Author's Note: Hello again. Many BIG thanks to all of you for your lovely comments on the last chapter! By the way, to those of you who would like to keep up with my progress between updates, you can always check out the tag "under skin so thick" or "allpurpleink" on Tumblr. They're full of my rambling, but generally will keep you informed as to when another chapter should be posted. I also leave little spoilers on occasion. ;)

This next bit is relatively angsty… particularly Blaingsty. But, hey, who doesn't love a good round of emotions once in a while, right? Besides, things need to slow down a bit before we get into a certain area of really big drama and suspense.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the show Glee.

~Chapter 17: The Afflictions of Cherry-Flavored Ice~

As Mr. Schuester and Rachel gave Blaine an enthusiastic welcome, Kurt watched the wheels turning in the minds of his peers. Although some seemed oblivious to anything out of the ordinary, Mercedes' jaw dropped as soon as Tina introduced Blaine. Meanwhile, the expressions on Sam and Mike's faces said that they had not been entirely informed of the events that had taken place since they'd all met at Breadstix a few nights prior.

Kurt knew he would have to think of an explanation for everything at some point. For now, though, he sort of just wanted one for himself.

After a few minutes, Blaine was invited to take a seat with the others. He followed Tina, the two of them settling in beside Kurt while the rest of the room stared curiously. Kurt tried not to meet their eyes, instead waiting for Mr. Schue to regain everyone's attention. Then he turned to Blaine.

"How?" Kurt asked under his breath.

Blaine smiled, keeping his eyes on the front of the room as he leaned over to whisper back. "My mom was finally able to sign the transfer papers. Even if my dad finds out, it shouldn't matter; the police are looking for him now."

"And the song?"

"Tina's idea. She thought I should secure a place in glee club as quickly as possible… something about a supportive environment. I figured as long as it gave me a chance to spend time with you during the day it would be perfect. We were up, like, half the night rehearsing."

Kurt's lips twitched upward. Discreetly, he reached over and gave Blaine's hand a little squeeze. Blaine squeezed back.

"You realize we're going to have to explain to everyone how Tina and I know you, right?" Kurt added quietly.

Blaine shrugged. "We'll think of something."

x.x.x

The next morning, Blaine found himself wandering the halls of McKinley High, his eyes glued to his new schedule as he tried to determine where he was supposed to be going. Tina and Kurt had tried to map out the structure of the school for him when they'd all gathered at the Lima Bean the night before. However, with Blaine's slightly less-than-ideal sense of direction, their efforts seemed to have been lost on him entirely. Brushing past groups of students as dozens of suspicious stares were thrown at him, Blaine suddenly felt very small and out of place. His untouchable presence at Dalton felt like a distant memory… how had he ever pulled it off for so long?

By the time the room numbers labeling classroom doors stopped making sense, Blaine knew that he would be late to third period Classical Literature... or wherever he was supposed to be going. He sighed, pulling out his cell phone and searching for Kurt's number.

"Hello?"

It was insanely relieving to hear a familiar voice. Blaine smiled into the phone. "Hey," he said. "I'm kind of lost."

"Where are you?"

Blaine glanced around, his eyes coming to rest on a door labeled nurse. "By the nurse's office."

"Be there in a second."

"Thanks," Blaine sighed, silently thanking whoever might be listening for making Kurt the helpful type. "You're amazing, you know that?"

Kurt's laugh echoed softly through the phone. "Of course I do. I'm on my way."

Blaine smiled, pocketing his phone while a warm feeling of gratitude blossomed in his chest. He had Kurt here with him, and Kurt was the one person he knew could get him through anything.

But, then, Blaine really hadn't counted on dealing with McKinley's bullies.

Splash.

Blaine stood frozen in place, blinking through wet, heavy eyelashes and trying to determine what exactly had just happened. His ears rang with the sound of cruel, mocking laughter. His clothes were drenched, sopping with icy, red stickiness. He inhaled sharply and shuddered against the cold, blinded by the stinging in his eyes.

Then someone was saying his name. "Oh, Blaine…"

A moment later, the source of the familiar voice was tugging him from the hall and through a door. Blaine wiped at his eyes, squinting until he could make out the appearance of the school bathroom surrounding them. He saw Kurt standing over one of the sinks, letting the water run over his fingers with an eerily calm expression on his face, like he had seen this happen too many times before.

"Come here," he instructed, placing a careful hand on the back of Blaine's neck and lowering his head into the sink.

Blaine coughed as water ran uncomfortably into his nose. He watched a stream of artificial cherry-redness swirl away, a tributary in a white-porcelain riverbed.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you," Kurt said softly, his fingertips pushing ice from Blaine's hair like tiny shards of glass. "The red ones are terrible."

Blaine straightened up suddenly, eyes wide. "They've done this to you?"

Kurt just sighed and guided Blaine back to the sink. "Of course they have. It's practically a rite of passage around here. Slushie facials?"

"What?"

"I know, I know… not exactly a pleasant experience, and it's a pain convincing the lady at the drycleaner's to get the stains out, but it could be worse, right?"

"Kurt-" Blaine was cut off as Kurt's hands directed him upright again and mopped his face carefully with a thick wad of paper towels.

"You just get used to it after a while," Kurt explained, his lips downturned in a little frown as he continued to fuss over cleaning Blaine. "I take it you don't have any spare clothes with you? I can lend you a shirt or-"

"Kurt."

Their eyes met for a second, and Blaine was taken aback by the sad, stale, wisdom in Kurt's. In those eyes, Blaine could see the hundreds of days this kindhearted boy had endured over the years, fighting to hold his head high while others called him out, pushed him around, and threw icy drinks at the clothes he always cared for so wholeheartedly. And surely his pride would have taken just as hard a hit.

Kurt's voice shook as he spoke. "I'm sorry," he said again. "You didn't deserve that, especially not on your first day."

"It's not your fault," Blaine answered, staring down at his soaked shirt.

"I get a couple of these a day sometimes," Kurt admitted softly, stepping forward to wipe a stray drop of red dye from Blaine's hairline.

"What? Why?" Blaine couldn't imagine going through this more than once- much less, more than once a day. What kind of public school let its students go through that sort of torment on a regular basis?

Kurt's lips twitched into a sad smile that tore at Blaine's heartstrings. "Isn't it obvious? I'm the glee-club gay. Perfect target."

Blaine's eyes hardened. Taking the world's hate on his own was one thing- watching it being directed at his boyfriend was another. Especially when his boyfriend was Kurt, who had never done a thing to deserve such treatment in return. "Well, seems you're not the only one anymore."

Kurt's eyebrows shot up, his expression suddenly panicked. He shook his head rapidly. "No, Blaine… you can't let them see that in you. If they find out we're together-"

"Let them. I don't care what they think, Kurt. I love you." There was a moment of complete silence, and Blaine watched Kurt's expression soften a little. "I don't want to hide who I am all the time. Not again."

Kurt dropped his gaze, looking lost in thought. Blaine understood his point of view; it made sense that Kurt would be worried about him. And yet, why should Kurt have to go through this all alone?

Finally, Kurt looked up again and met Blaine's eyes, resting a gentle hand on his cheek. "I hate to say this," he sighed. Blaine's heart sank. "But it would mean a lot to me if you… if you helped me keep this from them. Just… please."

Blaine had no desire to pretend anymore. He had Kurt now, after all, and his feelings weren't something he wanted to keep bottled up inside. And, with Kurt's permission, he would gladly walk down the halls hand-in-hand with his boyfriend and take all the slushies the McKinley football team could throw his way.

But he couldn't upset Kurt like that, not when his nerves had already been strained by the prospect of his hateful father showing up. He would find a way to make things right, but not by hurting Kurt. Never by hurting Kurt.

Slowly, Blaine nodded his agreement. "Alright," he said. "I'll… I'll be careful. They won't know a thing."

x.x.x

The remainder of the school week left Blaine feeling tense. Classes were long, dull, and lonely, and every time he happened to run into Kurt in the hallway, he had to force himself to look away. He had yet to be slushied again, but he knew for a fact that Kurt was hit by at least one on Friday.

New Directions and the freedom of the weekend seemed to be the only things keeping Blaine from losing his head. Tina was endlessly supportive, and she and her boyfriend, Mike, made good company whenever Blaine wasn't with Kurt outside of school. He had been introduced to Mercedes, along with a handful of Kurt's other friends from glee club, and had found them all to be nice- if not entertainingly quirky- people. Still, he felt trapped, caged by the knowledge that his father remained a hidden and ever-present threat, and burdened by the fact that he was running away from McKinley's bullies instead of facing them. Plus, he was worried that if he did face them, Kurt would feel betrayed, and losing Kurt's trust just wasn't something he could handle at the moment. His only hope was that something would happen- anything- that would allow them to be together just like any other couple, without all the fears and secrets. Was a little piece of normal so much to ask for?

But when the weekend passed without any sign of change, Blaine knew the upcoming week would be more difficult than the last. Sunday night, he sat alone in his room at Tina's, trying to clear his head. He missed Kurt. They had seen each other just that morning, but something felt strained between them… different… like all the stress was finally beginning to take its toll. It was like they had to remind themselves of who they really were, and why they had gotten together in the first place under such tangled circumstances. Now, Blaine just wanted to be back on the dance floor at Dalton Reform, all ridiculous confidence and carelessness. He wanted to be that boy who knew how to handle himself. That boy who could take care of things. Take care of Kurt.

Did Kurt still feel that way? Or did he see how broken Blaine was? And how desperately he wanted to be the complete opposite of that? He was not helpless… he could allow himself a little assurance in his ability to do the right thing, generally. But was he anywhere near as strong as he needed to be?

Blaine closed his eyes against the hot sting of rising tears and curled his fingers tightly around the ring that never left his neck. Courage.

There had to be a way to fix this mess. There had to be.