Two Steps Back

Disclaimer: I'm not RIB, so I don't own Glee or any of the characters. If I did, I'd be rich and probably not writing fanfiction! This fic will dive into MPREG, so I'll be using my go-to MPREG explanation like I did in When We're Older aka the Reddin gene. The gene is based on the Reddin character from the 1994 movie Junior. You should really watch it if you like mpreg. It's a good movie, I promise (I also don't have any rights to it either!) I also don't really own anything mentioned in this except for the crazy storyline so... I OWN NOTHING. The title is inspired by a Paula Abdul song called Opposites Attract by the way.

Warning: Discussions of bullying and mentions of homophobic language in this chapter!

"Why ya runnin', Hummel? C'mon!"

Kurt darted around the corner, picking up speed as he dashed to the left and zig-zagged through the park near his house. His heart was pounding and he could only wish that the group of boys behind him would get winded and slow down. Of course, the guys chasing him were members of the football team, so they were pretty good runners, but Kurt could still hope.

And hope he did.

Another splash of warmth hit the back of his neck and Kurt gagged, fighting the urge to vomit as the strong smell of hot urine covered his body. Not long after the first, another balloon smacked his legs, wetting his pants and boots; he felt tears fill up his eyes as his feet squished in his shoes - another pair of perfectly good boots ruined, and he almost cried out when another balloon crashed against the side of his head, busting and coating his hair with someone else's pee.

Oh God.

"Throw another one, Karofsky! Get 'em!" Azimio yelled, causing more shouts to erupt from the group of apes and before Kurt could wipe the piss from his eyes, he slipped forward, his boot catching on a balloon right before it popped. Immediately he fell to the ground.

"Please, don't. Please," he pleaded, shutting his eyes when the light around him grew darker. The group of letterman jacket clad guys surrounded him, each of them wearing identical sinister grins and wielding urine filled balloons in their hands as they stared down at the tiny freshman before them.

"Should we leave him alone or should we teach him a lesson?" One of the older guys (a senior) questioned, nudging Kurt with his sneaker. The action made the smaller guy curl up in a ball. "Kid's a fag and faggots need to learn their place."

"Pummel him. Pummel Hummel," a voice chimed in and the others laughed at the joke, agreeing with the guy. Kurt recognized the voice instantly - Noah Puckerman, his classmate since kindergarten. He whimpered, wishing that someone, anyone would just stop this, stop them from picking on him, but he knew it would never happen. They'd been doing this to him since the beginning of the year and they weren't going to stop until he cracked.

And oh god how close he was to cracking.

Curling up tighter, Kurt shut his eyes, ignoring the strong smell of piss and the way his eyes were getting sticky from the drying liquid on his skin. This was so unsanitary, so disgusting and he wondered how anyone could possibly think throwing their own bodily waste on anybody was justified. Before he had the chance to cover his face, a shower of balloons rained upon him, bursting all over his body and coating his clothes, skin, and hair with the smelly liquid inside. He coughed, assaulted by the smell, and the boys around him laughed loudly, high-fiving each other when all of their balloons were popped and gone.

Only one boy spoke after that. His voice was quiet. "Dude, I got pee on my Nikes. My mom's gonna kill me; she just got these for me!"

Finn.

"Look what you did, queer. You ruined Hudson's shoes! Are you happy about that? Way to go, ass burglar!" A foot pushed at his hip and Kurt rolled over on his back, pee getting into his nose and making him cough and gag. His bullies laughed at his discomfort and one of them went to dig in his now-ruined messenger bag, pulling out his wallet.

"He's got fifty bucks in here. You think that'll get you new shoes, Hudson?"

"I, uh- I dunno. I don't think-"

"Here. Take it," one of the seniors said, shoving the money in Finn's hands. "Buy yourself some new kicks before your mom finds out and murders your ass. Lord knows we're gonna need you when Parker graduates and if your mom kills you now, we won't have a quarterback next year."

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Finn agreed. Kurt could hear him take the money and shove it into his pockets; then the group began backing away, leaving only one guy behind to give Kurt another message.

"Next time, don't be checking out my ass in gym class, you hear me?" Azimio Adams hissed, punctuating his last words with a vicious assault by dumping Kurt's heavy, book-laden bag on top of his face and chest. The books inside thumped and cracked against his skin and Kurt whined when the hard corners punctured various places on his neck, cheeks, and arms. "Fucking queer."

And then he was gone, leaving Kurt curled up in the middle of the park, tears running down his face as he struggled to breathe and not throw up.

::::::::::

Kurt's fingers gripped the steering wheel as he drove through the streets of Lima behind Rachel Berry. The girl drove pretty slow, but Kurt knew that she was only being cautious since they were new to the area and there were always bored cops sitting on the corner just waiting to bust somebody for anything they could get. In the passenger seat next to him sat Finn, quiet and lost in his thoughts as well as they drove through downtown Lima. Deep down, Kurt wondered if his brother was thinking about the same things he was thinking about - all those times Kurt was bullied by the same group of guys who went after Blaine.

Sure, it had been years since Kurt had been jumped like that, but the wounds were still fresh and sometimes he still had nightmares, though he'd never, ever admit it to anyone.

It was hard too. His freshman year was pure hell, plain and simple, and all Kurt could do was take, take, and take the bullying while nobody bothered to help. Then his dad met Carole at a parent-teacher conference and the next thing he knew, he and Finn were going to become brothers... brothers after all the crazy shit that went down between them.

It was ridiculously difficult for Kurt to accept his new family in the beginning. By the time his sophomore year started up, Carole and Finn were moving in and Kurt was going through the greatest change of his life: reinventing himself. Gone were the fashionable clothes and his normal, brown hair color. Instead, he bleached his hair, dyed it silver and black, and started to get piercings from a mutual friend of his that he met while he was taking self-defense classes. His father had been shocked at the time, worried about his son's well-being, but Kurt didn't speak a word of it to him, not telling his dad about what Finn and his friends did every single day... how they ruined his life.

His dad was so happy with Carole though and he couldn't ruin it, so he kept his mouth shut. It was only after Finn came walking into their new house and saw Kurt sitting there (taller, leaner, and looking much stronger than before) that he realized that what he did was wrong... and that was the end of the bullying from him. Even Noah Puckerman quit, especially after his fall from grace during the drama that was Quinn Fabray's pregnancy and by the beginning of sophomore year, Kurt had more people on his side.

And he hasn't looked back since.

Of course, there were fights in between that. The football/hockey/basketball/etc. teams still tried to get at him, especially Azimio and Dave Karofsky, but Kurt began fighting back. He got in trouble quite a bit because it was easier to blame the kid with the piercings and strange colored hair than it was to blame the big, hulking athlete obviously, but he didn't care because people started to realize that he was not the person to be fucked with.

But then came Blaine.

Dorky, bubbly, handsome Blaine, who was everything Kurt used to be and then some. Blaine was the boy that Kurt once imagined himself to be like - well, before the whole bullying aspect. His new friend was fashionable (though Kurt did like to tease him about his choices in dress), intelligent, well-spoken, and kind and for some god forsaken reason, Kurt was wildly enthralled by him. God, from the first moment he saw him, Kurt knew there was something about the new kid... and there was, but he just couldn't explain it.

Blaine was different than everybody else. Just so special.

And that was why he had a target on his back.

Angrily, Kurt squeezed his fingers around the steering wheel tighter and let his thoughts roam to what he was going to do tomorrow when he saw Azimio in the hallway. Would he walk up and kick him in the nuts? Would he vandalize his locker? Would he key his car? The possibilities were endless and he had all night to think about them so... He was still lost in his thoughts when Finn began smacking him on the arm, one arm wildly pointing behind them as he spoke.

"Rachel just pulled in that driveway over there and you completely passed it!"

"Well excuse me for being distracted, Finn. Jesus!" Kurt hissed, pulling over on the side of the road to park. They were a few houses down from Blaine and Rachel's home, but it didn't matter. He just parked in front of one of the other homes and climbed out of the car, shoving his hands into his hoodie as he walked. Rachel and Blaine were just getting out of their car when Finn and Kurt stepped into the driveway.

"Sorry we passed you guys. Kurt wasn't paying attention."

"You wanna drive next time?" Kurt yelled, waving an arm in the air as he stretched to his full height, now standing face-to-face with Finn. "If you wanna drive, then you can fucking drive, okay? Fuck off."

He was so immersed in his rant that he didn't notice the man lingering in the doorway, eyes narrowing at the two strange boys standing in his driveway. "Excuse me, but we don't use that kind of language around here."

Kurt glanced up, glaring at the person who interrupted him. He was seconds away from turning his anger on the stranger when Blaine stepped up beside him and placed a calming hand on his forearm. "Sorry dad," Blaine offered, shushing Kurt with a squeeze. "Kurt's just upset, that's all."

"Well he shouldn't use that language outside. There are kids living in this neighborhood and they're impressionable," the man scolded and Kurt bit back his tongue, fighting the urge to point out that all kids in the neighborhood should be in school since the elementary and junior high students didn't get out until at least an hour after the high schoolers did. But since Blaine was holding onto his arm for dear life, Kurt knew he would be fighting a losing battle, so he zipped his lips and went to suck on his lip ring instead.

"Thank you," Blaine whispered, letting go of Kurt's arm to walk up towards the house. Rachel was already on the porch, telling something to Finn who somehow had followed her up. Once all four teens were together, Blaine and Rachel's father stepped outside and held a hand out, shaking Finn's and then Kurt's with a firm, warning handshake.

"Hello, I'm Leroy Berry. And you are?"

"Finn Hudson, sir. And this is my brother Kurt."

"Kurt and Finn Hudson? Nice to meet you."

Kurt scowled at the mistake, "It's Kurt Hummel. We're step-brothers."

"Oh, oh I'm sorry. My mistake. Okay, so Kurt Hummel and Finn Hudson. Do you both go to McKinley with Rachel and Blaine?"

Finn smiled, "Yeah. We're all in the same grade actually."

"Well, that's great. Why don't you come on in? I'd love to get to know my kids first friends from their new school," Leroy said, opening the door to let all of the kids in. Everyone discarded their shoes in the front hall and Kurt couldn't help but notice how nice the house was. Beside him, Blaine leaned in close and elbowed him in the side.

"Our last house was nicer. This one's pretty small compared to the old one."

"Well shit, if this one's small to you, then you must've lived in a fucking mansion last time," Kurt whispered back, smirking when Blaine rolled his eyes, but nodded nonetheless.

"It wasn't a mansion, but it was great. I miss it."

"I can imagine. I miss my old house too sometimes." Blaine shot him a sad look and Kurt gave him a slight smile, walking closer to his shorter friend as they followed Mr. Berry into the kitchen. The older man went to dig around in the refrigerator, pulling out various drinks and a bowl of fruit salad to set before the kids.

"Here. Have something to eat. You must be hungry."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Kurt's stomach growled loudly and the boy blushed, ignoring the funny looks he got. Blaine laughed out loud when the grumble was heard and the sound was like music to Kurt's ears though he'd never admit it - it was nice to hear Blaine's laugh, especially after what happened that day. Rolling his eyes, Kurt reached forward and took the large bowl from Mr. Berry's hands, "I guess my stomach spoke for me."

"I guess it did," Leroy said softly, his eyes locked onto the look his son was giving Kurt as the other boy began scooping overloaded spoonfuls of fruit salad into his bowl. He'd seen that look plenty of times; it was the look his husband gave him every single day and it was also mirrored on his daughter's face as she watched that overly tall kid talk about something he did in class that day. It was the look, a look that both excited and scared him, but he didn't say a word, instead watching his children interact with their new friends.

He'd mention something to Hiram later, but for now, he was happy to observe.

::::::::::

"So this is my room."

"I'm surprised your dad let me come up here. I thought he was going to skin me alive earlier."

"He just worries about me," Blaine mumbled, plopping down on his bed. He patted the other side of the mattress in order to get Kurt to sit, but his friend was too busy wandering around the room and looking at the plethora of trophies and plaques that lined the wall.

"You fence?"

"Yeah. I box too, surprisingly enough. Unfortunately my PTSD doesn't seem to let me use my skills on anyone who decides to locker shove me."

"Blaine-"

"But yeah, I fence and box and sing. I also like photography too. And uh, polo."

"A man of many colors," Kurt mused, taking more time to look around the room. The color scheme was a little too patriotic for his liking, but when he noticed the random pictures on the wall of boys clad in blue and red blazers, he understood the paint job. "So you had to wear a uniform at Dalton?"

"Yep. It's a private school. Uniforms are regulation so that there's not any issues with dress code. It also stops kids from picking on others for not having certain style clothing. Rachel's old school had them too."

"Yeah, I remember their outfits from Regionals. What an eye sore."

"Be nice," Blaine warned, but he was definitely smirking so Kurt knew he understood. Smiling, Kurt dropped down on the bed next to his friend and sighed when he felt how comfortable the mattress felt beneath him.

"Damn! Did your parents buy you a cloud to sleep on? This is amazing!" He flopped backward, sinking into the soft mattress with ease. Blaine laughed at his silliness and laid back as well.

"It's memory foam actually. I love it. After I got hurt at my first high school, I had a hard time sleeping on firmer mattresses, so we got this one. It's really good on my back."

Kurt nodded, staring up at the ceiling. His mind flashed to the days when he was getting shoved around at McKinley and came home with bruises all over his body, aching way too much to try to sleep in his own bed. It had been a long while since that happened, but the phantom ache still lingered sometimes and he sighed, rolling over on his side to stare at Blaine. His friend was still laying on his back, hands linked over his stomach as he watched his ceiling fan spin round and round above him. From his closer view, Kurt was able to see just how handsome Blaine really was. He had gorgeous cheekbones, beautiful olive skin, and long eyelashes that were to die for. His eyes, which looked slighty brown the first day they met, were a mixture of swirling colors - green, brown, and amber - and even though he seemed to be lost in his thoughts, he looked so much more relaxed now that he was in the safety of his own home.

"At your old school... were you bullied a lot before- before you were bashed?"

"Yeah, mostly." Blaine's voice was quiet, breathy like he wasn't sure if he wanted to have this conversation. Kurt opened his mouth to tell him that there was no need to explain, but Blaine continued, "Locker shoves were really common. I got locked in broom closets a lot. When I first started school, I had glasses but they kept getting broken, so my dads let me get contacts so it wouldn't happen anymore. I just told them I was clumsy and I kinda am, I guess, so they believed me. What they didn't know was that people kept shoving me and I'd fall and hit my face, so the glasses would snap."

"Jeez, Blaine-"

"And a few times they'd just take my glasses and stick them somewhere else so they'd get broken. One guy stuck them under someone's butt when they were leaning forward to grab some papers being passed back... that was the last time I wore glasses."

"Man, fuck those guys."

"I- It's not like I didn't try to stop them because I did, but no one wants to help to stop bullying until something serious happens, you know? My old school didn't do anything, not even after Zachary and I were attacked." Blaine's voice grew tight and without thinking, Kurt reached over, laying his hand over Blaine's still linked ones.

"Was Zachary your boyfriend?"

"No, no I... I've never had a boyfriend before," Blaine whispered. His face flushed with redness and Kurt smiled, squeezing his friend's hand.

"That's a shame. I have to say I'm surprised."

The redness increased at Kurt's compliment. "It's not- it's not like I haven't been asked out before. There were out guys at Dalton who asked me, but I just... wasn't really into them, I guess. I don't know what type of guy I go for, but it wasn't any of those guys, though they were all pretty great."

"Eh, I like different types of guys," Kurt admitted, his thumb swiping over the knobby bones of Blaine's knuckles. "As long as they aren't complete tools, I'm game."

"So you've dated before?"

"Eh, sure."

"Have you... ever been kissed?"

"Yup. Tons. Kissing's great."

"What about-"

"Sex? Yeah, done that too." Blaine's eyes widened just a fraction and his hands twitched under Kurt's grasp. Beside him, Kurt chuckled, rolling his eyes when he felt Blaine tense up. "You're a virgin, right?"

"Yeah. I've never had a boyfriend, remember?"

"Doesn't mean you can't already have had sex. My first time wasn't with a boyfriend."

"Really?"

Kurt nodded, darting his gaze towards the open bedroom door. Down the hall, he could hear Rachel singing something and he knew Finn was in her room, but he wasn't sure where Mr. Berry was lurking. Honestly, he hoped that Blaine's dad decided to let his kids have alone time with their friends because he really didn't want his new friend's dad to know about his sex life. After listening for spies for several seconds, Kurt threw caution to the wind and started talking. "My first time was with some random guy I met at a party at Brittany Pierce's house - you remember Brittany, right? She's one of the Cheerios; tall, blonde, and always locking pinkies with Santana. Yeah, that's her. Well, some guy from East Lima and I got way too drunk and the next thing I know, I'm waking up in Brittany's little sister's room butt naked with some guy I don't know after we had sex and that was that."

"You don't even remember it?"

"Bits and pieces mostly. I topped, if you were wondering." He threw that last remark in just to watch Blaine squirm and squirm Blaine did, which was amusing as hell to Kurt. Grinning, he plowed on, "The guy flipped his shit because he's straight - or so he said - but he threw his clothes on and left. And that was my first time."

"Wow. I... don't know if I should feel bad for you or not."

"Eh, it's okay. I've been with other guys since then and I'm always sure to make sure I'm safe, you know? After that first time, I was scared to death because I didn't know the guy at all, so I told my dad and he took me to get tested. He wasn't too proud of me for having sex, but me and that guy, we protected ourselves - I do remember that much - and I did go get tested after that, so my dad understood... and still does. We're cool. He doesn't ask me about who I'm having sex with because he knows I'm safe."

"Huh," was all Blaine could say. It was like he was stunned into silence. Smirking, Kurt patted his hands and then rolled back over on his back.

"Before you go thinking I've been throwing myself around, I haven't. I've only been with three guys, not counting the drunken first time I had at that party however. One guy was a boy I met at Quinn's house and he too was from East Lima. And then the other two guys were men I met at Scandals and they were both visiting Lima during winter break. That's all. Just four guys."

"I sort of feel inadequate," Blaine said plainly, darting his gaze over to Kurt. "I mean, you're what - sixteen? seventeen? - and you've already dated guys and had sex. And then there's me, who's seventeen and never even kissed a boy. Wow."

"Actually I'm almost eighteen. Just a few weeks to go-"

"Really? I had no idea."

"After my mom's death, I took some time off. I- I was young and I couldn't deal with it, I guess. So my dad kept me home while I saw a therapist and then when I went back, I was too far behind to catch up, so I stayed back a year. Thus, almost eighteen and a junior in high school."

"Wow. I didn't know that."

"Of course you didn't. Most people don't except for maybe some of the seniors who remember me being in their class and Puckerman. We were in class together until my mom died and then he moved up with the rest of our old class. He's a little younger than me, but he got held back later - all his fault though. Skipped class too much in junior high."

"I didn't know you and Noah went back that far."

"We only started being friends last year, so I'm not about to sing his praises."

Blaine nodded, rolling on his side to stare at Kurt, and Kurt matched his position, turning over as well to watch Blaine. "When I first met you, I actually thought you were closer than that. Like best friends even."

"Yeah, well, no. He and Finn used to bully me years ago but we moved on. Still not that close though."

"Finn used to bully you?"

"Yeah. He and the other guys on the team used to chase me down and pelt me with piss balloons. One time they even nailed all our lawn furniture to our roof - though I have no idea how they did that."

"Finn? Finn as in your brother Finn?!"

"Don't sound so surprised. He is a jock. It's just... back then he was one of those guys and when our parents started dating, he realized how shitty he was acting and he backed off. He's apologized, tons of times even, and so has Puck. We're cool now."

"But, I don't-" Blaine trailed off. His wide eyes fell onto Kurt and just the look in them made Kurt want to scoot closer and pull his friend into a hug; he looked so upset that Finn was one of Kurt's old bullies, like someone had just taken his trust in humanity and shattered it. Actually, when Kurt thought about it, it probably felt just like that. Finn was the one who came to Blaine's rescue today and all of a sudden, the idea that Finn hadn't always been such a good guy came crashing down, smearing the heroic action from earlier that afternoon. Maybe Finn Hudson wasn't the guy Blaine thought he was?

Sensing his friend's dilemma, Kurt tried his best to soothe him, "It's really nothing, Blaine. Don't worry about it. People change."

"I know, but- wow. That's awful."

"We're past it. We've grown. He's grown and you saw that personally today. The old Finn would've been right there picking on you. New Finn has his priorities straight. He knows what bullying can do. He's seen what bullying can do and he's trying, he really is. I've forgiven him. Haven't forgotten, but I've forgiven."

"You're so much stronger than I am," Blaine breathed, shaking his head back and forth like he was still in shock. His words cut through Kurt like a knife and he flashed back to the day he came home smelling like a dumpster, tears in his eyes, and hate in his heart. That was the day he took all of his designer clothes and stuffed them into giveaway bags to take to the local union mission. That was the day he bought a box of bleach and changed his hair and it was also the day when old Kurt Hummel died and this new Kurt came to existence.

He wasn't brave. He just wasn't. He wasn't strong or courageous. But Blaine... he was.

Slowly, Kurt reached out, grabbing the other boy's hands within his own, squeezing them tightly when Blaine linked their fingers.

"You're stronger than you know, Abs."

"Yeah, right."

Kurt frowned, memories of a shorter, more broken version of himself staring at his reflection in the mirror came to mind. "You are. You're so strong. You went from being bullied and getting beat up to moving on and becoming a better person. God, you could've turned into something worse. You could've- you could've turned into someone... someone like me." The last bit was whispered, voice feather light, but Blaine heard it well enough that his eyes widened.

"Kurt, no-"

The words that just spilled from his lips finally clicked with his brain and Kurt immediately felt mortified, stunned at what he just admitted. Flinching, he yanked his hands back, almost tugging Blaine forward with the force of his pull, and sat up, one hand going to run through his thick hair while the other gripped Blaine's comforter between tense, white fingers. "I should go."

"Kurt, wait no-"

"Finn!" He yelled, rising from the bed and rushing towards the door. Blaine followed behind, doing his best to try to get Kurt to calm down and talk to him, but the taller boy wasn't having any of it, pushing past Blaine as he ran down the stairs and hopped right into his boots, not bothering to zip them up or anything. "Finn, we've gotta go! Come on!"

Clobbering footsteps came up behind them, followed by the sound of Rachel's voice questioning the rush to leave. "We were just going to practice a duet! Why are you leaving so soon? Kurt!"

Blaine turned, ready to argue with his sister when he was shocked into silence after he caught Finn's eye (Finn used to bully me years ago.) Seeing the tall boy standing there made a shiver of fear run up his back and he froze, completely forgetting that he was supposed to be chasing after Kurt. Out on the porch, Kurt didn't wait for his brother to put his shoes on, deciding to go to the Navigator instead.

"Kurt! Wait up!" Finn ran out behind him, Blaine and Rachel slipping out too, but neither sibling followed the boys. They just watched them hop into the SUV without incident and when Kurt did a u-turn in the street and sped off, Rachel turned towards her brother and found him standing there with his hands locked beneath his chin, watery eyes watching the Navigator disappear down their street.

"Blaine, what happened?"

"I... I don't even know."

Unfortunately enough, he wouldn't be able to find out because the very next morning, Kurt Hummel got suspended for a week after he walked right into the school, stormed up to Azimio Adams' locker, and punched the kid square in the nose, breaking it on impact.

A/N: The boys are getting closer. Kurt's letting his guard way, way down and Blaine's learning more about his new friend. Things are happening people! Exciting things! Well, sorta. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. Review please? With a cherry on top?