so angry… he had yelled at Karofsky… he had expected to be punched, maybe hurt…

But then-

"H-he…" Kurt's whole body quaked. He wiped at his eyes again. "He… k-kissed m-me."

Blaine's brow furrowed instantly. "What?" he asked in confusion. "What do you mean? Who kissed you?"

"…Karofsky."

At first, Blaine didn't seem to understand. He stared at Kurt, frowning until, at last, realization dawned on his face, and he jumped up. Kurt looked up at him and blinked unsurely. "You mean Karofsky kissed you? Without your permission?"

Kurt scoffed. The sound seemed strange coming from his tear-choked throat. "Well I wasn't exactly hoping and praying for it to happen while I was telling him off for being so prejudiced, so, no, he didn't have my permission."

Blaine bit his lip, his eyes frustrated and staring off into the distance. "I can't believe this," he said, and started pacing the area in front of the bench. "All this time… he's just been lashing out at gay people because he's freaking locked up in the closet."

Kurt stared in surprise. Since when had Blaine been so concerned about his well-being? Since when had he even called Kurt by his real name? And Kurt was sure that he had never seen the boy looking so worried before… or so annoyed, he realized, watching as Blaine's hands curled into fists at his sides. "Blaine, calm down," he said, trying his best to keep his voice steady. "It'll be fine. I don't want you messing with him, okay? Revenge is never a good idea."

"But, Kurt…" Blaine hesitated, and then turned to meet his eyes. "He deserves it. He doesn't know how it feels to take all of this…"

Kurt sighed. He could see where Blaine was coming from. As someone who had probably also dealt with an insult or two from Karofsky, it only made sense that he should be upset over the hypocrisy of the whole situation. Still, it wouldn't do any good for Blaine to go and get himself into trouble. "I know," Kurt replied. "But it won't help anyone if you get hurt. Please, just sit down. Talk to me for a minute."

Tentatively, Blaine complied. He took his place on the bench beside Kurt and their eyes locked. It was then that Kurt knew he could trust Blaine. There was something… something different about him, and it was nice, oddly enough. "I take this sort of thing from people every day at school," Kurt explained calmly. He shrugged. "I guess I just kind of snapped tonight. I was asking for trouble."

Blaine paused, a thoughtful look on his face. "That was the first time a guy ever kissed you, though, wasn't it?"

Kurt's throat tightened instantly. He didn't want to think about that. "I…" Swallowing hard, Kurt could feel the tears begin to well up in his eyes again. "Yeah, it was," he admitted softly.

For a moment, Blaine was utterly silent. Kurt wondered when he was going to turn back into the boy he had known, the one with all the witty comebacks and overconfident attitude. Instead, Blaine reached out and squeezed Kurt's hand comfortingly.

Kurt nearly gasped aloud in surprise. He turned to Blaine, his eyes uncertain.

Blaine just smiled a little. "I… haven't told you what I did to wind up at this school, have I?" he asked.

Hesitantly, Kurt shook his head. He wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to hear this… after all, what if the wrong that Blaine had done was something really bad? What if he turned out to be dangerous? What would Kurt do then?

Blaine sighed and looked down at the ground. "I've been there, too," he began. "Dealing with the bullying, I mean. But, for me, the worst of it was at home. My dad's really, really strongly opinionated, and he's not..." Blaine bit his lip. "He's homophobic."

Kurt inhaled sharply. His heart ached for Blaine; he knew how it felt to be left out and shoved around… but when it came to his own home life, Kurt had always been offered a shoulder to cry on. Burt Hummel wasn't perfect, but he tried harder than anyone Kurt had ever met, and that was more than enough. He couldn't imagine being rejected by his own father, much less hurt.

"He used to tell me that I was a terrible person. Worthless." Blaine blinked, his eyes still distant, lost in thought. "And if he got really annoyed, he would hit me."

You can't punch the gay out of me anymore than I can punch the ignoramus out of you. Kurt's own words echoed in his mind. He gave Blaine's hand a sympathetic little squeeze, and- on an impulse- laced their fingers together. If Blaine was anything at all like Kurt, then he would understand the reassurance in having a hand to hold.

Blaine took a shaky breath. "Anyway," he continued. "At my old school there was a Sadie Hawkins dance, and I had just come out. So, I asked a friend of mine- the only other gay guy in the school- and… and my dad found out about it just as I was about to leave the house. He was so angry with me… called me all of these terrible names, gave me a black eye…" Blaine sighed dejectedly. "And… I just… I lost it. We were at the top of the stairs, and when he went to hit me again, I pushed him. I never meant to hurt him; really… it was mainly in self-defense. But he fell all the way down to the first floor, and it took months for him to recover from the injuries completely. As soon as he woke up in the hospital, he demanded that my mom send me here, so that I could be 'properly disciplined' and so that he would never have to see me again. My mom's really shy… I think Dad scares her, too, to be honest. Most of the time she just takes on extra hours at the office to avoid coming home."

Kurt's eyes were flooded with tears now. He was shocked at how much he felt for Blaine in that moment… how much pain it caused him just to hear about what this boy had been through. He didn't even know what to say.

Finally, Blaine looked up, his eyes meeting Kurt's. They were so full of emotion; Kurt could barely breathe for looking at them. "He could have died, Kurt," Blaine said, almost too calmly. His expression, however, contradicted the remorse which his voice did such a good job of hiding. "And it would have been completely my fault. I could have killed my own father."

Kurt swallowed dryly and looked down, trying to clear his head. He felt as though all of Blaine's feelings were coursing through his own veins. What would he have done, were he ever in the same position? Would he have defended himself, as well? "I don't think what you did was wrong," Kurt whispered, glancing up at Blaine through his eyelashes. "Saving yourself doesn't make you a bad person."

Seeming surprised, Blaine stared at Kurt for a moment. "You really think so?" he asked.

Kurt nodded. "You're not worthless, Blaine," he replied. "I think you're really a good person inside, actually. You don't deserve to be treated the way your father treated you."

Blaine bit his lip. "I've been a jerk to you," he stated.

Kurt just looked at him. He would be lying if he said that he had not been offended by Blaine at times, and yet, he felt such a connection with him, and such a strong belief in the kindness of his true self. Kurt was going to figure out what was under this thick skin of Blaine's… no matter how much of an effort it might take. "You've been a friend to me, too," Kurt answered softly.

"You wouldn't trust me, though."

"I do, actually," Kurt said, and squeezed Blaine's hand again. Maybe it was just the vulnerability that Blaine was showing right now, but- for whatever reason- Kurt knew that he had really begun to care about him. Just talking like this, fingers intertwined… it meant a lot.

Blaine met Kurt's eyes, and both boys were silent for a long time. And then, carefully, Blaine leaned in, closer and closer, moving ever so slowly, as if waiting for Kurt to move away at any second. Kurt didn't, though… something in him wanted this. He wanted Blaine. And, in spite of everything that had happened that night, this seemed like as good a moment as any to establish that for real.

Kurt's second first kiss that night was soft and sweet and lingering… all that Kurt had dreamed of for years. It was nothing that he would have expected from the Blaine he had met a few days earlier… that Blaine had been intimidating and bold and mysterious.

This was something else entirely.

This was Blaine, exposed, defenseless, and genuine.

This was the kiss that Kurt had been waiting for, and so he kissed Blaine back with all of his heart.