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Kurt was running late. He was only meant to stay back no more than an hour to work on an assignment before he headed to Blaine’s for the weekend, but time had gotten away from him and when he’d looked at the clock, it was much later than he’d been expecting.
His boyfriend was probably worrying where he was, so Kurt quickly packed up his things and headed out of the school. He fumbled his phone out of his pocket as he stepped out into the parking lot, pulling up his messages with Blaine to send him a text to let him know he was on his way, and his heart sank with guilt when he saw the number of messages from his boyfriend asking him where he was.
However, before he could type a message back, someone grabbed him from behind.
The phone fell from his hand when his back was slammed against a wall, and the air was expelled from his lungs from the impact.
“Look who we found,” a familiar voice said in amusement from above him, and Kurt’s stomach dropped as he blinked up to see who had grabbed him.
It was Azimio. Kurt looked past him to see a couple other football players standing behind him. He had forgotten that he would have left school the same time football practice had finished.
“You know, I’ve been waiting for a moment we could have a chat alone.” He was standing so close Kurt could feel his breath on his face. His arm was pressed against Kurt’s chest, keeping him pinned against the hard wall. “Ever since you got Karofsky to transfer.”
Kurt went to open his mouth to protest that it was Dave that had made that choice, but before he could speak, Azimio abruptly grabbed his shirt and yanked him forward, before slamming him back against the wall.
Kurt gasped at the pain that was sent through his skull as he hit the wall, his vision briefly going black as a ringing went through his ears.
As his vision began to come back into focus, Azimio had already grabbed him again, and his face was right in front of Kurt’s.
“Let’s chat.”
He let go of Kurt, but before he could do anything, a punch was landed in his gut. He doubled over and clutched at his abdomen, but then a punch to his face sent him sideways.
His feet slipped and he crashed to the ground, unable to brace himself as he hit the concrete. He felt himself get lifted slightly as more punches landed against his head, before he was dropped again.
On the floor, he tried to curl into a ball to protect himself, but a kick to the chest sent him onto his back.
There was nothing he could do as the punches and kicks rained down on him. Pain flashed across every inch of his body and soon it was all he knew. He didn’t even know where he was or what way was up, all he knew was the impact that constantly hit his already bruised body.
He wasn’t even aware when it had stopped. Everything hurt and it felt like he was still getting hit over and over as his body throbbed. His breath came out in stutters as pain sparked in his chest every time he tried to breathe and he could barely expand his lungs.
He didn’t know when he had closed his eyes, but he slowly opened them, not able to see fully, but able to see enough that there was no one standing over him now. It was only then that he realised it was quiet.
Kurt tried to sit up, but cried out as just the small movement caused a fire to light up his whole body.
He couldn’t move. He needed help.
A choked gasp emitted from his throat as he tried to call out, but nothing more. There had to be someone still in the school who hadn’t left yet, but he couldn’t even call out. He would just have to hope someone would see him there, but everything hurt so much and he just wanted it to stop. He didn’t know how long he could lay there for.
Kurt wasn’t sure how much time had passed, if any time at all had gone by at all as he laid there. He tried to sit up a few more times, but each time he barely made it an inch before he fell back down with a cry.
He could feel his already blurry vision begin to grow black at the edges, and was content to just give in if it meant he would be freed from this pain.
His eyes slipped closed, but at that moment, a ringing filled the otherwise quiet air.
At first, Kurt thought it was just the ringing in his ears, but as the sound continued on, he realised it was familiar.
It was his ringtone.
Specifically, the ringtone he’d set for Blaine.
The thought of his boyfriend gave him a surge of adrenaline to move. He looked over in the direction of where the ringtone was coming from, and could see his phone was a short distance away after he’d dropped it.
He internally groaned at the thought of having to move that far, but all he wanted in that moment was for Blaine to come and make it all better, and that thought was what got him to close the short gap between him and his lifeline.
Kurt clenched his teeth and prepared for the pain as he used all his strength to roll over onto his side, and then onto his chest.
The pressure on his ribs sent a spark of pain through his lungs which had him gasping, but he knew he couldn’t stop, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to move again.
His forearms on the floor, he used all the strength he had in his upper body to pull himself forward. He didn’t try and hide the cries of pain that every bit of movement caused. There was no one around to hear him anyway.
He had to stop to catch his breath, but before he could pull himself forward again, the phone stopped ringing. Kurt’s heart sank at the thought that he had missed his opportunity and Blaine had given up on him, but then a second later, the phone began to ring again.
With a grunt, Kurt pulled himself across the concrete, and then reached out to grab the phone.
His fingers only just managed to grasp the edge of his cell, but he managed to pull it towards him just enough to reach the answer button before the ringing ended again.
From where he was slumped against the floor, he couldn’t tell if he had answered in time, but then he heard Blaine’s familiar voice crackle through the phone a second later.
“Kurt? Where are you? Is everything okay?”
Kurt could almost sob in relief at hearing his boyfriend’s voice. He was sure tears did spill down his cheeks and onto the ground his head laid on.
“Blaine-” His voice came out as a croaked whisper. He couldn’t even be sure that the phone had even picked up his voice, but it was all he could give.
“Kurt? What’s wrong?”
Kurt didn’t have anything else left in him to reply. Blaine’s voice started to sound far away, and as Kurt blinked, dark spots began to fill his vision. He opened his mouth to get the words out, but all that came out was his gasping breaths.
He slumped against the floor, the last of his strength leaving him.
Blaine was getting worried. Kurt was meant to be at his an hour ago, but he still hadn’t arrived, and he hadn’t responded to any of the texts Blaine had sent him asking where he was.
Burt and Carole were away for the weekend and coincidentally so were Blaine’s parents. Finn had invited Rachel round their house for the weekend, and Kurt was staying at Blaine’s. However, Kurt had an assignment due the following week that he had planned to stay late after school to finish, so he could fully enjoy the weekend alone with Blaine.
He tried to not get too worked up and figured that his boyfriend had just got caught up in his assignment he was working on and wasn’t checking his phone. He tried to distract himself by trying to find a movie they could watch together that night and deciding on what they could order for dinner, but that only kept him occupied for so long.
When an hour had passed, he decided it was best to just give his boyfriend a call to see where he was. An amused thought crossed his mind at the thought that Kurt had simply forgotten he was staying over at Blaine’s that weekend, and he picked his phone up with a smile on his lips as he realised that was most likely what had happened.
But then Kurt didn’t answer his phone, and his smile began to fade as the worry bubbled up again.
He tried to remind himself to breathe as he called his boyfriend again, but every second that passed without Kurt answering had his heart racing even more.
Then, the call connected, and Blaine finally took in a large breath that his lungs had been aching for.
Blaine waited a moment for Kurt’s usual cheery voice to answer, prepared for his boyfriend’s string of apologies about not realising what the time was.
But there was nothing.
“Kurt?” Blaine prompted, hoping to hear his boyfriend’s voice a moment later. “Where are you? Is everything okay?”
He had been prepared to tease his boyfriend about running late and making him worry, but the lack of a response on the other end of the line only made his concern skyrocket.
He paused to listen out for a response, and had to strain his ears as he heard a faint voice that he couldn’t quite make out. There was harsh breathing, but nothing else.
“Kurt?” There was no denying Blaine’s worry now. Something definitely wasn’t right, and he already began to shove his feet into the closest pair of shoes as he kept his phone plastered to his ear. “What’s wrong?”
All he could hear was a pained groan and that same strained breathing. There were no words to let him know what had happened, but he knew something was wrong, and whatever that was, Kurt needed him.
“I’m on my way, baby,” he said as he grabbed his keys and went out the door. “Just hang in there.”
It was only when he was in the car that Blaine realised he had no idea where he was going, but he figured the school was a better place to start as any as that was the last place he knew Kurt had been.
His stomach churned as he pulled into the parking lot and could see his boyfriend’s car still there amongst the few vehicles that still remained. At least that meant Kurt couldn’t be far.
Blaine parked haphazardly near Kurt’s car, not concerned about staying in the lines, and barely put the handbrake on before he was out of the vehicle.
He quickly scanned around Kurt’s car, but there were no signs his boyfriend had been there.
He headed back towards the entrance of the school, unsure if it would even still be open this late as all the afterschool clubs would now be over.
But as Blaine ran towards the front doors, he caught sight of something on the edge of his vision. He glanced over, and could see a lump over by the wall at the edge of the parking lot.
He did a double take, and his heart caught in his throat.
“Kurt!”
He sprinted over to his boyfriend and collapsed onto his knees at his side.
“Kurt?” Blaine took in the sight of his boyfriend in front of him, and gasped at the sight before him.
Kurt’s face was bruised and bloody, and a puddle had formed on the concrete beneath his head. His eyes were closed. He was so still.
Blaine’s hands hovered over him, wanting to touch him but unsure where it was safe. Eventually, his fingers went to Kurt’s neck, and he let out the breath he had been holding when he felt the pulse.
His hands shook as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and he nearly dropped it as he fumbled his fingers across the keypad, barely hitting the right numbers.
As the call went through, Blaine pressed the phone against his ear with one hand, whilst the other went to the hand that laid on the ground in front of him. He squeezed it only gently, as he feared hurting Kurt even more.
The ambulance came swiftly and it felt like only seconds had passed before Kurt had been loaded into the back. Blaine followed, his hand still clutching his boyfriend like it was his only lifeline, the only thing stopping him from slipping away.
But then when they reached the hospital, he had to let go. He told himself it was so they could make Kurt better, but still as they took his boyfriend through those doors, there was a deep fear in him that he would never see Kurt again.
It felt like an eternity of pacing the waiting room before someone finally came out and told him that Kurt was awake and he could see him.
He had been told that Kurt had a concussion which might make him groggy and confused, as well as a few other broken bones and a lot of bruises. However, all Blaine cared about at that moment was that Kurt was awake and he was going to be fine and he could see him.
He practically ran to the room Kurt was in with his need to just be with him and see he was okay.
His boyfriend looked up at him when he burst into the room, and all of Blaine’s fear was gone as he settled his eyes on his boyfriend once more.
“Hi, baby,” Blaine breathed out as some of the worry left his shoulders. He stepped into the room and immediately scanned his eyes over his boyfriend, at the bruises that littered his face and the bandages around his head and arms. It hurt Blaine to see him like that, and he just wanted to wrap Kurt up in his arms, but he knew that would just hurt him.
“Hi.” Kurt’s voice was barely there, but at least this time it didn’t sound filled with pain, only tiredness.
Kurt reached out a hand for him, and Blaine immediately took it, being careful of the IV. He sat down on the edge of the bed to be closer to him.
“I called your dad. He’s on his way back as we speak,” Blaine informed him. “Finn should also be here soon.”
He thought that Kurt would be happy at having his family close, so he wasn’t expecting the tears that pooled in his boyfriend’s eyes a moment later.
“I ruined their holiday,” Kurt said with a sob.
Blaine immediately shook his head as he reached forward to wipe the tears away.
“You didn’t do anything, Kurt. This isn’t your fault.” Something twisted inside him as that reminded Blaine of the thing that had been on his mind ever since he had found Kurt broken and bleeding in the parking lot.
He rubbed his thumb across Kurt’s knuckles as he prepared himself for the question he was going to ask next.
“Kurt, what happened?”
He knew that there was a chance Kurt might not remember, given the concussion, but as he saw something cloud over his boyfriend’s face a second later, he knew that wasn’t the case.
“Azimio,” was all he uttered, but that was enough to explain it all.
Blaine felt an anger start to bubble inside him, and it took everything in his power not to get up and storm out of that room and hunt that boy down. How someone could do something like this was beyond him, but he needed to remind himself that right then the most important thing was that he was with Kurt. His boyfriend needed him right then, not off doing something he’d regret. He took a steady breath, and reminded himself that the police would be here to talk to Kurt when his dad arrived. Then, Azimio would get what he deserved.
He shouldn’t have left Kurt alone at the school. He should have stayed with him and they could have gone back to Blaine’s together. If he’d just thought of that, this wouldn’t have happened.
“It’s not your fault either,” Kurt’s small voice suddenly spoke up, and Blaine was startled out of his thoughts. He felt a small squeeze of his hand, and that eased the brewing anger as he looked at his boyfriend again. Apparently, Kurt knew just what was going through his head. His boyfriend knew him too well.
Blaine mustered up a smile to send his way. He should be comforting Kurt right now, not the other way around.
“I love you.” Blaine reached out and brushed a hand across Kurt’s cheek, before he leant forward to plant a kiss on his temple, just barely brushing the bandage wrapped around his head.
Kurt gave him a tired smile, and Blaine could tell he was going to fall asleep any moment now.
“Get some sleep,” Blaine told him as he watched Kurt struggle to keep his eyes open. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Stay with me,” Kurt mumbled sleepily as he pulled on the hand that still held his, and Blaine soon understood what his boyfriend was asking.
“I don’t think I’m allowed.” He chuckled with amusement, but then Kurt opened his eyes just enough to send him his puppy-dog eyes.
“Please?”
His voice was so soft and small, and Blaine knew he couldn’t resist.
“Okay, but let me know if I’m hurting you, alright?”
Kurt mumbled something that was probably an affirmation, but his eyes were already closed again.
Blaine was careful as he laid down on the edge of the bed, too scared to pull Kurt into his arms so only grasping his hand in his once more.
A moment later, Kurt leant his head against his arm, and Blaine’s heart fluttered at the contact. He let himself forget any anger or worry he was feeling for a short while. All that mattered right then was that Kurt was here with him and safe and he was going to be alright, even if it would be a long recovery. And Blaine would be there for him every step of the way.