Chapter 4: Run Away

Blaine looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, as opposed to the worry lines engraved into his forehead as almost a constant when he was conscious. Kurt smiled down at him, gasping softly when Blaine snuggled further into the warmth of Kurt's side. So Blaine liked to cuddle. Kurt grinned. He didn't mind that at all. To be honest, it just felt nice to feel again. He hadn't been so physically close to someone in so long, and he'd forgotten how nice it felt to be hugged and kissed. Blaine seemed to be the perfect remedy for his loneliness and craving for physical closeness.

This can only last so long, he reminded himself sadly. He rubbed Blaine's back as he held him, lying down on the layers of blankets they'd set out to sleep on. Kurt and Nick had thought of just about anything when stocking the tree house full of things they needed for their hangout. The blankets made a much more comfortable place to lie down, and the bean bag made a perfect pillow.

"Kurt?" Blaine mumbled sleepily, not looking up. Kurt looked down at Blaine again and smiled.

"Hi, sleepyhead," he said. "You didn't sleep very long… Are you alright?"

"Fine," Blaine answered quickly, his voice cracking.

"You don't sound fine," Kurt said skeptically.

"I had a nightmare," Blaine admitted quietly, burying his face in Kurt's chest.

"Do you have nightmares a lot?" Kurt asked, already knowing the answer. Blaine just nodded, tears escaping his eyes and wetting Kurt's shirt. They were both just wearing t-shirts and blue jeans—who knows how Kurt managed to fit into Blaine's too-small clothing, though?—from Blaine's backpack in place of their slush-soiled clothes they had before. "Do you want to tell me about it?" Blaine sniffled and nodded again.

"This time it was about Karofsky, the leader of the jocks and bullies. He cornered me and wouldn't stop hitting me. And right before I passed out, the dream ended and I woke up," he said quietly.

"You don't need to be afraid of him anymore," Kurt promised. "I'm going to protect you with everything I have in me. I won't let anyone hurt you."

Blaine looked up at him in shock. "W-Why?"

"Because I care about you, silly," Kurt smiled. "And because no one deserves that kind of torment or abuse."

"Kurt?" he asked, looking distracted.

"Yes?"

"Can I kiss you again?"

"If you want to," Kurt nodded, blushing lightly.

"I want to." Blaine leaned up and pressed his lips to Kurt's, his face still wet with tears. "I know we just met," he whispered between kisses that left him breathless. "But I feel… like I can trust you." Another kiss. "And I love being your best friend and you being mine," he breathed out quickly, swooping in for another kiss. "But I want to know if there's any chance… of us being more?" Reluctantly, he stopped kissing Kurt for a moment, giving him the chance to answer.

Kurt stared at him blankly, eyes wide. He mouthed wordlessly, speechless. "I…" he trailed off, his heart racing after their kiss. He swallowed thickly, trying to find his voice. "I can't," he whispered, hating the look of heartbreak and disappointment on Blaine's face.

"I'm sorry," Blaine immediately sad, flinching away from Kurt's embrace and sitting up. He curled up into himself, wrapping his arms around his legs as he pulled them to his chest. "I shouldn't have even asked… I'm sorry. You probably don't even like me that way and… I just ruined everything and now I can't even have my best friend and… I'm just a total screw up," he declared in panic and distress, hiding his face in his knees.

Kurt reached out and tried to grab his hands, but Blaine wouldn't let him. He continued suppressing his sobs and his shoulders shook with the effort. "Blaine, that's not—"

"You're just like the rest of them, then," Blaine said angrily, his voice betraying him by cracking pathetically. "You made me think that you actually cared for me and that you wouldn't let anyone hurt me and then you hurt me!" he cried brokenly, looking up at Kurt. He saw tears in his eyes as he sat there, stunned, but he didn't care enough to stop. "I said I didn't want to get attached because it would only make it hurt worse, but you made me fall for you with your stupid beautiful eyes and… and your stupid beautiful smile… and your stupid beautiful words!" he finished, glowering at Kurt.

"Blaine, please," Kurt begged, his chest tight. "Stop… You don't mean that… I know you don't. Please…"

"I never want to see you again!" Blaine choked out through his sobs. "It hurts too much because you actually made me care about you, and now I can't have you…" He looked down again, backing away until his back was against one of the tree house walls.

He was so conflicted. On one hand, he just wanted to fall into Kurt's arms and forget that the whole thing was one big joke. But a part of him still said he couldn't do that. Sure, he could have been fine if Kurt had told him sooner that he didn't like him in that way. He would have been disappointed, but he'd get over it. He would have been just fine, eventually, if Kurt hadn't sent such mixed signals. He made Blaine think there was a chance for something more when there obviously wasn't. Kurt had broken his promise; he'd said he wouldn't let anyone hurt Blaine. Now, Blaine was more hurt than he'd ever been by what his bullies at school did, because he'd always known they couldn't care less about him. He was more hurt than when his parents practically disowned him, because he'd always known, even if he hated to admit it, that they never even loved him. It was Cooper, the perfect son, who they praised. While they left Blaine to rot.

It hurt more than ever because he actually cared what Kurt thought. He cared, probably too much, if Kurt cared about him like that. He cared if Kurt hurt him, because Kurt was important to him. And now he was being ripped from Blaine's reach.

After wiping roughly at his eyes to clear the blinding tears away, he grabbed his backpack and started climbing down the ladder, leaving Kurt dumbfounded. He'd gotten about halfway down the ladder before he heard Kurt's voice from above. "Blaine! Please wait! I didn't mean… I don't know what I meant. But I definitely didn't mean to hurt you."

"Congratulations, you tore me apart without even trying," Blaine snapped. "Leave me alone, Kurt." He climbed down faster, Kurt following quickly behind.

"Please," Kurt begged. "Just let me explain…" Kurt felt himself starting to slip away. He could almost see through his arm, and he panicked. He couldn't fail, not now. Not so early on, and not when he'd finally gotten Blaine to open up to him and trust him.

Blaine had nearly reached the ground when Kurt got an idea. It wouldn't be lying, but it would be a bold enough statement to catch Blaine's attention. "Blaine, I love you!" And he did. He loved Blaine. He just didn't think he loved him like that. He loved him and cared about him, but he didn't want to make things more complicated by getting romantically involved. He couldn't do that to Blaine, and he couldn't do it to himself.

"What?" Blaine looked up at him, eyes wide and surprised. He looked hopeful now rather than angry. That was a good sign.

"I said I love you," Kurt repeated, moving lower on the ladder and closer to Blaine.

"I love you, too—ah!" He gasped when he lost his footing on the ladder, falling the last 3-4 feet to the ground. He cried out in pain, holding his ankle. Surprised by the sudden fall, Kurt quickly made his way to the ground and knelt at Blaine's side.

"Blaine…"

"My ankle's broken," Blaine groaned, gritting his teeth and shutting his eyes tightly. "Help me to the car… please."

Kurt nodded quickly and gently helped him up from the ground, grabbing Blaine's backpack. Kurt supported Blaine's weight as the shorter boy hobbled towards the car, grunting in pain occasionally.

Kurt helped Blaine into the car once they reached it, and then he climbed into the driver's seat. He hurried to start the car and to drive quickly towards the nearest hospital. Luckily, Kurt knew the area well. He'd grown up in Westerville, after all. They arrived at the hospital within minutes and Kurt helped Blaine out of the car and into the building. He explained to a nurse nearby that Blaine's ankle was badly broken and he needed help quickly. She nodded and said she'd be right back.

Kurt sat down beside Blaine on a bench in the waiting room. "The nurse will be right back."

"Good to know," Blaine answered with a short breath, still gritting his teeth together.

Minutes later, the nurse returned and helped Blaine to a room in a wheelchair. One look at Blaine's ankle told her that it was broken and possibly badly dislocated as well, so they skipped the x-ray and went straight to setting it back in place.

Blaine knew from experience how painful that was, so he asked to be put under with a small dose of anesthesia while they fixed his ankle and put a cast on it.

"His nose is broken, too," Kurt told the nurse. "He hurt it last night… dancing," he lied, wringing his hands nervously as he looked at a passed out Blaine.

"Okay…" She examined his nose and winced. "I'll need to fracture the bone again before I can set it. Otherwise it won't heal properly."

"Do it now while he's out like a light," Kurt urged, not taking his eyes off of Blaine. He was doing a terrible job at helping Blaine, he thought. He was supposed to make Blaine's life easier to handle by giving him a friend, but he was doing the exact opposite. He seemed to be hurting Blaine more than helping him. Kurt looked away while the nurse set Blaine's nose back into place, wincing when he heard a crack.

When he finally saw the nurse leave the room, he pulled a chair over to sit beside Blaine's bed. His leg was propped up and his nose was bandaged and Kurt couldn't help but notice how small and fragile he seemed. He also noticed, despite all the bruising to his face, that Blaine was undeniably beautiful. Kurt already knew that Blaine was a beautiful person on the inside, but he'd never taken the time to notice how attractive Blaine really was.

"Blaine…" he whispered, reaching out with his right hand to cup Blaine's left cheek, which was furthest from him. Why hadn't Kurt realized it before? He loved Blaine so much, but he hadn't realized until he actually met him that he loved him as more than a friend who he would do anything to protect. Even after just one day of getting to know Blaine, he had fallen hard. He just hoped Blaine felt the same way.

He knew that Blaine said he loved Kurt, but Kurt guessed that Blaine only thought he loved him. He thought he loved Kurt because Kurt had helped him. He'd been kind to him when no one else had ever been, and Blaine mistook his gratitude and excitement as love. But he barely knew Kurt. Kurt had had time to get to know Blaine from afar, learning things about him that no one else knew. But Blaine knew next to nothing about his new friend. Well, Kurt was determined to change that. He put his hand in Blaine's stilled one and squeezed lightly, smiling at the boy.

"Kurt…" Blaine mumbled in his sleep, his fingers flexing around Kurt's slightly. Suddenly, his grip on Kurt's hand tightened and Blaine whimpered, still sound asleep. Kurt sat forward up and rushed to soothe him.

"Shh, beautiful," he said gently, squeezing Blaine's hand to let him know he was there. "I'm right here… It's alright."

Blaine's breath caught in his throat and he was awake within seconds, in the midst of a coughing fit. He had tears in his eyes and he was gasping for breath as he squeezed Kurt's hand. Kurt pushed a button on the bed so Blaine could sit up without moving or jostling his ankle. Then he handed Blaine a glass of water from the bedside table. "Drink this," he murmured. Blaine drank the entire glass in a few gulps and finally caught his breath, tearing up as he looked at Kurt.

"Sorry…" he choked out, his chest heaving slightly.

"For what?" Kurt asked, confused.

"For making you take me here when you probably want to be getting home… And I know my parents aren't going to pay for any medical bills, so the hospital might charge you and… I'm just sorry," he said miserably. "Why did you stay, anyway? I figured you wouldn't want to deal with all the trouble I'm causing…"

"You're not causing me trouble," Kurt promised, squeezing Blaine's hand and bringing it up to kiss his knuckles. Blaine looked at him in confusion. "I'm here because I care about you and I hate seeing you upset. And I figured you'd be more upset if I left you here alone, two hours from Lima."

"You figured right." Blaine tried for a smile but it looked pained. He winced slightly, sighing. "My face really hurts," he said.

"The nurse had to re-break your nose so she could set it in place again," Kurt explained. "She said it'll be better in a week or so. As for your ankle, you'll be in a cast for at least six weeks."

Blaine nodded, still clutching Kurt's hand tightly. He was afraid if he let go… he'd lose him. Kurt would disappear forever and Blaine would wake up to find this was all just one big, confusing, beautiful dream. Despite the bad, he could only call it beautiful. Because Kurt made everything beautiful. "Kurt… Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Kurt smiled. "Anything."

"Why did you lie to me?" Kurt's smile dropped and he looked at Blaine in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you loved me. That was just so I wouldn't run away and I know it. Tell me the truth." Blaine narrowed his eyes at Kurt cautiously. He wanted to believe that Kurt loved him, but something just kept telling him there was something Kurt was hiding from him.

"I wasn't lying," Kurt said, hiding his hand that wasn't holding Blaine's in his lap as he felt himself starting to disappear. If Blaine didn't believe him, or if he got angry at him again, Kurt might not be able to stay. He'd be forced to go back home and he would have failed his first task of helping Blaine. He had one job and he couldn't screw it up now. "I meant what I said. And I meant it every time I told you how much I care about you. How much I… love you."

"Then why don't you want to be… with me?" Blaine asked, every last bit of confidence leaking out of his pores as each new doubt crept in to take its place.

"Because I don't want to make things any harder than they already are," Kurt answered, desperately trying not to cry. He wanted to be with Blaine so much it hurt, but it would only hurt both of them more if he let that happen. He couldn't bear to do that to Blaine. He'd be heartbroken if he found out Kurt had just a short time to be with him before Kurt was taken from him when the task of making Blaine happy was complete. Because that was what would happen. It seemed like some cruel trick that Kurt was sent to Blaine to make him feel whole again, only to break his heart and shatter him more than he already was. "And I don't want to hurt you," he added, running through the whole thought process within seconds.

"I don't understand." A tear rolled over Blaine's cheek. "You're hurting me now," he told him. "How would telling me you want me like I want you be hurting me more?"

Kurt was almost transparent when Blaine met his eyes, which were filled with tears. "Blaine, I'm sorry… I never wanted to hurt you…" Blaine watched in horror as Kurt slowly disappeared and he lost the feeling of Kurt's hand in his. He was still there, but only barely.

"Kurt, no," he begged. "Don't leave me… Please… What's happening? I love you… You can't leave now." Blaine felt an electric spark shock his hand and he jolted, staring at Kurt in confusion and fear. Slowly, he started to feel Kurt's hand in his again. It was cold and shaking, but it was there. Before long, Kurt was back completely. "What just happened, Kurt?"

"I'm not sure…" Kurt murmured. He shut his eyes and his vision became foggy, his head clouding with dizziness.

"Kurt, are you alright? You don't look so good…"

Kurt could barely understand what Blaine was saying as his face paled and he jumped up to run to the bathroom in the small hospital room.

"Kurt—"

Before he reached the bathroom, he collapsed on the tile floor. "Kurt! Somebody help! Please help him!" Blaine's voice faded away into the fog in Kurt's mind. The boy finally closed his eyes, falling unconscious.

A/N: Cliffhanger! Sorry… Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of the chapter :)

PLEASE READ IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS ABOUT THEM SAYING "I LOVE YOU" TOO EARLY ON

So, I know I might have some people saying it's too early for them to be saying 'I love you' because they just met that morning. So let me explain. I explained it in this chapter briefly, but I'll go into more detail here. So, Kurt has been looking out for Blaine for months, and the abuse and school trouble recently has gotten worse, so that's why Kurt was finally allowed to take action in helping Blaine. And Kurt has been watching over him and getting to know him for the kind, vulnerable, victimized person he is. He sees what no one else does; what happens behind closed doors when he's being abused by his father, and what happens in the aftermath when he cries himself to sleep. Kurt also sees how strong he is to make it through every day despite what he goes through and despite being afraid all the time. So Kurt knows him better than pretty much anyone else in Blaine's life. He's just now realizing that his feelings for Blaine are more than just as his protector.

As for Blaine telling Kurt he loves him, he's just young and naïve. He thinks he's in love with Kurt because Kurt is so nice to him and he helped him when no one else ever has. Blaine feels a close connection to Kurt because he has never had the courage to open up about his problems to anyone before, until Kurt came along and soothed him through the painful stories. He trusts Kurt and he's mistaking that for love because he's never trusted anyone like that before. (Don't worry, though! He will, of course, end up falling in love with Kurt. He just needs to figure out what it really feels like to be in love with someone.)

Sorry for the long A/N, but it was necessary because I'd really rather people not comment on how their relationship is moving too fast. Because I do have a plan in mind, trust me :)