Hey guys! Sorry this one has taken me extra long. Every time I sat down to write I got sidetracked, which wasn't very often, because I've been busy too. And this week is going to be crazy too since I'm in charge of the decorating crew for our formal, which is a week from today. But I promise, as soon as that's over, I'll have plenty of time to write. School ends in about a month, so I will have lots of time! :)
As always, I have to thank the special people that inspire me to write. First, a certain someone who hasn't really been much help this time, except for motivating me to "hurry up and finish it" *cough cough* Aaliyah *cough cough* ;) And my two wonderful Twitter friends, Tricia and Taye. Literally the two sweetest girls ever. Plus, the owners of the best Klaine role play! It's been quite fluffy lately lol ( kurtiehummel15 & blainey_baby )
Thank you all for reading, and please please please hit the review button at the bottom of the page and tell me what you think. I love getting your feedback! You're all amazing and I can't thank you enough. Enjoy! :)
(I do NOT own Glee, if I did, Darren's hair would NEVER be gelled!)
Together We Are
Chapter 8
New Beginnings
The week back from summer was always crazy at Dalton. The boys were all catching up and getting settled back in.
Simul wasn't quite as crazy as the rest. It was the smallest dorm and most of them had spent the summer together. They also didn't have as many freshman put in with them.
Most were placed in the dorms on the other side of campus with the boys that were there solely because their parents could afford it and didn't want to send them to public schools. And there were the ones that got put into the dorms with the geniuses or the musicians. There were also the ones that were sent there as punishment or because their parents didn't want to put up with them. Then, of course, there was Simul, the dorm for the boys that had been through hell in their old schools.
Out of the hundred and fifty freshman, there were only around ten placed in Simul. Blaine noted that none of them seemed too upset. At first. As the first week progressed, most of them seemed to be adjusting really well, but there was one that he saw wasn't adjusting at all.
Blaine found the boy sitting on the floor in the main living room and he decided to go talk to him.
As he sat down next to him, the boy didn't look up at all.
"Hi," Blaine said quietly.
The boy finally looked up. "You're not going to hurt me, are you?"
Blaine let out a little laugh, remembering when he was afraid of the same thing. "No. Of course not. No one here is going to hurt you, I promise."
The boy didn't look too convinced, but he didn't look terrified anymore.
"I'm Blaine," he said smiling.
"James," the boy replied, returning his smile slightly.
Blaine watched him intently, not sure how to make him feel better. "You're safe here James, we're here to be your friends. No one is going to hurt you," he said again.
"I-I know. It's just that-" He stopped and took a deep breath. "That I've always been treated like crap by everybody. I guess I just assume that everybody's like that."
Blaine nodded. "I know how ya feel."
"Really?" James asked surprised.
"Yeah. I was the same when I got here. I was tortured at my old school, even at home. And I was scared when I got here too, it's a tough adjustment, but it's worth it, I swear," Blaine was smiling when he finished.
James nodded, looking away again.
"Hey, it'll be okay," Blaine said quietly.
They sat in silence for a moment until James looked up.
"Is there any, like recreation stuff here?" he asked.
Blaine smiled. "Yeah. What are you interested in?"
"I kinda like to perform," he answered quietly.
Blaine's smile got bigger. "You mean theatre?"
James nodded, smiling a little at Blaine's smile.
Blaine started telling him about the Dalton theatre program and asking him about all the things he'd done.
Jeff watched the two from the top of the stairs.
"He looks happy," Nick said, walking up behind his boyfriend.
Jeff smiled. "Yeah he does."
"Hey, what's wrong?" Nick asked, seeing the way Jeff was looking at them.
"I'm just so worried about him. He hasn't been himself for the longest time."
Nick placed his hand on Jeff's back. "He seems fine now."
"Yeah, but he's talking about his favorite thing. It's understandable that he's happy," Jeff said, still looking down at the two boys.
"Can I ask you something?" James asked cautiously.
"Yeah, sure," Blaine said, still smiling.
James hesitated, not sure if he should ask or not. "What, uh, what happened?" He asked, placing his fingers on his own cheek.
The smile instantly vanished from Blaine's face and he ran his fingers across the scar on the side of his face, which was barely healed.
"Um, this kid tried to-"
"Oh, there you are Blaine," Jeff said, walking down the stairs, followed by a now concerned Nick. "We've been looking all over for you."
Blaine was a little startled. "Well, here I am. Did you need something?"
"No, just didn't know where you were," Jeff answered.
When the two boys didn't walk away, James stood up. "I'm gonna go upstairs. It was good talking to you."
Blaine smiled up at him. "Yeah, you too."
Jeff watched him walk up the stairs, and then walked over and sat down next to Blaine.
"Are you alright?" Jeff asked.
Blaine raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, why?" he asked, puzzled.
"You've just been acting weird lately."
"I'm fine Jeff. Really," Blaine said unconvincingly.
"Blaine, you've been through hell. No one expects you to be okay."
"Jeff, listen to me. I'm fine," Blaine said again.
"You don't seem to-"
"Stop Jeff! Please," Blaine yelled, getting up off the floor. "Why does no one believe me when I say I'm fine. Just leave me alone," He stormed out of the building, slamming the door behind him.
He started running towards the sidewalk that went all the way around campus, where he and Jeff usually ran.
He stopped when he got to the other side of campus behind the music hall. He sat down on a bench in one of the gardens that had been abandoned.
"Hi Blaine," said a familiar voice behind him, a few minutes later.
Blaine turned around to find Kimmy walking up to him.
"Hi," he answered quietly.
"What brings you here?" she asked, sitting down on the bench beside him.
Blaine looked down. "I just- I wanted to be alone."
"Oh, well do you want me to go?" she asked.
Blaine shook his head. "I realized I didn't really want to be alone," he said softly, trying not to let her see the tears forming in his eyes.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
He had just yelled at Jeff for asking him that exact question. But he didn't care, he shouldn't have yelled at him, because he was right.
"No," he whispered.
Kimmy watched him carefully. "I know I'm just another teacher, but if you need to talk to someone, I'll listen. Anything you say won't go beyond the two of us."
Blaine nodded slowly, taking a deep breath.
They sat in silence for a moment while Blaine tried to calm himself down.
Kimmy just sat next to him quietly, rubbing her hand up and down his back soothingly.
"I'm scared," he finally whispered.
"Of what sweetheart?" she asked just as quietly.
"Of being alone," he replied.
Kimmy closed her eyes. "You're never alone Blaine."
"No Kimmy. I am. Well, I was, I always have been. Until I came here, and now that I know what it's like, I'm scared of not having it."
"I'd be worried if you weren't scared of that," she said quietly.
Blaine sat quietly, thinking. He remembered his recurring nightmare about Coop, and the tears spilled over.
Kimmy was still watching him. "Is there something else?"
He found it strange how easy it was to open up to her.
"I miss my brother," he finally answered.
She closed her eyes and bit her lip, then she put her arm around his shoulder and she watched as he started crying.
"Shh. It's alright," she whispered, trying to calm him down.
She looked out to the bushes for the familiar pair of eyes she knew she'd find. She just stared at them, not saying anything while Blaine was still there.
Then he sat up. "I'm sorry, y-you probably didn't want to hear that. I'm just gonna go."
"Blaine, like I said, I may just be your teacher, but I'm always here for you guys. No matter what's wrong," she said. "The Warblers are a family, and family is always there for each other."
He nodded and smiled. "Thank you Kimmy," he whispered, wiping the tears from his face.
"You go on home," she said, waving him in the direction he came.
Once he was out of sight, she walked over to the bushes.
"You heard all that, right?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah."
She looked at him closer, and saw that he was crying. "Then you know what you need to do?"
He nodded again. "I know."
"Good. Then let's go before someone sees you," she said, pulling him off the ground and towards her car.
Later that night, Blaine found himself outside of Jeff's room, though he didn't have the courage to go in. So he was sitting on the floor in the hallway.
"Hey," Nick said, walking out of his room and making Blaine jump.
Nick sat down beside him and stared at him. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to go apologize. I don't want him to hate me," Blaine answered quietly.
Nick sighed. "Can I tell you something?"
Blaine nodded, waiting patiently.
"You're his best friend Blaine. He thinks of you as a brother and he could never hate you. There's absolutely nothing you could do that would change that."
Blaine was staring at him. "H- he thinks of me as his best friend?"
Nick nodded. "Yeah. He said that to me just last night." He then stood up. "You should probably go talk to him."
Blaine sat there for another moment and then got up as well.
Nick smiled and patted Blaine on the back. Then he walked back into his room.
Blaine walked to the door, took a deep breath, and knocked quietly.
"Come in," Jeff answered.
Blaine opened the door slowly. He walked in and closed it behind him, though he didn't walk any farther into the room. He found Jeff laying on his bed with a book in his hand.
Jeff gave him a small, soft smile. Then he gestured for him to come sit with him.
Blaine hesitated, but then slowly walked to the bed and sat down.
"I- I'm sorry Jeff, I don't know what-"
Jeff was shaking his head. "You don't need to apologize. I understand, it's alright."
They sat in silence for a moment. "But you were right," Blaine finally said quietly.
"Right about what?" Jeff asked confused.
"I'm not really okay," he answered slowly.
Jeff watched him carefully.
"But I just w- want to forget what happened this summer, and try to find something to be happy about this year."
"Good. I'd be worried if you wanted to dwell on that. And you'll find something, I know you will," Jeff said, still watching Blaine.
Blaine just stared at him. "I am sorry for freaking out on you though."
"I'm sorry for prying. I just get worried about you sometimes. You're my best friend Blaine, and I don't want to lose you." He took a deep breath before he continued. "That night on the beach, I didn't know if we would find you, and I was scared out of my mind. And then when we did find you, and I didn't know if you were ali-"
Blaine pulled him into a tight hug, interrupting him. "You're not going to lose me. I'm not going anywhere," he whispered.
When Jeff pulled back, he saw that Blaine had tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry."
Blaine smiled at him. "It's alright," he said, wiping the tears from his face.
Jeff looked over at his clock. "It's late, and we have class tomorrow."
Blaine nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you in the morning," he said, walking to the door.
"Alright. Goodnight." He watched him leave and then smiled to himself.
Blaine walked back to his room and crawled into his bed. He laid down and closed his eyes. When he finally fell asleep, for the first time in a long time, he didn't have a nightmare.
The next week in Warblers practice, Kimmy announced that they would be performing a little number for the school for preparation for sectionals.
All the boys were excited. They loved performing for the school.
"Alright, settle down," Kimmy shouted. "This will happen on Friday in the courtyard right outside the hall. Now, everybody go home and get some rest, you all seem really tired."
When Blaine got up, he saw Kimmy watching him, and he smiled at her. She smiled back and nodded at him.
Jeff, not noticing that, walked up to Blaine with Nick at his side.
"Hey Blaine," Nick said, seeming happier than his usual self.
"Hey," Blaine replied, a little nervous about why he was so happy.
"So?" Nick asked, practically jumping up and down.
"What?" Blaine asked, confused.
"Are you excited? For the song I mean."
"Oh, yeah I guess."
"Sorry, he has an obsession," Jeff said, trying to calm Nick down.
Blaine laughed a little. "It's alright. It's kinda funny."
Nick glared at him, which made both Jeff and Blaine laugh even harder.
"Come on, let's go home," Jeff said between laughs, wrapping his arm around Nick's waist.
Nick took Jeff's hand and let Jeff pull him to the door, with Blaine on his other side.
Kimmy watched them leave and the way they acted around each other.
"He'll be okay," she said to herself quietly.
Friday afternoon, Blaine was walking to the courtyard, though he was having a hard time because all of the boys were running there to get a good spot.
"Excuse me?" he heard someone say behind him.
He turned around and stopped, staring into the eyes that met his, and smiled.
"Hi," Blaine said quietly.
The boy stared back, also smiling. "Hi," he said.
"I'm, uh, new here, and I was wondering if you could tell me what's happening."
Blaine's face lit up even more. "Oh, well the Warblers are about to perform. I'm Blaine, by the way." He held out his hand to the boy.
"I'm Kurt," he said taking his hand, holding it a little longer than necessary, and gazing into Blaine's eyes "The Warblers?" he questioned.
Blaine nodded.
"So your glee club is actually, you know, cool," he asked.
"Yeah, we're kind of like legends I guess. No, I'm just kidding, they all just love us. Come on," Blaine said, taking Kurt's hand again. "I'll take you."
Kurt smiled even more, and followed behind Blaine through the now empty hallway.
When they got outside, Blaine made his way to the front of the crowd.
"There he is!" Blaine heard Jeff yell.
Blaine turned to Kurt. "If you'll excuse me," he said just as the music started.
Kurt watched him, a confused look on his face at first, but it then turned to a smile as he realized that he was singing.
You think I'm pretty without any make-up on
You think I'm funny when I tell the punch line wrong
I know you get me, so I let my walls come down, down
Before you met me, I was a wreck
But things were kinda heavy, you brought me to life
Now every February you'll be my valentine, valentine
Let's go all the way tonight
No regrets, just love
We can dance until we die
You and I, we'll be young forever
Blaine looked up to see Kurt staring at him, and he smiled at him.
Jeff was trying to see what Blaine was staring at. He finally saw what it was and recognized the boy from the airport. He smiled at the way they were staring at each other.
I'ma get your heart racing in my skin-tight jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight
Let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight
You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream
The way you turn me on, I can't sleep
Let's runaway and don't ever look back
Don't ever look back
My heart stops when you look at me
Just one touch, now baby I believe
This is real, so take a chance
And don't ever look back, don't ever look back
I'ma get your heart racing in my skin-tight jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight
Let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans
Be your teenage dream tonight
When the song ended the boys were all laughing and complimenting each other on their dance moves.
Blaine walked to Kurt, who was clapping just like the rest of the boys that were watching.
"What did you think?" he asked.
"That was incredible," Kurt replied, still smiling.
Blaine smiled back and stared at him. He jumped when Wes and David walked up behind him.
"Hey, Kimmy needs to talk to you," Wes whispered in Blaine's ear.
Blaine furrowed his eyebrows. "Okay, I'll see you later-" Blaine started to say to Kurt.
"No, he needs to come too," David said, watching Kurt carefully.
Blaine followed David inside the music hall to find Kimmy.
"Hey Kimmy, what's up?" Blaine asked, walking up to her.
She gestured for him to follow her over to a corner of the hall.
The other three boys stood there awkwardly, waiting for Blaine to come back. When he did come back, he told them to follow him into one of the rehearsal rooms.
They all sat around one of the round tables that were in the room.
"So, Kurt," Blaine started.
Kurt looked at him questioningly.
"We know you don't go to school here, and we also know that you're here to spy on us," he said slowly.
Kurt looked down at his hands.
"Some woman named, what was it?" he asked, looking at Wes. "I think was Sue, she was really strange, she said that you're from the McKinley glee club."
Kurt finally looked up, rolling his eyes when he heard the name, but looking kind of nervous.
Wes smiled at him. "We aren't mad Kurt, it's alright."
Kurt nodded slightly. "Can I ask you guys something?"
Wes nodded. "Yeah, shoot."
"A- are you all gay?" he asked slowly.
Blaine laughed, scaring the other three boys at the table. "No, well I am, but they both have, well sort of, have girlfriends."
David looked like he wanted to punch Blaine, which only made him laugh harder.
Kurt looked back down at his hands.
Blaine stopped laughing when he saw Kurt's face and he stared at him.
"C- could you guys excuse us," Blaine said to Wes and David, not taking his eyes off of Kurt.
"Yeah, sure," Wes said, getting up and smiling at Kurt.
"See ya back at home Blaine, and it was good to meet you Kurt," David said, getting up and following behind Wes.
Blaine kept staring at Kurt. "I take it things still aren't going to great at your school."
Kurt shook his head. "No, it's not," he said quietly, still looking down.
"Hey," Blaine said, trying to get Kurt to look at him. "What's the matter Kurt?"
He took a deep breath, finally looking up. "I'm not really accepted at my school."
"What do you mean?" Blaine asked softly.
"I'm the only, um, outed gay," he answered. "I get shoved into lockers and thrown into dumpsters and beat up all the time," he whispered.
Blaine bit his lip and finally looked away. "I know what that's like."
"Y-you do?" Kurt asked.
Blaine nodded. "Yeah, my dad found out about me and he, uh, literally kicked me out of the house."
Kurt looked down again. "I'm so sorry."
Blaine nodded. "We aren't talking about me though. And the way I see it, you have two choices."
Kurt raised his eyebrows.
"You could transfer here and not worry about anything because of the no bullying policy. But I understand that tuition is a little pricy and it's not for everyone. The other choice is to stand up to them. Make sure that they understand that they don't own you, and that you're proud of who you are, no matter what they think."
Kurt smiled a little. "It's really just one of them," he said quietly.
"What?" Blaine asked.
"There's only really one bully that's getting to me," he said again.
Blaine nodded. "Don't let him get to you Kurt."
"I try," he whispered, tears starting to form in his eyes, but he wiped them away quickly.
"Hey," Blaine said, getting up and kneeling down beside Kurt's chair and placing a hand on top his.
Kurt looked down at him.
"It's alright," Blaine whispered, squeezing Kurt's hand a little. "All it takes is courage," he said, remembering what his mom said to him.
Kurt nodded and smiled. "I should, um, get back to Lima," he said quietly.
Blaine nodded and squeezed his hand again before getting up, and walking over to a book shelf to find paper.
"Here," Blaine said, handing Kurt the paper that now had his number on it. "If he does anything to you again, text me, alright?"
Kurt nodded, taking the rest of the paper and writing down his own number.
"Thank you," Kurt whispered.
Blaine nodded, taking Kurt's hand again. "Anytime."
Kurt finally pulled his hand away reluctantly when his phone rang. He looked down and answered it.
"What?" he growled into the phone.
There was a pause, and Blaine started to walk away, but Kurt motioned for him to stay.
"Wait wh- what happened? No, Rachel shut up, I'll be home soon, I promise," Kurt said, not nearly as harsh as his greeting. "I know, he's a bastard, but I have to go okay?"
Blaine looked at him confused. He then heard the girls voice on the other end of the phone.
"Did you meet any cute-" she started to say, but he cut her off.
"Bye Rachel," he said, hanging up and shoving the phone back in his pocket.
Blaine raised his eyebrows questioningly.
Kurt sighed. "She's having boyfriend problems. What's new? But god, I hate her sometimes," he said, groaning.
Blaine was trying hard not to laugh and failing miserably.
Kurt saw his expression, and smiled, staring again.
"Come on, I'll walk you out," Blaine said, once again taking Kurt's hand, and pulling him out of the building.
When they got to the parking lot, Blaine followed Kurt to his car.
"Well, I'll see you later Kurt," Blaine said quietly. "It was nice to finally meet you."
Kurt smiled, staring at Blaine again. "Yeah, it was."
With one last smile, Kurt closed his door and pulled out of the parking lot.
Blaine stared after him, still smiling.
"You alright?" asked someone behind him.
Blaine jumped, and then turned around to find Jeff watching him. "Yeah, I am," he answered, still smiling.
Jeff walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "What happened?" he whispered.
"We just talked," Blaine whispered back. "But it was more than I could have ever hoped for."
Jeff smiled. "It's good to see you happy."
Blaine's smile got bigger.
"Come on, let's go back home." Jeff grabbed his wrist and pulled him back towards Simul.
A few days later, as Blaine was walking to class with Nick and Jeff, he pulled out his phone and sent Kurt a text.
"Courage..." was all he typed. He looked down at it, smiling, remembering his mom again.
"What are you smiling about?" Jeff asked, smiling at how happy he looked.
Blaine hit send and then looked up, still smiling. "Nothing."
Jeff watched him for a moment longer, but then let it go.
Blaine could hear Nick and Jeff talking, but he wasn't listening, he was too lost in thought to pay attention.
He was thinking about Kurt, and how happy he was that they had finally met. He felt bad for him, that he had to put up with the same crap that he had, and he wished there was something that he could do for him. He hated to see someone else go through that, especially someone as sweet as Kurt.
"Isn't that right Blaine?" Nick asked, interrupting Blaine's train of thought.
"Huh?" Blaine asked, looking up at them.
Nick and Jeff laughed together.
"Never mind," Nick said, still laughing.
Blaine glared at them, but kept walking.
The three finally parted ways when they got to the main building and headed towards class.
"Hey Blaine," said Trent, walking up behind him.
"Oh, hey Trent, how are-" Blaine started to say, by was interrupted by his phone. "Hold on," he said, pulling out his phone.
He smiled when he saw the name on the caller ID. "Hey Kurt."
He paused, listening to the frantic voice on the other side of the phone.
"Shh, Kurt, calm down. It's all right," he said.
Trent looked at him, becoming worried.
"I'll be there as soon as I can." Blaine hung up the phone and then turned to Trent.
"I have to go, tell Nick and Jeff that I went to Lima, I'll be back later," Blaine said in a rush.
"Alright. But what the hell happened?" Trent asked.
"I'll tell you later," Blaine said, already walking back towards the front of campus.
Once he got out of the building, he started running towards the parking lot. He jumped into his car and sped all the way to McKinley.
When he pulled into the school, he sent Kurt a text telling him that he was there.
He got out of the car and sat down on the hood of it, waiting for Kurt. A few minutes later, he saw him walk out of one of the side doors, looking around.
Blaine got up and started walking towards Kurt. When he got closer to him, he saw that he looked really upset.
Kurt started walking faster when he saw him. He threw his arms around Blaine when he got to him.
Blaine was a little surprised at first, but hugged him back. "Hey, it's alright," he whispered into Kurt's ear.
Kurt relaxed into Blaine's touch, welcoming the comfort. He finally pulled back and looked down at his feet.
"I- I'm sorry," Kurt said, still looking down.
Blaine leaned down, trying to catch Kurt's eye. "It's alright Kurt. Just tell me what happened." He gestured for Kurt to follow him back to his car.
Kurt followed, staying close beside Blaine. "H- he shoved me into a locker, so I followed him to stand up to him, just like you told me to."
Blaine watched him carefully.
"And as I was trying to ask him what his problem with me is, he k- kissed me," Kurt finished quietly.
Blaine started rubbing circles on his back, trying to make him relax. "Is it alright if I go talk to him?"
"If you think that's a good idea," Kurt said slowly.
"It's gonna be okay, I promise," Blaine said softly, seeing that Kurt was still a little shaken up.
Kurt nodded slowly.
"Show me where he is," he said, starting to walk towards the school.
They walked through the building and out towards a staircase that led down to more classrooms.
"That's him," Kurt said, pointing to a tall boy with brown hair, walking down the staircase.
Blaine nodded and smiled encouragingly at Kurt. "Excuse me," he said, walking up behind the boy.
"Hey! Karofsky!" Kurt yelled when he didn't turn around, scaring Blaine.
Karofsky turned around, glaring at Kurt. "Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me? I thought I made it clear that I don't talk to your kind."
Blaine stepped in front of Kurt. "Hey, that is not okay."
Karofsky stared at Blaine and then at Kurt. He laughed. "You brought your prep school boyfriend to protect you? Wow. You know what? I don't have time for this." He turned around and started walking away.
"Kurt told me what you did," Blaine said quietly.
Karofsky stopped for a moment. "I don't know what you're talking about," he growled.
"Yes you do," Blaine said, walking down the stairs to him.
"Oh yeah, what did he tell you?"
"He told me that you kissed him," Blaine said quietly.
Karofsky frowned and looked at Kurt. "I told you not to tell anyone that." He started walking towards Kurt, ready to punch him in the face, but Blaine pushed him back.
"Look, I know this isn't easy and I just want you to know that we're here to be your friends and to help you get through this," Blaine said, walking closer to him.
Karofsky shoved him against the wall and Blaine put his hands up in surrender. "I don't need your help. Just- just stay away from me!" he shouted, turning and walking away from them.
"Okay then," Blaine said, shaking it off and turning back to Kurt.
Kurt sat down on one of the steps and looked down at his hands.
"Hey," Blaine whispered, sitting down on the step behind him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong Kurt? Why are you still upset?"
He turned his head away from Blaine. "Because before today, I- I had never been kissed, at least not one that counted," he said quietly, still looking away.
Blaine squeezed Kurt's shoulder and bit his lip. "Come on, I'll buy you coffee."
Kurt got up and followed Blaine out to his car.
They drove to the Lima Bean in silence. Blaine could tell that Kurt was still upset and he didn't want to risk making it worse.
When they pulled in to the parking lot, Kurt didn't get out of the car.
"Hey," Blaine said softly. "Are you alright?"
Kurt nodded, looking up and staring into Blaine's eyes. After a moment he sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt.
Blaine smiled at him. "Come on," he said, gesturing towards the building.
Kurt got out and followed Blaine obediently. They ordered and sat down at a table together.
Neither of them said anything for a while. They just sat, drinking their coffee, and looking up at each other from time to time.
"So you're in glee club, right?" Blaine asked, breaking the silence.
Kurt smiled. "Yeah."
"Are you guys going to sectionals?"
"Of course, we wouldn't miss it for the world," Kurt answered.
"Good, because I think-" he started to say, but was once again interrupted by his phone.
"Really?" Blaine said to himself, pulling his phone out. He looked at it and sighed, rolling his eyes. "What?" he said into the phone.
Blaine paused, listening. "Didn't Trent tell you where I was going?"
Kurt looked at him, hoping he didn't get him in trouble with who ever he was on the phone with.
"I'll be home when I'm home Jeff," Blaine said through his teeth.
While he was listening, he looked up at Kurt.
"He's fine, there was just," he paused. "A misunderstanding."
Kurt looked away, grateful that Blaine didn't say anything.
"No, I probly won't be back in time for practice. Just tell Kimmy that I had something to take care of, she'll understand."
Blaine tried to catch Kurt's gaze, but he wouldn't look up.
"Yeah, I'll see you then, bye," Blaine said, hanging up the phone. "Kurt. Look at me."
Kurt reluctantly looked up, trying to put on his best poker face.
"Are you sure you're alright?" he whispered, desperately wanting to cheer him up.
Kurt shook his head slowly. "No," he said, so quietly that Blaine barely heard him.
Blaine stared at him intently. "What's bothering you?"
Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"You don't have to tell me Kurt, it's alright," Blaine said.
They sat in silence for a long moment while Kurt tried to compose himself.
"I'm scared of him," Kurt finally said.
"That Karofsky kid?" Blaine asked quietly.
Kurt nodded.
Blaine looked at him sympathetically. He went to reach across the table to take his hand, but thought better of it, and put it back in his lap.
"You can't-" he started, but was once again interrupted by his phone ringing. "Oh my god!" he said, irritated.
Kurt cracked a smile.
"Oh, you think this is funny?" Blaine asked, smiling too. The smile vanished when he saw the number.
"Hello?" he asked cautiously.
Kurt looked at him in concern, not sure what to think.
"Did something happen, I mean, is he alright?" Blaine asked in a rush.
Kurt saw that Blaine was starting to look scared. He had a look of disbelief on his face.
"So you moved him? Should I come or..."
Kurt very faintly heard the voice on the other end.
"Blaine, I'm not sure how much longer he's going to be here."
Blaine bit his lip as a tear spilled over. He close his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'll be there soon, thank you for letting me know." He set his phone down on the table, not opening his eyes. "This isn't happening," he whispered to himself. "This can't happen, not now, not yet."
Kurt wasn't sure what to do. "Are you alright?"
Blaine opened his eyes, remembering where he was, and who he was with. "Yeah, but I need to go."
"Alright," Kurt said, standing up.
Blaine stood up too, and walked out to his car with Kurt by his side. When they got in the car, Blaine took a shaky breath before taking his keys out.
Kurt watched him and stopped him from putting the keys in the ignition, when he saw how bad his hand was shaking. He took the keys out of his hand, replacing them with his own hand, and intertwining their fingers.
Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand, trying to find comfort their and trying to calm himself down.
Kurt squeezed his hand back and watched him carefully, curious as to what was wrong with him.
Blaine leaned his head back on the seat and started crying.
"Hey, shh, it's alright," Kurt whispered.
Blaine nodded, quickly wiping the tears from his eyes. "Sorry, I-I need to go," he said, starting the car but never letting go of Kurt's hand.
"Okay," Kurt said softly, looking down at their hands.
They pulled back into the school parking lot and Blaine turned off the car.
"Do you wanna talk about it Blaine?" Kurt asked slowly.
Blaine closed his eyes and shook his head.
"I'll see you later then, alright?"
Blaine nodded. "Okay," he whispered.
Kurt tried to get out of the car, but was stopped when Blaine didn't let go of his hand. "I kinda need my hand Blaine," Kurt said.
When Blaine didn't let go, Kurt closed the door and pulled him into a tight hug, gently rocking him back and forth and rubbing circles on his back.
Blaine took a deep breath, wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist and resting his head on his shoulder.
They sat in silence for a while. The only sounds were Blaine's occasional sniffling and Kurt telling him it was alright.
"Blaine, you should go wherever it is you needed to go," Kurt said quietly, breaking the silence.
Blaine pulled away reluctantly. "Yeah, you're right."
Kurt looked at him and gently wiped a tear from his face. "Text me if you ever want to talk, okay?"
Blaine nodded. "Thank you, Kurt."
Kurt smiled. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see ya," Blaine replied, letting go of Kurt's hand and watching him get out of the car.
When Kurt got into the school, Blaine pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Hey, Jeff? I need you to meet me at the hospital, Dan's not doing too well."
"Blaine?" Jeff asked, walking around the corner into the waiting room followed by Nick.
Blaine lifted his head up to look at his friend.
"Hey, what happened?" Jeff asked, sitting down and putting an arm around him when he saw that he was crying.
Blaine leaned in to him, too upset to answer.
"Shh, it's alright, calm down," Jeff whispered, getting scared and expecting the worst.
"Here," Nick said, handing Jeff a bottle of water.
"Thanks sweetie. Can you maybe go find a nurse to tell us what happened?" Jeff asked.
"Yeah, sure, I'll be back in a sec," Nick said, walking over to a nurses station.
Jeff opened the bottle of water and handed it to Blaine.
Blaine took the bottle from him and took a sip, and then handed it back to Jeff.
Nick walked back over with one of the doctors, who sat down across from Blaine and Jeff.
"Alright, I'm Doctor Hodges, I've been working on Dan's case since he first came in," he said, holding his hand out to Jeff.
"I'm Jeff," he said, shaking the doctor's hand.
"So, a few hours ago, his heart rate started to slow down, and it almost stopped completely. He's stable now, but it didn't look very good for a while, and I'm not sure how long he's going to be here. We still don't know what it is that's doing this to him, but I promise, as soon as I find out, you will be the first to know."
"Thank you sir," Jeff said.
The doctor nodded and got up and walked back to where he was before.
Jeff closed his eyes, trying to control himself.
"Blaine, do you want to go see him?" Jeff asked quietly.
"I already did," he replied just as quietly.
Jeff nodded and rubbed his back.
"I'm going home," Blaine said, abruptly standing up and scaring the other two boys.
"Okay," Jeff said, standing up too.
Nick and Jeff followed Blaine out of the hospital and down to the parking lot.
Blaine got into his car without a word and drove off.
Jeff took Nick's hand in his and let a tear spill over.
Nick walked over to Jeff's car and they both got in.
"It's okay Jeff," Nick whispered, taking his hand again and kissing away a tear on his face.
Jeff nodded. "Let's go home," he whispered.
Nick held onto Jeff's hand the whole drive back. He only let go so they could get out of the car, and then took his hand once more when he got to Jeff's side of the car.
When they walked into Simul, Trent, David, and Cameron were standing at the door.
"Jeff! What the hell happened?" Cameron asked. "Blaine just came in crying and then ran up to his room."
Jeff took a deep breath and squeezed Nick's hand. "Dan's not going to live much longer," he answered quietly.
"Oh my god," Trent said to himself.
Jeff looked around at them all and then pulled Nick to the stairs with him.
They walked into Jeff's room and Nick pulled him onto the bed, wrapping his arms around his waist and pulling him as close as he could.
"Nick?" Jeff asked softly.
"I'm here sweetie," Nick replied, running a hand through Jeff's blonde hair.
"I'm scared," Jeff said.
"Of what?" Nick asked, becoming more and more concerned.
"Of what's going to happen, I'm scared of Dan dying, and how Blaine's going to react." His voice broke as he finished.
Nick held him tighter, trying not to get upset himself. "Whatever happens, we just have to be there for him, and we have to let him know that he doesn't have to go through it alone."
Jeff nodded, calming down a little and relaxing into Nick's arms.
"You should go talk to him, make sure he's okay," Nick whispered.
Jeff nodded and reluctantly pulled away. He leaned towards Nick and kissed him gently before walking towards the door.
"I'll be back," Jeff said quietly, and disappeared into the hallway.
He knocked softly on Blaine's door, and when there was no answer, he opened the door slowly.
"Blaine?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake him up if he was asleep.
He walked in all the way when he saw the empty bed. He looked around and saw Blaine in a corner with a half empty glass bottle beside him.
"Blaine, what the hell are you doing?" Jeff asked, walking over and kneeling down beside him.
Blaine turned away and leaned his head against the wall.
Jeff picked up the bottle. "What did you think this was going to do Blaine?" he asked quietly.
"It helped before," Blaine mumbled, still not looking at Jeff.
"What do you mean before?" Jeff questioned, a little shocked.
"This summer, with Louis. It made me forget. I was happy." He was barely even talking now.
Jeff bit his lip. "Blaine," he said quietly as Blaine picked up the bottle again. "Stop, please." He pulled the bottle away and set it down behind him. "This isn't the answer. Talk to me, Blaine. Let me help you, let me be here for you. Don't drink, because it won't make you feel better."
Blaine finally looked up at Jeff. He pulled his knees to his chest and laid his head down and started crying.
Jeff wrapped his arm around Blaine's shoulder and whispered, "Shh."
"Wh-what if he dies, what if he never wakes up?" Blaine asked, leaning into Jeff.
"Don't think like that Blaine."
They sat in silence for a while, Jeff trying to comfort Blaine, and Blaine trying to calm down.
"Can I ask you something?" Jeff whispered, breaking the silence.
"Mhm," Blaine replied, his face buried in Jeff's shoulder.
"Wh- why did you run off to Lima today?" Jeff asked slowly.
Blaine looked up at Jeff, a little nervous about telling him.
Jeff saw the look on his face. "You don't have to tell me Blaine, but you know you can trust me."
Blaine nodded, but hesitated. "I went to see Kurt," he answered quietly.
A small smile grew on Jeff's face. "May I ask why?"
"This bully keeps messing with him, but it turns out he's having his own, um, problems," Blaine said, not wanting to elaborate.
"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.
Blaine looked away, hoping that Jeff would get that he didn't want to tell him.
Jeff watched him carefully, and nodded, squeezing his shoulder. "So what did you and Kurt do?" Jeff asked, trying to cheer him up.
Blaine smiled to himself. "We just had coffee at the Lima Bean," he said softly.
Jeff smiled too, happy to see is friend so happy. Blaine suddenly leaned his head down on his shoulder, and leaned into him.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Jeff asked, a little shocked.
A tear slid down Blaine's face. "What if he turns out to be like Blue?" he asked in barely a whisper.
"Blaine, he's not Blue." Jeff thought for a moment, watching him. "Does that mean that you like him?"
Blaine leaned farther into Jeff, trying to move his head so that he couldn't see his face.
Jeff sighed, knowing that that was a yes.
Blaine closed his eyes and relaxed, almost falling asleep.
"You should go to bed and try to get some sleep," Jeff whispered.
"I know," Blaine said, though he was slurring, partly from the alcohol, and partly because he was half asleep.
"Come on," Jeff said, pulling Blaine off the floor and practically carried him to his bed. He laid him down gently and pulled a blanket over him.
The second his head hit the pillow, he was asleep. Jeff walked over to the bottle on the floor and picked it up. He walked to the door, flipping off the lights.
"Goodnight Blaine," he said quietly, closing the door behind him.
He walked back to his room and found Nick curled up and asleep on the bed. So he hid the bottle in his closet quietly, and crawled into bed with Nick, wrapping his arm around his waist.
"Jeff?" Nick asked softly.
"Yeah, it's me, go back to sleep."
Nick rolled over and curled up next to him, burying his face in his chest.
Jeff pulled him closer. "I love you Nick."
"I love you too," Nick replied, relaxing into Jeff's arms.