Author's Note: Back again! This story is just so much fun to write. Feel free to review… I'm sending virtual hugs right now to all readers. :)

This chapter brings up an important turning point… and quite a bit of Blaingst. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the show Glee.

~Chapter 7: Shadows and Bruises~

The rain pounded against Kurt's bedroom window as he watched from the edge of his bed. Beside him, a class textbook lay open and forgotten. Lima hadn't seen a storm like this in weeks; now it felt as though the sky was releasing all of its built-up emotion in buckets and squalls. The sky was like midnight.

Kurt jumped as a clap of thunder rang out in unison with the noisy vibrations of his cell phone on the bedside table. He stared at the unfamiliar number on the caller ID. Strange… who would be calling? He picked up the phone unsurely and answered. "Hello?"

Muffled silence.

"Um… hello? Is anyone there?"

Another roll of thunder preceded the quiet reply. "Kurt."

Kurt's brow furrowed in concern. He knew that voice, but it wasn't quite right. The voice that he was hearing now sounded… helpless. "Blaine?" he asked, feeling his chest tighten with worry at the lack of response. After a moment of silence, he drew his other hand up to clutch the phone. "Blaine, what's wrong?"

There was another barely audible noise on the other end of the line. Kurt bit his lip; he didn't know what he would do if Blaine hung up now. "I… I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Kurt, I really am," Blaine choked out.

He didn't sound like the Blaine that Kurt knew. He sounded utterly lost, like he needed help. "Blaine. Please. Where are you?" Kurt could hear the desperation creeping into his voice. Don't panic, he told himself. Freaking out wouldn't do any good.

"I'm… I… Kurt, I f-feel terrible about this…"

"Honey, breathe. Where are you?" Kurt couldn't bring himself to worry about crossing boundaries with pet names; he was too busy trying to keep Blaine calm. Worst of all, the pieces were starting to fall into place in his mind… and they didn't look good.

I'll talk to him tonight.

"I didn't have any other place to go… And I don't know where you live, so I couldn't come there, and so I just…"

Kurt inhaled sharply, and Blaine's words trailed off. In an instant, Kurt was on his feet and had grabbed his keys from the desk at the side of the room. "I'll come and get you. I'm getting in the car right now," Kurt assured him, already hurrying down the stairs.

"Kurt, I broke into your theatre."

Kurt stopped dead in his tracks for a second as images of a cold, wet boy huddled in the darkness of his personal refuge flooded his thoughts. The electricity had been turned off in the theatre months ago; Kurt could only imagine how lonely and frightening the place would be in the midst of a storm like this one. He picked up his feet again. "I'm on my way."

"I'm really sorry, Kurt." Blaine sounded hopelessly remorseful.

Kurt shook his head automatically and searched the shelves beside the front door. There was a battery-operated lamp, a first-aid kit… Kurt swallowed hard and grabbed them both. He wasn't sure what sort of situation he was about to walk into. "Don't apologize," Kurt replied, trying to keep his voice steady. "Just hang in there, okay? I'll be around in a few minutes."

Blaine didn't answer, and it took Kurt a moment to realize that the cell phone connection had been lost. He took a deep breath and put his own phone into his pocket before grabbing a raincoat. Clutching the bundle of items close to his chest, Kurt opened the door and hurried out into the darkness.

Everything was cold and sopping wet; autumn was truly sinking its teeth into Ohio with a razor-sharp bite. By the time Kurt had clambered into his car and closed the door, he was already shivering. Poor Blaine, he thought. The theatre must have been freezing... And how would Blaine have gotten there? Walked?

Driving through the storm wasn't easy. Still, Kurt was determined to get to the theatre as quickly as possible, and managed to arrive in a fairly short amount of time. He opened the door slowly, the travel-lamp lighting his path, and stepped into the room.

The first thing that caught his eye was the broken window beside his mother's picture. Almost all of the glass had been moved out of the way, creating a whole big enough for a person to crawl through carefully. Then he heard a small noise, and his gaze found what he had come for.

"Oh, Blaine…" It was exactly what Kurt had feared. Blaine stared up at him from where he sat, curled with his knees to his chest on one of the benches. In the dim lamplight, it was hard to see the difference between the shadows and bruises splayed across Blaine's face, neck, and arms… but there was no denying that he was hurt. The light glinted off a drop of blood making a trail from the cut near the outer corner of Blaine's left eyebrow. It fell slowly down his cheek, just another crimson tear.

Blaine shook his head, lips parted in anticipation of the words that would not come to him. He had never seen a person look quite so much like an angel. And yet, here was Kurt, who had come to him when he had no one else, in the middle of a storm, in total darkness…

Kurt knelt in front of Blaine, already in full rescuer mode, and began doctoring his injuries with the contents of the first-aid kit. He was all business, his eyes betraying nothing. Blaine didn't know how to react.

Suddenly, tears leaked from Kurt's eyes, and Blaine stared at him in concern. His hands trembled over the purpling marks on Blaine's skin. "Your father did this to you?" Kurt choked out in disbelief, his voice small and repentant as it echoed through the empty room.

Blaine didn't want to answer. He bit his lip and looked down, feeling lost and ashamed and hurt. The last thing he deserved was for someone to come and save him, anyway. He should have been back at Dalton, being scolded for lashing out like the nonconforming screw up that he really was.

Kurt moved his hands to either side of Blaine's face. "Please, Blaine," he said gently, his gaze searching. It felt like Blaine's eyes were drowning him; they were so sad. But Kurt couldn't look away. "Talk to me. Tell me what happened."

Blaine bit down hard on his lip. He couldn't bring Kurt into this. Kurt was a good guy, and he surely had his own problems to deal with. Still… he had come out here to help. It was clear that he wanted Blaine to trust him. "I went to see my dad," Blaine admitted softly.

Nodding slowly, Kurt moved to interlock his fingers with Blaine's freezing, trembling ones. Their eyes never faltered from one another's.

"I figured I would just go in with the transfer papers ready, and tell him that if he signed them, he would never have to hear from me again." Blaine swallowed dryly. "Anyway… I walked in… the door was open… it was stupid… but I just waltzed in like it was no big deal, and he was there." Something flashed in Blaine's eyes. Fear. Regret. "…with someone else."

Blaine looked away then, dropping his gaze to the floor. Kurt brushed his thumb across Blaine's cheek, frowning at the tear-soaked wetness there. "He was with a woman," Blaine continued. "Someone I'd never seen before. And they were…" He paused, eyes distant. "He didn't even listen long enough to hear why I'd come. He said that if he found out that I let my mom know he's cheating on her, he would…"

Kurt squeezed Blaine's hand. He wanted to wrap him in his arms, to tell him that things would be okay… but he was afraid it would hurt him. The cruel injustice of it all was maddening, really.

Blaine's eyes squeezed shut, tears leaking over his lashes. "He's going to be looking for me now, Kurt," he choked out. The terror in his voice was heartbreaking. "He wants to make sure I don't get to Mom first. He'll get all the teachers at Dalton in on it, if he has to." Blaine met Kurt's eyes, looking intense and powerless both at once. "I can't go back."

He couldn't take it anymore; Kurt pulled Blaine to him, arms tight and secure. "I won't let him hurt you," Kurt declared softly. "I'll bring you home with me. He'll never think to look there. He doesn't even know who I am."

Blaine let out a shaky breath. Kurt's body was so warm against his… he hadn't even realized how freezing he was until he felt it. "I c-couldn't ask you to-"

"You're not asking," Kurt interjected. He pulled away to meet Blaine's eyes sternly. "I'm telling you. You're coming with me." With that, Kurt stood up, his hand outstretched. "Let me help you," he added in a whisper. It was just a request.

Blaine couldn't fight it anymore. He needed someone… anyone… He reached out and took the hand he'd been offered. And Kurt wrapped his finger's around Blaine's, protective and trustworthy.

They were going to need each other.