A/N: Well, I've actually had this written for a while, but I'm a nincompoop and didn't post it. I'm working on the 8th chapter of this now, so needless to say I'm continuing it. And even if no one reads it, I still wanted to write it. I still needed to write it. SO here it goes, The second chapter of The Freshman.

Disclaimer: Yeah, no.

The next morning Kurt awoke to a hand shaking his shoulder. He rolled over and looked up into his dad's questioning face. Burt jerked his head towards the hallway and Kurt slowly climbed out of bed, careful not to wake Blaine. He followed his dad into the hallway and slowly shut the door behind him, knowing the giant storm that was about to break loose from his dad.

"Kurt."

"Dad I know what it looks like."

"Well yeah, there's that, but we'll get there in a minute. Kurt, why does that boy have bruises all over him?" Kurt sighed.

"I don't know Dad. We didn't talk too much about where he came from."

"Didn't talk much before or after you guys…"

"No Dad! We didn't! I promise. His name is Blaine. I found him in a bathroom at the celebration party last night. The older kids got him drunk and doped him up. He's just a freshman." Burt let out a big sigh.

"Well, that's better than what I had pictured in my head as your response. But Kurt, you don't know anything about this kid! He could be a, a-"

"Dad. Look at him. It doesn't really look like he's ready to take over our house at the moment." Kurt sighed and shook his head. "He told me last night that his best friend died last year. Dad, I don't think he has anyone. And I don't know what to do about it." Burt stared at his son. Kurt had always been a very compassionate kid, even more so after his mother had passed, but this was a whole new level for him. Still, Burt trusted his son, and knew that Kurt had weighed all his options before making his choice.

"Okay. He can stay. But for my peace of mind, find out a little more about him. Please." Kurt nodded and hugged his dad.

"I will. Thanks Dad." And Kurt slipped back into the bedroom quietly. Blaine was waking up on the bed, and Kurt sat back beside him. "Good morning sleepyhead." Blaine's half smile from the night before was gone. He just stared up at Kurt with such a lost look it made Kurt want to cry.

"Good morning. Look, Kurt, I'm sorry about last night. This was a mistake. You don't owe me anything. If anything I'm the one that owes you something for finding me and-" Kurt wrapped his arms around the boy to stop his unnecessary apology. Blaine sank into the embrace and sighed, swallowing the ever growing lump in his throat. Blaine willed himself to hold it together. After a few seconds, Kurt released him.

"Blaine. It's fine. I promise." Blaine just nodded and looked down, noticing for the first time that his jacket was off. He quickly turned his arms to cover the bruises, but Kurt saw right through it. He gently took the freshman's arms and turned them back over, softly running his fingers over each one. Blaine was silent, waiting to see Kurt's reaction. Although, he guessed Kurt had seen them last night when Blaine was passed out.

"Blaine. Blaine it's alright. Don't cry. I'm not going to hurt you." Blaine hadn't even noticed the tears that had fallen from his eyes and were streaking down his cheeks. Kurt gently wiped them away and gave the boy a small smile. "Why don't you and I have a little talk? It seems we don't know each other very well at all. No judgment. I've got scars in my closet too." Blaine sniffled and nodded.

"Okay."

And that was how they ended up cross-legged on the floor facing each other. Blaine held one of Kurt's pillows snug against his chest, maybe just as a security blanket, maybe to cover up the fact that you could still see his ribs through his shirt, Kurt wasn't sure. But it didn't matter. Kurt smiled at him and began.

"Alright. Well, let's start with the basics. I know your name is Blaine, but what is your full God-given name?"

"My name is Blaine Devon Anderson." Kurt nodded.

"I'm Kurt Ethan Hummel. It's nice to meet you." This elicited a small chuckle from Blaine. "Blaine Devon Anderson, what brought you to the party last night?" This one took a little longer for Blaine to answer, but Kurt was patient.

"David. He was always telling me that I needed to get out more and try making some friends. I guess I finally decided to do it. I went to the party in hopes of meeting some people I may one day be able to call friends. It'd be a first. I don't really have very many. Well, any I guess." Blaine shrugged and nodded. Kurt didn't know what to say at first.

"Blaine… Well, I guess I'd be honored then to call myself your first real friend. If you'll have me that is." Blaine smiled for the first time all day. Not a big one, but a sincere one. Kurt grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"So Kurt, what brought you to the party last night? You don't seem like the kind to be into all that stuff."

"I'm not. I'm usually my brother's designated driver. I just hang out and celebrate until things get serious. Then I bring Finn home safe and sound." Kurt shrugged.

"Finn's a pretty nice guy. He never, I mean, he didn't help them last night. When they did those things. He kept telling them to stop. He was the only one." Kurt pursed his lips, bracing himself for the answer he knew was coming.

"Blaine, what things did they do to you?" Blaine nodded as if saying he knew this question was coming. Then he clutched his head and moaned. "Blaine? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just a bad headache." The freshman's eyes were still closed with his fingers pressed into the sockets.

"Do you want some medicine? Advil or something?" Blaine slowly shook his head.

"No. It won't help. I just get these migraines sometimes. I'll be fine." But when he finally looked up Kurt knew he was anything but. Kurt stood and turned off the overhead light, leaving only the little bit of natural light coming through the windows. Kurt never got migraines, but according to Carole they were pretty awful. Blaine smiled a thanks to him as Kurt sat back down, this time beside Blaine.

"Okay. Last night?" Kurt asked.

"They spiked my drink. It started small. I had never been to a party like that. I didn't know the rules about not letting someone else fix your drink. Before too long they had me in the palm of their hands. They must have figured it was my first party, because one of the guys gave me something. He said it was like a strong Advil, but it would help me to enjoy myself a little more. Then he said, 'What're friends for?' I kept thinking of David, and so I figured it might help me forget. For a few moments that is. So I took it. Then he gave me something else. Something to help with my head. But this was more like a liquid. I drank it and it was like the noise disappeared from the room. Everything started moving in slow motion. But he was right, for a few minutes I did feel better." Blaine stopped and inhaled sharply.

"We can stop if you need to." Blaine held up a finger and buried his head in his hands. After a minute or so he looked up.

"No. I need to finish this now. If I don't tell you now, I may never say it. Kurt, they took me into that bathroom where you say they found me, and they- they started pushing me around. They kept calling me worthless, loser, freshmeat, anything they could come up with. They pushed me back and forth across the bathroom when my head hit the towel rack and I fell to the floor. I started getting dizzy after that, started slipping out I guess, but then I felt one of them take off my belt. He started to unbutton my pants and slide them off." Blaine started crying, but Kurt could only listen as he described the awful events. "I sent a sharp kick up with my foot and hit him in the chin. After that he punched me and I saw them leave. That was when I passed out I guess, and when you found me. But Kurt, what kind of people would do that? They didn't even know me. Why did I become the target?" Blaine was full on sobbing now and Kurt just wrapped him in his arms.

"I don't know why Blaine. I don't have an answer for why they did what they did. But what I do know is that they won't get away with it. I won't let them hurt you ever again." Blaine squeezed his eyes shut as another burst of pain shot through his eyes. His ears were ringing and his head hurt so badly. Then he felt himself being lifted from the ground and laid on the bed. He felt the bed move as Kurt laid beside him. Blaine pressed himself close to the older boy, and felt Kurt's arms wrap tightly around him, holding his head to his chest where Blaine could concentrate on the steady rhythmic beating of Kurt's heart. Blaine breathed in deeply a few times and stopped crying. He stayed pressed into Kurt's side when he heard the older boy speak.

"You're safe now Blaine. I won't let them hurt you ever again." And Blaine drifted off to sleep in Kurt's arms.

They stayed like that for several hours. Kurt could tell Blaine was hurting. Every once in a while he would whimper and grimace, but Kurt would run his hand through his hair and feel Blaine relax a little. After a few hours, Burt stuck his head in and found the room dark.

"Kurt?" He whispered loudly.

"Yeah Dad? I'm over here." Burt stepped over to his son and stared, watching as Blaine whimpered and Kurt would calm him down with soft words and sweet touches.

"Kurt is he okay?"

"He has a migraine. He said he gets them every once in a while, but this one seems really bad. Dad, he had to relive something today. Something awful. This kid went through hell last night at that party. I really need to talk to Finn. Would you mind just sitting in here with him for a few minutes? Just in case he wakes up?" Burt nodded.

"Sure thing kiddo. He'll be okay though right? And the party, do I need to get involved?"

"Not at this point, but I'll let you know if it gets that far. Thanks Dad." Kurt slowly eased himself away from Blaine, who frowned in his sleep, but didn't wake up. Burt sat on the edge of the bed, and Kurt left.

Burt studied this boy named Blaine. For someone so young, he looked like he had lived a lot of life. He made a note to himself to ask Kurt what all he had found out about this boy. Burt wondered what had happened at that party. It must have something to do with the football team if Kurt was going to talk to Finn. Burt just hoped it all got worked out. He hated watching this kid hurting, and he didn't even know him.

Blaine flinched beside him and whimpered. He started gasping for air and his eyes flew open. Blaine sat up quickly and stared at Burt. Burt could see the boy's hands shaking.

"Who are you?" Blaine whispered, obviously frightened.

"It's okay Blaine. I'm Kurt's dad. He just left to go talk to Finn. He'll be back before too long." As if on cue Kurt quietly stepped back into the room. When he saw Blaine awake, Kurt stepped over. That was when he saw the obvious fear by the ringing of his hands and the tears in Blaine's eyes.

"Blaine? Are you okay? How are you feeling?" The poor boy could only shrug and hold back tears. Kurt moved to sit beside him and wrapped an arm around his back. Blaine responded by leaning his head onto Kurt's shoulder. "Blaine, this is my dad. I promise he won't hurt you. He's just here to help. Okay?" Blaine nodded.

"Kurt said you had a migraine. How are you feeling now?" Burt asked.

"I'm okay. It's better. Thank you."

"How often do those happen?" Blaine shrugged.

"About once every other week for the past year or so." Kurt studied Blaine's face.

"It started with David didn't it?" Blaine nodded.

"Around that time yes." Kurt sighed and pulled Blaine closer. Burt stood and excused himself, giving the boys some privacy. Kurt stood and resituated himself on the bed so that Blaine was in between his legs, nestled into his chest.

"Blaine, what about your parents? Won't they be expecting you?" Blaine gave a sad chuckle.

"No. They won't. My dad, he left when I was eight. And my mom, well she's an alcoholic. She's home, but not really ever there. We've gotten evicted twice because she won't hold a job. Most of the time I just don't go home. So no. They're not expecting me home anytime soon. My mom forgets she has a kid half the time." Kurt sighs and shakes his head. Blaine gives another half laugh. "My freshman year has been slightly less than perfect. Until now. It's getting better. It's like David always used to tell me. 'Hold on through the storm, because a rainbow always follows.'" He gets this far off look in his eyes as he remembers his friend. Kurt just pulls him tighter and promises himself he will do anything it takes to be Blaine's rainbow.

And there you have it. I never promised for this to be a happy story. And it won't be happy for several chapters. Not until after you hear all of Blaine's story in chapter 7 I think. But Don't Fret! I love sweet Blainers and could never let him hurt forever. There will be a happy ending! Always a happy ending! As for you guys, thanks for reading! I hope you'll leave a review and tell me what you're thinking, or just a fave or follow to let me know you were here! Thanks bunches guys! Muah! :)

Always Remember to Smile!

Olivia