THIS FIC IS NOT KLAINE-FRIENDLY.

At first Kurt thinks it's supposed to be a joke. A cruel, tasteless joke to be sure, to poke fun at the cuts and bruises on his face- he thought word had gotten around about the attack but maybe not? He spends his way to the subway trying to figure out who could have done it. He doesn't get far. The lockers had all been taken by the time he arrived for class so he had to leave his bag in the dressing room. Anyone could have slipped it in. He stuffs it back into his bag and makes his mind up to throw it away the first chance he gets. Just because everyone else in New York litters doesn't mean he has to.

But when his subway breaks down in between two stops and Kurt gets tired of stoically staring into the darkness of the tunnel pretending not to see the couple on the seats next to him making out while the technicians try to fix the signals, he remembers the flyer and takes it out of his bag.

How to tell if You are a Victim of Domestic Abuse

He idly starts reading. There's a checklist, and he knows it doesn't mean anything, but then he begins to tick off bullet points. Not just one. The more he thinks about it, the more bullet points fit. Suddenly he's remembering fights he's had with Blaine that he had made himself forget. Words, digs, reasoning that never seemed to make sense do so now. Kurt closes the flyer angrily and takes in the picture on the front. A sad-looking woman, a dark male silhouette in the background. He scoffs. Was this the real joke of whoever planted that flyer? To point out, once again, that he was the girl in their relationship? Stupid jerks. Stupid, non-inclusive flyer. Stupid, stupid nagging voice in the back of his head telling him things he doesn't want to hear.

He read your private messages.

He blames you for everything that goes wrong.

He accuses you of things he is guilty of.

He never apologises.

He is uncomfortable with your success.

He talks about you to your friends behind your back and encourages them to stay away from you.

He mocks and tries to undermine your health regimen because he is unhappy with himself.

He admits he likes you best when you are weak and needy.

The picture on the page blurs, and as the subway stutters into motion again and a draft from the opened air vent comes in, Kurt notices that his cheeks are wet. With shaking hands, he opens the flyer again and sees a toll-free hotline and an address in the city. It's only three subway stops from the loft.

He can't. Not now. Not without talking about this with someone first- but who? Rachel is never around, Mercedes is too busy with Sam…and everyone loves Blaine. Who'd believe him, anyway? They all cheered as he accepted his proposal. They all want them together- it's just that much easier to believe that love conquers all than it is to make a mature decision to avoid further pain.

He flips the flyer over in his hands, not sure what to do, and then he sees it. A hand-written note on the back.

Come and see me after class if you read this.
~C. July

Kurt freezes for a moment, then looks up, and sees the subway has come to a halt. He hurries out of the door and crosses the platform to board the other line. Back to NYADA.