Okay, so this is the newest chapter :) I don't particularly like it, but flossticle said she did, so I guess thats okay :) Hopefully the next one won't take too long. i have more of an idea as to where Im going now, so thats a positive :) Feel free to send reviews and let me know what you think :)

Four

'That's horrible.' Kathryn reached out, pressing a hand against Blaine's shoulder. He flinched, but didn't pull away. 'If it's any consolation, no one knows what really happened.'

'It's not actually.' He frowned, carefully analysing his shoes. 'They know enough.'

'You can't let them get to you, Blaine! They're idiots!'

'They rule our social hierarchy! If the popular kids treat you like dirt...?' he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. 'There's nothing I can do about it, Kathryn.'

She squeezed his arm. 'You have to be strong.'

But Blaine only shook his head and stood up, letting Kathryn's hand drop to her lap. 'I can't. Not when they spend every waking moment doing the best they can to torture me.'

'Is it really that bad?'

He bit his lip and nodded, stepping behind one of the shelves and searching it for something to draw his mind of them. Off the taunts and the whispers. On the other side of the shelf, Kathryn stood up, eyeing him carefully.

'And they don't even know for sure,' he whispered. 'They're only guessing. It would be that much worse if I came out about it.'

The rest of the day, Blaine kept to himself. During his classes, he tried his hardest to keep his eyes on the board or the teacher, never looking either way at any of his classmates. At lunch, he crept out into the parking lot and sat in his car, eyeing the main building in his review mirror as he ate.

And as soon as the final bell rang, he was out the door and sliding back into his car. He pulled his glasses from the glove box and pulled them on, backing out of the parking lot and towards the highway.

He felt like he had revealed his most inner secrets to someone, and they'd stomped all over them. And maybe he had, except Kathryn hadn't done any stomping. She'd actually been rather great about it. She hadn't bagged him out for admitting he was gay. She hadn't told him they were in the right to pick on him. She'd only been the supportive friend he'd needed at the time.

But it still felt wrong.

He climbed the stairs to his bedroom, ignoring the calls from his mother to tell her about his day and instead slammed the door behind him, lying down on the bed and crying like he'd promised himself he wouldn't cry.

There was a buzz from his cell and he picked it up, glancing at the screen.

1 new message: kathryn

He flipped the phone open, reading the message through watery eyes.

i feel like i've offended you... can we talk? tomorrows saturday... come get coffee with me? please?

Blaine gnawed at his lower lip, his fingers hovering over the keys.

god, what am i doing? sure. ill pick you up at 9

'I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable.'

'It's okay.' Blaine ran a thumb across his jaw, holding his coffee up to his lips to hide his face.

'No, it's not. I pushed where I shouldn't have pushed and I offered my opinion where it wasn't wanted. I should have known you'd take it badly.' She'd let down her hair and it curled gently around her shoulders, making her face look a little chubby. Her eyeliner was slightly smudged and she hadn't bothered to reapply lip balm.

'What I want to know,' Blaine said slowly, measuring each of his words as they formed. 'Is why you have such a big interest in me. Yes, I'm your charity case, I get that. But what sent you to me? You never seem to give me a straight answer, and that's what I want right now.' He frowned. 'I was honest with you, so I want you to be honest with me.'

She curled a tendril of hair around a finger and took another sip of her coffee. 'Would you believe me if I said I didn't really know?'

Blaine grit his teeth. 'Probably not.'

'Well, it's true. I'd never even heard of you before the rumours started-'

'That's not a great start to this conversation, Kathryn.'

A wan smile crossed her features. 'I know. But hear me out.' She put down her cup and held out her hand, face up on the table, for Blaine to take. He didn't. She continued as if she hadn't noticed. 'It was only when people started talking about you that I noticed you were in some of my classes. We have the same lunch and study hall, and then French. And you always looked so sad and contained. It felt like more than just a couple of rumours.'

'It's not just a couple of rumours,' Blaine said. 'It's only one, really. Blaine Anderson is gay. That's all there is to it.'

She bit her lip but continued. 'I wanted to learn why you were so sad, what made you look so wounded. And a part of me wants to make that look go away.'

'Why do I feel like you're professing your love for me?'

Kathryn smiled like it was a joke, but all Blaine felt was angry and confused. People didn't talk to Blaine Anderson. People avoided Blaine Anderson. And this girl was ruining the system that he'd managed to get used to since that horrible day at the end of Freshman year.

'I don't think I can deal with having someone like you around me at the moment,' he said cautiously, gauging her reaction. She only smiled.

'You can't push me away that easily, Blaine. I will fight to make you happy, so long as you promise to give me someone to chat to when I'm feeling down. See, its a win win.'

He didn't really see how it was a win at all for him, but he nodded and took another sip of his coffee. 'So, what does being friends with you entail?'

Kathryn shrugged her shoulders. 'Sit with me at lunch, talk to me during French. Answer my texts and when I need someone to come over and watch movies with, offer to be that person.'

Blaine nodded hesitantly. 'Fine.' The girl grinned widely and took a sip of her own coffee before leaning back in her chair and nodding silently to herself.

It looked like Blaine Anderson had found himself a new best friend. Whether he liked it or not.