a/n: This was originally published on my tumblr and it's complete there. I'm just posting it here for anyone who hasn't read it yet. Enjoy!

Warnings: violence, school violence, references to sexual assault, brief Sadie Hawkins flashback

In the moments after the first two shots echoed through the halls of McKinley, everyone froze. Suddenly, there were shouts, feet pounding through the halls, screams.

Everyone jumped to action at the same moment.

Coach Beiste ran to lock the doors and turn off the lights. Mr. Schuester got everyone to crouch down against the walls.

There were another few tense seconds of silence before the reality of the situation crashed down upon them all.

This was the sort of thing that you heard about on the TV in some far away town. It affected people, but you didn't know them, and it seemed less real. This couldn't happen at McKinley.

Marley's sob broke through the silence first.

"Guys, I know this is scary, but you have to keep quiet," Mr. Schuester whispered. "Try to text your parents, send out tweets, anything – but don't tell them where we are."

Everyone nodded numbly, glad to have something to do to occupy their minds and hands. Blaine, after helping Artie retrieve his phone from the abandoned wheelchair, pulled his out.

Gunshots fired at school. Not hurt. Please call the police!

He sent the message to both his parents and paused before putting his phone away.

I love you, he wrote, and sent the message to both Kurt and his brother.

Across the room, Sam was growing panicked. He'd tried texting Brittany – who had left just moments before to go to the bathroom – after his parents, but he could hear her phone vibrating in her bag.

Another shot rang out.

Sam sprung to his feet and ran towards the door.

"Sam! What are you doing?" Mr. Schuester hissed at him.

"Britt's out there, and she doesn't have her phone! I need to make sure she's okay!" he said desperately.

"Sam, you cannot leave this room. You will be endangering your life and the lives of all your friends."

"I can't just – Britt's not here!"

"Sam!"

"Sam, please!"

"Just sit down!"

"You can't do anything right now!"

Whispers came at him from every direction, but Sam continued to struggle against his teacher and his coach. He finally managed to break free from their grasps and he charged from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Blaine couldn't help it when he shouted, "Sam!" at the boy's retreating back.

He was standing now, fighting Mr. Schuester in Sam's place now.

"Please, Mr. Schue, please! Sam's gone, and Tina's gone, and I can't let this happen again! I can't just sit around while my friends are hurt!"

"Blaine, you'll do more harm than good!"

"I have to help him, please!"

Mr. Schuester pushed Blaine back towards the ground, but Blaine escaped under the man's arms and sprinted out the door as well.

When Kurt's phone buzzed in the middle of his coffee date with Adam, he ignored it. A few moments later, it buzzed again. After the third time, he looked apologetically at Adam before checking his screen.

The first message was from Blaine: I love you.

That was … odd. Sure, the two had been growing closer – and they had hooked up at the almost-wedding – but was this really appropriate?

Kurt decided to ignore it and moved on to the next message.

Bud, something's happening at McKinley. Call me, from his father.

And another one: Kurt, I know you don't have class right now. This is important!

Now Kurt was getting worried. First the text from Blaine, then his father said something happened at McKinley?

"I'm sorry," he said to Adam, "but I need to make a quick phone call."

He put the phone up to his ear. It barely had time to ring before Burt Hummel picked up.

"Kurt," he said, relief flowing through his voice.

"Hi dad. What's up?"

"Kurt, something happened. Something bad. We don't know much yet, and I need you to try to stay level headed about this until I know more. I just thought you should know."

"What, dad?" Kurt asked, panic flowing now.

"There was a shooting at McKinley."

All the color was wiped from Kurt's face. "A – a shooting?" he asked weakly. "What? How, dad? Is anyone – oh my God, Blaine!"

"Kurt! I told you, we don't know anything yet! I'll definitely be one of the first to know, as I'm the congressman of that district and you went there. What about Blaine now?"

"He texted me, dad. A minute before you did. All he said was … he just said he loved me."

"Kurt, you don't know what that means. All it shows is that he's alive and okay."

"He could have been dying when he sent that, dad! I have to get home!"

"Calm down, bud. I'll have you booked on a flight tonight or tomorrow morning if anything happens. Just go back to your apartment now and try not to let your imagination run wild."

"Thank you dad. I love you so much."

Kurt ended the call and sat in shocked silence for a moment.

"Is – er – is everything alright?" Adam asked hesitantly.

Kurt didn't even try to pretend. "No," he said, feeling the tears fall. "No, it's not. Can we just go?"

Blaine practically dove into the empty hallway outside of the choir room. He had no idea where Sam had gone, but he wasn't going to let anything happen to another one of his best friends. He chose a direction arbitrarily – left, because Brittany always says that she prefers the right but she can't tell right and left apart – and began walking.

When he turns a corner, Blaine hears footsteps echoing just ahead of him. Thankful for his Cheerios skills for the second time that day, he dove into a doorway and tried to hide himself.

They grew fainter, and Blaine sighed deeply before returning to the hallway. He sprinted to the nearest girls bathroom and barged in.

There was a quiet rustling, so Blaine called, "Sam? Britt?"

"Blaine?" Sam's voice rung out, echoing strangely in the tiled room. The two blondes stepped out from a stall.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Blaine breathed, running to embrace his two friends.

"What are you doing here, man?"

"I couldn't let you just run off. I've watched friends get hurt before, and I won't let it happen again."

The three friends hugged again, unable to find any words to express the totality of emotions they were experiencing at the moment.

Sam peeked out the bathroom door. "I think the coast is clear. Shall we head back to the choir room?"

Blaine nodded. Sam took Brittany's hand and Blaine followed the blonde couple down the hallway.

Tina was positively freaking out. "Please, all the glee club is in there!" she screamed to Principal Figgins as he ushered more students out of the school. "All my friends!"

"You cannot return to the building, Ms. Cohen-Chang. It is too dangerous. We still do not know how many gunmen are in there or where they are! You must remain calm."

Tina collapsed on to the ground, looking around pitifully and feeling more alone than ever before.

She watched as a series of heavily armored SWAT men approached the building and eased their way in. At least her friends would be safe soon, she thought, moments before another shot rang through the heavy air.

They were mere yards away from the choir room door when Blaine heard it. They were the same heavy footfalls as before. "Hurry!" he hissed at his companions, pushing them towards the choir room door.

The man entered the hallway the same moment that the three seniors reached the choir room door.

He was clad only in black and had a large gun in his hands. Blaine couldn't see much of his face, except for his eyes. They were hard, cold, and unforgiving.

Knowing now that there was no need to be quiet any more, Blaine shouted, "Go! Get in there!" as he pushed his companions into the room. The gunman came level with Blaine as he was about to follow them.

Making a split second decision, Blaine grabbed the handle and slammed the door closed, trapping himself in the hallway with the man and his gun.

Time seemed to stop for a moment, and Blaine thought that, just maybe, this wasn't what it seemed.

And then he felt a screaming, searing, red-hot pain ripping through his left side, just below the shoulder. He heard the bang of the discharge a moment later, and then heard the yells that were escaping his mouth.

The man shot a few more times at the door, but never hit Blaine again. Perhaps he thought that the boy was already close enough to death. Perhaps he wanted him to suffer.

Sam heard Blaine's yell and felt his friend's strong hands on his back, shoving him into the choir room. He was about to turn around, to pull Blaine in after him, but then the door slammed in his face.

"Blaine!" he shouted, but it was no use.

Mr. Schuester and Coach Beiste pulled him and Brittany away from the door, and just in time.

There was a resounding, earsplitting bang – followed by the most painful noise Sam had ever heard. His friend's screams tore through his heart.

"No! Blaine!" he shouted again, trying to fight his way to the door again. But then there was a shower of shots splintering through the wood of the door, and he jumped back.

Everyone around him was sobbing loudly and openly by now, but all Sam could hear was the silence from just outside the door.

Blaine had stopped screaming.