authors note: this was based off a fantastic prompt at the glee angst meme.

Ties

Blaine did not want to have to ever wear a tie again. After leaving his old school, he had wanted to try somewhere fresh and new. He could even wear a polo shirt every day if forced, but he never wanted a tie around his neck again. The memory of walking into his dorm room at his old school and finding his ties duck taped to his wall spelling out the word 'fag' had been the breaking point for him.

Yet it had be reiterated to him thousands of times that Dalton Academy had a 'zero tolerance bullying policy. ' Ridgecrest Academy did not have that type of security blanket. Besides, Blaine's parents only wanted their son to attend the most prestigious learning institutions. The idea of Blaine attending a shoddy plainclothes institution was unthinkable. So, against all odds, Blaine once again donned a tie.

The bullying at Ridgecrest had never gotten too awful. The perpetrators had never actually touched Blaine. Those boys liked to used their words more often. Blaine couldn't go an entire hour without hearing at least a dozen taunts and hateful names either shouted at him on whispered harshly in his ear. Even the times after school were impossible to deal with. On more than one occasion, he returned to his dorm room to find it completely ransacked. Bullies would bang on his door and yell obscenities at him at all hours of the night. He also always felt deep in his gut that things were about to get worse. He could also hear plans whirring in the minds of his tormentors. He couldn't sleep or even eat much any more. So, he embraced Dalton's protection. He decided to trust the policy and hoped that these boys in ties were different than all the others.

Things had turned out for the best. Although he had become socially assimilated, at least he had friends and nobody ever dared to bother him. He had found something special in show choir. He had never let himself be heard at Ridgecrest. His singing was limited to singing softly into his pillow in the dead of night.

Still, there was the fact that everyone was supposed to be alike. It was an unspoken rule. If anyone challenged the status quo, they were hushed. No, they weren't tormented or bullied, but the boys of Dalton knew exactly the kindest way to say, "stop." Gradually over his two years at Dalton, Blaine's self expression went on the backburner. It wasn't until he met Kurt Hummel that he realized how much of himself he had lost.

Kurt was perhaps even more broken than Blaine had been. Yet, through the boy's tears, he still had hold of himself. Kurt knew who he was. When they started hanging out more, Blaine started remembering parts of himself that he had suppressed for his own security. Blaine with Kurt was not the same Blaine that walked the halls of Dalton every day. Blaine had felt many conflicting emotions when Kurt decided to transfer to Dalton. He was happy that Kurt was safe. He was happy to have Kurt close to him. Yet, he was upset that Kurt might lose his spark. He didn't want those ties to bind him.

Another day was done. Blaine slowly changed out of his school uniform into something more comfortable. His roommate, Jacob, had lacrosse practice and wouldn't be back for a couple hours. Blaine had the room to himself and was fully intent to use some of his free time to relax. Of course, there was a small stack of homework on his desk that he would have to get to eventually, but Blaine was so very tired. In fact, he was so tired that he easily fell asleep on top of his bed.

When Blaine's eyes fluttered open, he was not alone. He felt several sets of hands pulling him. He jumped up shouting "What the hell?", but was pushed down into his pillows again. "Shut up!" a male voice snarled. Blaine tried to keep his composure. If he showed enough courage, these people would leave him alone. He wiggled violently, trying to kick as many people as possible. He knew that he had somewhat succeeded when he heard one howl in pain. "That's it!" someone said angrily. Before Blaine could process the words he felt a blunt object hit his head and the room disappeared into darkness.

When Blaine came to inside a car later, he quickly understood how he had gotten there. His dorm room with situated right at the end of a hall. The door leading to the student parking lot was less than five feet away. His attacks had be successful at smuggling him out undetected. The boys in the car with him were facing front. Blaine let his eyes open to tiny slits in order to take in his environment. His hands were bound with yellow and green striped Ridgecrest tie. They were traveling down a dark dirt road that Blaine didn't recognize. The clock on the car radio flashed 7 pm. Blaine had been out a lot longer than he thought. He had fallen asleep around 3:30 and when he had woken up he had saw his clock read 5:00 during the struggle. They must have been driving for around two hours. Blaine knew that Ridgecrest was about that long away from Dalton, but why would they be taking him there?

Blaine tried to close his eyes again. He involuntarily shifted in his seat and he heard a shout. "He's awake!" Blaine's eyes opened. He was caught. The boy next to him, a stocky guy named Ray that used to dump his lunch tray in the garbage every day, shoved him hard up against the seat. "Hello Blaine. Nice to see you again." Ray snarled, shoving him again. Blaine felt tears welling up in his eyes, but he fought the impulse. He had to be strong. Blaine bit his lip and remained silent. "We've got a real treat for you tonight, nancy boy." laughed another boy in the passenger's seat. Blaine could only see the top of his head, black shaggy hair that reached to the top of his ears.

"Why are you doing this?" Blaine forced out. Then, he heard the most menacing laugh of all. It came from the drivers seat. Blaine saw the perfectly coifed blonde hair and automatically knew who it was, Layne Richtmont. "You ruined my life, Blaine Anderson." he said simply. Blaine was confused. Layne had been his most relentless tormentor of all. How could he have possibly ruined his life? "You'll get all the explaining you need later." Layne went on, "Then, you'll get your due payback."

Blaine felt a fist to his face. White-hot pain filled his entire body as he felt blows to his face and chest by Ray and the other boy beside him. Stay strong Blaine told himself, but courage was hard to find when he was being pummeled. These boys didn't even have full access to his body. He couldn't imagine all the pain he was going to experience when the car stopped.

"We hope you've enjoyed your life, because when we're done with you, you'll be dead."

"Blaine! Blaine! Open up! I need help!"

Kurt stood at Blaine's dorm room with his history textbook under his arm. He was having a lot of trouble with his homework, a paper on the rise and fall of the Norman empire, and was just about to give up out of frustration. Blaine was much better at history than Kurt, and he went to his room for guidance. Kurt knocked on the door again impatiently. When he and Blaine had spoken earlier that day, Blaine had said that he was going to his room at 3:30 and was only coming out for dinner. Dinner had ended an hour ago and the dining hall was closed.

Kurt supposed that Blaine had made plans after all. He tried the doorknob and the door swung open. He supposed that maybe Blaine had only left briefly and didn't lock his door. Kurt decided to leave him a note saying that he had stopped by. When he walked into the room, he noticed something awful.

Blaine's bedside lamp was overturn and broken. The bed sheets were a mess, some on the floor. Then, Kurt saw the worst thing. There was a dark bloodstain on Blaine's bed. Kurt screamed. He quickly grabbed his phone and began to dial. He looked down and saw his only piece of evidence. He snatched it up quickly. It was green and yellow tie.

The car stopped abruptly. It was pitch black outside and Blaine couldn't see where he was going when Ray and his friend, who Blaine finally recognized as John-Everett, a boy from the hockey team, forcefully dragged him out of the car. Layne was walking ahead of them with the other boy. Once Blaine got a good look at him, he realized he was named Emmett. He frequently called him names and one of the main ones who would bang on his door at night. Blaine had had to wonder how he had gotten into this situation. He whimpered softly as he was pushed inside of a building. One of the boys laughed. "Crybaby!" he taunted. Blaine was shoved unto the carpet. He felt a swift kick in his side. Blaine groaned and tears began to sting his eyes. The laughter rang in his ears.

Kurt had managed to put together a search party as quickly as possible. He stood in the common area of the Dalton dormitory with Rachel, Finn, Wes, David, Mercedes, and Brittany. It was a hodge-podge group, but Kurt was really touched that all these people had come together to help find Blaine, even though it seemed that Brittany wasn't entirely sure of the situation. In fact, he hadn't even dialed her on purpose, but accepted all the help he could get.

Kurt held up the tie. "This tie is from Ridgecrest Academy, Blaine's old school. I seriously doubt his kidnappers took him there, but he's probably somewhere near there. Any ideas? Wes? David?" Kurt paced around the room trying to keep his composure. If the rescue mission was to be successful, Kurt had to be a good leader.

David shook his head silently, looking toward the ground. Kurt could see silent tears boiling in his eyes, and tried to force off his own. Wes opened his mouth silently. Kurt sighed. "I guess we'll just start driving towards Ridgecrest and try places." Kurt told them, feeling hopeless. Suddenly Wes looked up. "Wait!" he said, "I just thought of something. A place Blaine told me about. Come on! We've got to go." Wes rushed off with the rest of the group in tow.

"Do you recognize this place, Blaine?" Layne asked, bending over him, smiling manically.

Blaine had been tied to a pool table in the middle of the room. He felt completely broken. His whole being was just pain. He struggled to stay conscious. "Yes." he whispered. Layne smiled. "Happy memories, huh?"

More tears began to spill out of Blaine's eyes. This had been the one place that he thought he was going to get acceptance. Turns out, he was so wrong.

10th Grade

"Hey Blaine!" Blaine was not used to being spoken to in such a cheerful manner. He had become accustomed to only hearing insults in his direction. Blaine turned around to face whoever was calling him. Layne walked towards him, smiling widely. "The rowing team is having a party his weekend at the boathouse! I really want you to come. I'll drive you." Blaine froze and backed away.

"Why would you want me to come to a party with you? You're awful to me." He was sure this was some sort of sick joke. Layne chuckled. "I'm turning over a new leaf in my life." Layne mused. "I'm really sorry that I've treated you badly. I've changed." Blaine frowned. "I don't know if I believe you." Layne laid his hand on Blaine's shoulder. "Just come with me Saturday. You won't regret it. It'll be fun."

So, that Saturday Blaine found himself in the passenger seat of Layne's coupe, down a dirt road to the boathouse. "You're really going to like this, Blaine." Layne said for what seemed like the one-hundredth time as he fiddled with the radio. "I've never actually been to a party before." Blaine admitted, smiling sheepishly. Layne chuckled. "Well, now that we're friends, you'll be going to plenty more."

They walked into the party together, Lanye's hand fixed on Blaine's shoulder. One member of the rowing team rushed to them and handed them both bottles of beers. "Drink up Blaine!" Layne said cheerfully, snapping off the cap of his. "This isn't the cheap stuff." Blaine slowly popped off his own cap and took a sip. The stuff didn't taste that bad. He felt a couple hands clap his back. He finally felt included. "Come on." Layne said, motioning Blaine to follow him. "I've got someone I want you to meet." Blaine smiled to himself and walked after him.

Layne introduced him to a tall leggy blonde in a mini skirt named Carla. Layne was quickly called off and Blaine was left with her for company. They sat together on a couch and Carla began to talk his ear off. "Lah-anye has been talking about you soooo much!" she gushed, taking random opportunities to rub his curly hair. "He says your such a good singer! You should sing me something!" Blaine blinked. He had never sung in front of Layne in his life. Blaine did his best to smile. "Maybe later." he told her. Carla scooted closer to him. "You're so cuteee! You're like a little doll or something!" Blaine laughed uncomfortably. "I'm not sure how to take that." He moved away from her a bit. She was really intruding on his personal space. "I didn't mean it in a bad way! Oh my god! You are just so cute!" Carla giggled and then suddenly she was on top of him, trying to get at his lips, her hand hovering near the zipper of his pants. Blaine pushed her off.

"What are you doing?" he asked angrily, standing up. "Layne told me you were a virgin and needed a girl! I was just trying to be nice!" Carla yelled from her seat. Blaine backed up. "What? Layne knows I'm gay!" he said in disbelief. It was then that he caught a glimpse of Layne watching them from a bit back, laughing. Blaine rushed to him and grabbed him by his tie. "What the hell? This was a set up, wasn't it?" Layne laughed even more and gently pushed him off of him. "It was funny, Blaine. We thought that maybe we could get the gay out of you if we set you up with a girl." Blaine tried to talk, but no words would come out.

Then, the laughter started. Everyone was laughing, including Carla. The boys started to jeer at him, and soon Blaine's ears were filled with a dull roar. Blaine found himself running from the boathouse and towards his school. It had taken ten minutes to drive there, but it took a lot longer by foot. Still, Blaine ran through the exhaustion, tears running down his face. He finally reached his room and opened the door, ready to melt into his bed. His eyes found his wall. He saw the ties.

Present

The group was crammed into Wes' SUV. Kurt was sitting between Mercedes and Rachel. Kurt had tried to remain as strong for as long as possible, but as soon as the engine had started up, he collapsed, sobbing. The vehicle was silent except for sobs, sniffles, and the occasionally comforting words from Rachel who was stroking Kurt's hair while his face was buried into Mercedes shoulder.

Brittany was sitting in the very back with Finn. She was staring out of the window, listlessly. She finally turned to Finn. "I'm scared for Kurt's friend." she said softly. Finn looked straight ahead, trying to ward off the tears that were beginning to form. "It could have been him. It could have been Kurt."

Blaine groaned, fresh tears beginning to form as he received a kick to his chest. He wasn't sure why he was still conscious; his eyes were blurred with the pain. He couldn't move. Every limb felt useless. He moved with each kick like a rag doll.

"Stop." came the commanding voice of Layne. Blaine felt briefly thankful and then realized that the worst had yet to come. "I think it's time I tell Blaine why he's here tonight." Layne came into focus. He sat cross-legged in front of Blaine's body.

"After you transferred, Ridgecrest instated their own little zero tolerance harassment policy." Blaine couldn't help but speak. "Why?" he challenged, "Nobody at that school cared about me at all." He heard the other boys laugh in the background. "Well, the local paper ran a little story on you after you left. A lot of angry people called the school, and they were forced to act. I was expelled." Blaine smiled in spite of himself. He felt a hard crack against his face. "Some stupid boy told on me! He didn't get these guys though. " Layne motioned backwards towards his cronies.

"My stupid parents, ashamed, sent me off to a boarding school for 'troubled' boys." Blaine stayed silent, although he didn't understand how Layne was blaming him. It was his own fault, after all. However, in sake of his body, he didn't speak. "Some boy there seemed to think I was gay for him! He even tried to force himself on me!" Blaine sobbed even harder. "Please, just let me go!" he begged.

"I don't think so." Layne said. Then he drew out a pocketknife. "Don't stab me!" Blaine pleaded with him. His voice was hoarse. Layne twirled the knife between his fingers. "I'm not going to do that. I'm just draw my masterpiece on you." he told him, cackling. John Everett bent over. "Can I get a few marks too?" he asked, eying the knife. Layne smiled at him. "Don't worry. Everyone will get a fair turn." John-Everett grinned. Layne suddenly froze. "John-Everett, Where's your tie?"

Once the SUV reached the dirt road leading towards the boathouse that Wes had mentioned, it picked up speed. Kurt lifted away from Mercedes. He had to regain himself if he hoped to go in and save Blaine. "Is everyone ready?" he asked with authority. He heard a chorus of soft "yeahs.". He nodded and readied himself.

The knife was lowering itself towards Blaine's now exposed chest. "I think I'm going to draw the Ridgecrest crest." Layne told everyone. Blaine screamed when he felt it cut into his skin.

The group rushed to the building and found the door unlocked and lights in the windows. "Do we just go in?" Finn asked uncertainly. Kurt nodded. "Yes." and threw the door open. Then, he saw the most horrifying scene in his life. Blaine was tied up, helpless, while some blonde boy was cutting him with a knife. Kurt ran to him and threw him off with the strength he didn't know he had.

Brittany had enough sense that that point to dial the police. Finn, Wes, and David ran to the other boys and pinned them to the ground. Kurt lay on top of Layne, pinning him to the ground. "How could you ever hurt him?" he screamed in rage. "How could you?" Tears welled up in Kurt's eyes once again, and he was sobbing. He felt a gentle hand move him away and grab Layne. He was free to rush to Blaine's side. He had passed out. Kurt laid his head on chest and sobbed harder than ever.

Kurt didn't remember much about when the police came. The ambulance arrived as well. As Blaine was being loaded in, Layne and the rest of the boys were being handcuffed. Kurt had wanted to ride to the hospital with Blaine, but he wasn't allowed. He saw everything through his tears during the agonizing ride to the hospital.

Once they were there, the group sat in the waiting room, all holding hands and holding on to hope. Absolutely everyone was sobbing. More people came in by the hours. The rest of New Directions showed up as well as the Warblers. Brittany sobbed into Santana's lap while holding Artie's hand. Santana didn't cry, but her face looked pained. Burt and Carole came as well. Burt first began to scold Kurt for doing something as dangerous as setting up a search and rescue mission. Then, he was hugging his son and sobbing as well.

It wasn't until late that night that Blaine announced to be in stable condition. Everyone insisted that Kurt be the first one to go into his room. He followed the nurse down the hall and went inside. Blaine was awake, hooked to an IV. There was bandages wrapped all over his body and cuts and bruises scattered around his face.

"Kurt…." he whispered hoarsely. Kurt rushed to the chair beside him and took his hand. "I'm so sorry this happened to you." Kurt told him, squeezing his hand. "I'm so sorry." Blaine began to tear up. "What if they come back? I can't ever leave. They'll find me again." Kurt took a deep breath. "I'm always here for you Blaine. I won't let anyone ever hurt you. You would never let any hurt me." Tears began to well in his eyes. "I love you so much, Blaine."

Blaine smiled weakly. "I love you. I love you. I love you." he whispered as his eyes fluttered close. He still repeated those words and at some point Kurt joined him with same ones. Blaine abruptly stopped; his chest began to rise and fall with sleep. Kurt wiped the tears away with his free hand. He pulled Blaine's hand towards him and lightly kissed it. "I will never leave your side." he promised.