CHAPTER ONE

In all the books Kurt read (and he read a quite large number of books) whenever something bad happened to the character, it always seemed to happen in slow-motion. Or, as the author would phrase it, "time seemed to slow down." Reflecting upon that day, he would give a bitter and forced laugh, his greenish-blue eyes flashing with disguised pain. The books had lied.

One minute, Kurt was smiling giddily to himself, reading a text from Blaine- the dreamy, dapper, curly headed warbler from Dalton.

It read COURAGE.

Ever since his failed spying attempt and Dalton, Kurt had felt like he was walking on clouds. Every night, before he went to sleep, Kurt re-played the memories in his head. The first time he looked into those beautiful hazel eyes, a large, warm, comforting hand enveloping his small one and the song Blaine has sung- Teenage Dream. Kurt had since kept in contact with the Junior Warbler and even met him for a series of coffee dates. Every time Blaine spoke or laughed or breathed Kurt's heart fluttered gently. He couldn't deny his attraction, no matter how hard he tried. And truthfully, Kurt didn't want to hide it.

A second later he was pushed, no, slammed into the cold metal lockers. Shiny specks clouded his vision, his head swimming. He slid down the length of the lockers in absolute shock.

"Fag!"

Karofsky smiled smugly at Kurt, then turned and walked away. Kurt's legs and mouth reacted faster than his brain could. He pushed himself up and chased after the neanderthal, his mind still not fully registering the words coming out of his mouth. He found himself in a gym locker room with bad lighting and burnt orange lockers. The fashionista inside Kurt shuddered, disgusted with the clashing colors. His mouth was still moving as he pulled what he hoped was a fearless face onto his delicate features.

"You are just a scared little boy!" he shouted at the tall looming figure in front of him, passion coloring his words. Kurt didn't exactly remember the banter happening after that, but he would be haunted by suddenly having his words cut off. A pair of chapped lips attacked his own, kissing hard and forcefully. Kurt tensed and stayed stiff as a board until Karofsky pulled away. Kurt almost felt pity at the confused puppy dog look currently being displayed by Karofsky, but when he leaned for another kiss, Kurt steeled himself and used all the muscles in his lanky frame to push back the other boy. Karofsky somehow managed to look confused, rejected, spitting mad, scared and shocked all at once.

"Don't tell."

And Kurt didn't.