Fic: An Unnecessary Panic
Media: Fic
Title: An Unnecessary Panic
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Kurt/Blaine, Wes, David, Jeff, Nick
Spoilers: Up to 2x14 (Blame it On the Alcohol)
Word Count: 4200
Summary: Kurt has been getting periodic nosebleeds for the last year, and has so far managed to keep it a secret from the Warblers during his time at Dalton. Or course, that was before movie night in Jeff’s dorm room. . .
Warnings: Please do not read if nosebleeds squick you out.
Every Saturday night, Kurt’s circle of Dalton friends (mostly Warblers) had a tradition of staying up late in somebody’s dorm room and watching movies while snacking on far too much junk food and essentially doing anything and everything they didn’t allow themselves to indulge in during the normal week. It wasn’t like they were all a bunch of snobbish rich kids, they just honored a strict, no nonsense policy that requested all students give their studies and extracurricular activities the majority of their time, effort, and attention.
Which easily explained why their weekly Saturday night get-togethers were such a big deal.
And though Kurt had been going to Dalton for a couple months now, he’d only recently been invited to hang out with the rest of the guys for pizza and action movies and more candy than he knew what to do with. By his count, this was his fourth time spending the night in another boy’s dorm (Jeff, an attractive, blond-haired boy he had fourth period French and Warblers with) and Kurt was only just beginning to feel comfortable lounging around in his pajamas in the presence of several other guys outside his ND circle. He’d experienced being in various states of undress numerous times with his girlfriends, either at slumber parties or when he was still on the Cheerios, but hanging out with a bunch of attractive, incredibly friendly, and incredibly fun males his own age was an exciting and terrifyingly new experience that Kurt was still attempting to get used to.
Opting for once not to wear a pair of his dressier, designer nightclothes, Kurt had decided to go for casual-chic, choosing an attractive pair of black, cotton pants and a snug dark-red long-sleeved shirt that he’d been told by more than one of his girlfriends (and maybe Blaine once or twice, not that he was paying any particular attention to this) that it was a really good color on him. Brought out the striking quality of his alabaster skin or something, Kurt couldn’t really remember. All he cared about at the moment was despite the fact that he was dressed much more casually than usual, he still felt over-dressed next to some of the other boys who were wearing boxers and t-shirt and even wifebeaters. Kurt had sworn he’d died and gone to heaven when Blaine had shown up at Jeff’s dorm in a black tank and dark green plaid pajama bottoms. His arms were more sculpted than Kurt had realized, and the discovery had lead to him missing the first few seconds of Blaine speaking to him while he traced the slightly raised veins in Blaine’s forearms with his eyes, watching them tense whenever he moved. It was….kind of ridiculously hot.
Even when he was giggling like a five-year old and wrestling with Nick from Kurt’s Chemistry class and acting like a complete goofball without a care in the world.
Guy on guy wrestling in their underwear…hmm…
Kurt quickly averted his gaze when David accidently bumped into his arm as he was trying to grab a bottle of soda that Wes had swiped from him when he wasn’t looking. Casually, Kurt brushed his hair out of his eyes (no product, for once!) and let his fingers gently brush past his nose. He quickly checked his finger and let out a little sigh of relief when there was nothing there. He’d been lucky so far during his time at Dalton, and so far he’d managed to get through each of these little parties without a single accident to speak of. Ogling Blaine while he rough-housed with another hot guy, however, wasn’t going to help and was probably asking for trouble any way he looked at it, current…issues aside.
The thing was, Kurt got nosebleeds. It was nothing horrible or life-threatening or even terribly inconvenient. They were simply gross and embarrassing. For reasons Kurt couldn’t fathom, just under a year ago he’d started having random nosebleeds a couple times a month. They would happen at completely random times for seemingly no reason whatsoever. At first, Kurt had been incredibly alarmed, having never had a prior nosebleed in his life, then being expected to deal with them on a monthly basis. At first, his mind had flashed to foreshadowing of illness and disease, and anything else unusual bodily reactions could be hinting at, but as time went on and nothing terribly out of the ordinary occurred, Kurt simply had to chalk it up to cold weather or a dry nasal cavity. Neither of these reasons really explained anything, and more often than naught they weren’t even plausible when Kurt got a nosebleed while lying in bed reading a magazine, or while he was watching TV or eating dinner. And over time, he’d learned how to recognize the signs of when a nosebleed was occurring before things got too messy, and with practice, learned how to take care of his body with minimal fussing and accidental coppery ingestion.
Yuck.
It seemed as though Kurt was overdue for another accident, though, which worried him more than he rationally knew it should. He’d had one a month and a half ago during lunch, and had easily managed to steal away to a bathroom for twenty minutes while he methodically blew his nose, spit into the sink, washed his mouth out, then repeated the process. Eventually, he’d rip off a tiny square of tissue and roll it up into a little bundle that he’d resignedly place in one (or sometimes both) or his nostrils. Usually, he was lucky enough to only have one side of his nose bleed, and was able to hide out in one of the stalls while he waited for the heaviest blood-flow to slow. It was annoying and always left a horrible taste in his mouth and always made him afraid to breathe through his nose too hard for the next half hour, but he got through it like he always did and nobody was ever the wiser.
“Kurt, get over here!” Blaine suddenly grabbed his sleeve, laughing as he pulled a squawking Kurt’s onto the floor next to him while Wes finally popped The Labyrinth into his player. Kurt happily forgot about his worries and quoted along with the other five boys as David Bowie strut his stuff like the damn fine mother-fucker he was. Though he wouldn’t admit it, Kurt was kind of a fanboy and only dreamed that he could be as bedazzlingly awesome as the King of Goblins himself one day.
“I’m gonna marry him when I grow up.” Jeff sighed dramatically a few feet away from him. Wes laughed and joked that if Jeff wanted a sugar daddy he could gladly start with Mr. Simons, their pushing sixty and overweight math teacher. Kurt laughed at the face Jeff made and snuggled into Blaine’s side when the other boy casually placed him arm behind Kurt’s back. They weren’t dating, or even…together, but there was something there. At least, Kurt liked to think so. His disastrous confession during Valentine ’s Day had put a little strain on their relationship, and the aftermath of “Rachel-Gate” had really put their friendship to the test in a way that Kurt still shivered from occasionally when he thought back to how horrible it had felt to fight with Blaine. The other boy meant so much to Kurt, and if he were to decide in one moment that Kurt’s bitchiness really wasn’t worth it in the end, Kurt didn’t know how he’d be able to cope.
Was a taste of paradise only to lose it better than not having ever tasted at all, and never knowing the suffering? These were thoughts that occasionally went through Kurt’s mind when he sat back and looked at how spectacular his life was lately, genuinely waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“I don’t know, Wes, Mr. Simmons only teaches eleventh grade calculus. If Jeff was really looking to go for bank I think he should turn his attentions more towards,” Kurt paused for affect when Jeff’s face reddened, “Mr Harris, the senior athletics’ instructor.”
Blaine’s body next to him spasmed as he laughed, gently rocking Kurt with pleasant vibrations while Jeff let out a groan of defeat and collapsed onto his back in misery. It seemed as if that was all it took for the other boys to start chipping in on who they thought the most appropriate (and increasingly cringe-worthy) candidates for sugar daddies out of Dalton’s male teachers were, before somehow the candidates went from ghastly and horrific to dreamy and hilarious as some of their favorite celebrities started entering the fray (Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt just to name a few). Kurt felt his brows raise slightly when Blaine breathlessly offered Leonardo DiCaprio as one of his choices, much to the numerous rolled eyes this earned from some of the other boys.
When he saw Kurt’s curious (and mildly devastated) look, Nick took it up as his job to inform Kurt of Blaine’s shameful (depending on how you looked at it) past.
“Blaine was a huge Leo fan last year when Inception came out. We had to sit through him writing prose to the beauty and talent and sheer godliness of his majesty Leonardo-makes-girls-enter-puberty-DiCaprio.” Blaine grabbed a handful of M&Ms from a bowl in front of him and hurled a good ten or twenty in Nick’s general direction, much to the dismay of Jeff who was sure he’d never be able to find all of it before his room got ants. Kurt merely laughed at the sheer madness of it all, feeling incredibly light and happy for the first time in far too long. He’d never dreamed that he’d be able to sit around with a group of guys and playfully debate the universal hotness of Hollywood’s leading men, whether or not the guys discussing it were gay or not. It didn’t really matter, since they were all secure in themselves and didn’t feel any need to front. There was no judgment here, everyone was equal.
Suddenly, mid laugh, Kurt felt as it if the breath he was taking in through his nose was a little wetter than it had been a few seconds ago. Blaine was still tossing random candies in Nick’s direction, and David was sitting closer to him than he had been a few minutes before. Swallowing cautiously, not daring to bring a finger up to his nose to check, Kurt cringed slightly when the bittersweet taste of copper hit his tongue. Well, that was it then. He needed to get out of there, now.
Kurt started to shift his legs underneath himself so that he could stand, but at the movement Blaine’s attention immediately went back to him, his smile tilting a little into a sort of half frown.
“Hey, Kurt, where’re you going?” He asked curiously. A thought flew through Kurt’s head that he should just mention he was going to the restroom, but fight or flight kicked in before he could stop himself, and in his desire to get out of there as fast as he could, Kurt stood up too fast and tilted dangerously to the side as his head swam dizzily.
“Kurt!” Blaine cried out in alarm, only managing to get to his knees and throw an arm around Kurt’s waist. David was quicker and managed to get one leg under him as he caught Kurt under his ribs and put his arm securely around his back.
“Shit.” Kurt uttered simply as the two boys slowly lowered him back to the floor and tried to convince him to lie down. He batted off their hands in annoyance and sat up so that he could try and stand up again. It was only when Wes suddenly gasped loudly, followed quickly by Jeff and Blaine, that Kurt remember with sharp clarity why he had been trying to stand up, and in his panic, he couldn’t prevent the blood freely smearing the skin above his upper lip and dripping onto his chin. He knew from regrettable experience that he looked like he’s just been punched in the face or something. The amount of blood one lost during each incident changed from time to time, but if there was one thing that didn’t, it was that it was uncomfortable as hell.
“Jesus, Kurt. What the hell just happened?” Jeff gaped at him, scrambling to grab a box of tissues off of his desk. He trust them at Kurt as if it were a weapon meant to ward off evil, but Kurt didn’t pay it any mind as he frantically selected several pieces and promptly wiped off his face.
“Kurt?” Blaine breathed uncertainly beside him, worry radiating from every line of his body. Kurt opened his mouth to say something, anything that would reassure him that there was really nothing wrong with him, but instead pushed the other boy away as a hand flew to his mouth.
He needed to spit, badly.
“Let me up.” He said harshly, feeling his cheeks begin to heat up as a combination of retched blood flavor and the worried, confused stares of his friends began to make his stomach twist.
“What? Kurt, no-” Blaine started, clearly not understanding what was happened, and tried to put a hand on Kurt’s shoulder to hold him down. Kurt glared at the dark-haired boy and pushed him off.
“I said-” He started, but then coughed. Just once.
And there was blood on his palm when he moved his hand away from his mouth.
Nick let out a very strange wail, and Wes was already reaching for his cell phone while David began instructing Kurt to take shallow, careful breaths, but to stop immediately if anything hurt. Blaine had finally gotten the hint and had completely removed himself from Kurt, not touching the other boy at all. But at the site of the blood on Kurt’s palm, he was now staring at him in shock, completely still and unmoving as he stared at the little smear of blood staining the corner of Kurt’s mouth.
Kurt heaved a long-suffering sigh and finally got his legs beneath him, none-too-gently pushing David back with a socked foot to the chest when the other boy once again tried to get him to lie down. Honestly, they were such boys.
“Wes, don’t you dare finish that phone call. If the school nurse or, god forbid, the paramedics show up within the next ten minutes I swear I will break into your bedroom this instant and rub my bloody nose all over your white bed sheets.” He took an unconscious breath through his nose and cringed when blood coated his tongue. Thoroughly exasperated by this point and no longer caring, he spit into the tissue he was holding and crumpled it quickly before any of the boys could have another panic attack or think that Kurt had internal bleeding.
Uhg…boys.
“Wait…bloody nose?” Jeff suddenly spoke up, furrowing his brow lightly before his expression cleared and his mouth formed a little ‘oh’ in realization. Kurt rolled his eyes at that.
“Indeed. And now that you’ve established yourself as the only non-paranoid one among the lot of you, I’ll leave it in your hands to explain that I’m not going off to my death in the bathroom. Nor am I going to drown in a lungful of my own blood.” Kurt rolled his eyes again at the wide-eyed look Blaine graced him with at this thought, and finally decided that it was high time he checked out of this conversation. Turning on his heal, he stepped over David’s legs and Nick’s nauseatingly large pile of candy wrappers and slammed the door to Jeff’s bathroom after him.
*
The spitting was Kurt’s least favorite part of bloody noses, if he were to be honest. Of course, when they first started happening, the most horrible thing that had even happened was getting blood on a brand new Alexander McQueen scarf that he’d honest-to-god nearly sold an arm and a leg to buy. Finn had played it smart and given Kurt a healthy berth at that time, as he was sure he could have pushed the larger boy down the stairs or smothered him with a pillow or something else uncharacteristically homicidal in his moment of despair.
Now, spitting was simply the worst part of the routine. And Kurt despaired inwardly at the fact that he could even call this a routine. His life did still suck pretty enormously from time to time. And as he was very unattractively spitting a bright red hunk of yuck into the sink, Kurt rinsed his mouth out again and gently tested the tissues he’s stuffed up his nose. Finally.
He’d locked the door to Jeff’s bathroom fifteen minutes ago and could still hear voices on the other side. The boys had been disturbingly quite in the first few minutes Kurt had been holed up, but now it seemed as if they were calming down from the insane overreactions and were ready to be rationally talked sense to.
Though if he were being honest with himself, he could see what all of the fuss was about. Nobody was ever prepared to be faced with blood, even Kurt’s own father (and especially Finn) still blanched when a little red line dripped down Kurt’s lip before he could stop it.
Taking a deep breath, feeling oddly nervous, then feeling annoyed at himself for being nervous, Kurt unlatched the lock to the bathroom and stepped back out into the room.
Five pairs of eyes immediately swiveled in his direction, and Kurt gave them his bitchiest glare in return. Jeff was the first one to smile awkwardly and pat the spot on the floor next to him invitingly. If Kurt were to be entirely honest with himself, it wasn’t inviting at all, but he sat next to the blond anyway.
“Did you get everything taken care of?” Jeff asked kindly, “Do you need some water?”
Kurt sighed and shook his head. “No thanks. I’m good now.” He looked at the other boys staring at him uncertainly. Finally, he looked at Blaine, who was now biting his lip and anxiously twisting the drawstring to his pajama pants with his fingers. At any other time it would have been adorable, but right now, the site just made Kurt tired.
“Blaine stop that, it’s making me tired.” He stated bluntly, not feeling the least bit of satisfaction when Blaine immediately dropped the cotton string and bunched his hands into the fabric at his thighs instead.
Jeff shot him a disapproving look.
“So,” Kurt drawled, “I guess you’re all probably wondering what that was about.”
Blaine swallowed and opened his mouth, but Jeff beat him to the punch.
“A nose bleed. That’s what you just got, right?” He asked calmly, seemingly already knowing the answer to his question. Kurt nodded and unconsciously rubbed the bridge of his nose gently, still feeling some phantom soreness.
“I get them every so often, usually for no particular reason, and can take care of them before anyone even realizes what’s happening. They aren’t a big deal,” he hurried to say when he saw the uncomfortable looks on the other boy’s faces. “I can usually deal with them quickly and effectively. Tonight I just…” He trailed off, lowering his eyes.
“Kurt.” Blaine finally said softly, scooting forward a few feet and reaching out his hand. Kurt took it without thinking, and felt lighter when Blaine squeezed his fingers in appreciation. “Why did you feel as if you needed to leave? None of us were going to treat you any different just because of a little blood. I mean,” and here Blaine swallowed a little, as if gathering his reserve, “I won’t deny that it was a bit shocking to see blood on your face, especially because we had no idea what was happening, but I know you know, Kurt, that the last thing any of us want is for you to get hurt in any way.”
“Yeah, man. Don’t worry about it so much, okay? Next time, let us help you before you go off and get Wes almost calling 911.” David joked lightly, causing Wes to throwing him a disgruntled look and for Kurt to smile slightly.
“Thanks,” He said to both of them, making David smile and Wes flush.
Nick, who had been quiet up until this moment, suddenly reached out with one hand and presented Kurt with a miniature snickers bar. Kurt groaned and grabbed the candy out of Nick’s hand, willing to eat anything at this point to drive the lingering touches of copper out of his mouth, even if it meant resorting to empty calories and possible pimples (not that he had any, mind you, but the threat is always present, even if one’s skin care routine is flawless and to be admired by millions).
The boys all laughed a little as Kurt inhaled the little chocolate treat in a few, desperate bites. Smiling despite himself, Kurt felt his body’s equilibrium settling back closer to normal.
“I guess…I just…” He started to explain, pursing his lips when he found it genuinely hard to articulate. The other boys settled down and listened, “It’s messy, for one thing, and absolutely disgusting it goes without saying.”
Kurt rubbed his forehead tiredly and gave up. “I didn’t want anyone to get freaked out, or to think it’s gross. To think I’m gross. Because it is! And I am gross when it’s happening.”
“Kurt, no-” Jeff started, but Kurt cut him off.
“Don’t tell me that two months ago when we barely spoke to each other outside of Warblers meetings that you wouldn’t have thought of me as the weird, sickly new kid if I was suddenly leaking blood at random intervals! Do you know how many times I’ve been asked if I have AIDS? Or some sort of disease?” Kurt tried to reign it in when he saw the stunned and hurt look on Jeff’s face.
“I know this isn’t my old school, or my old town, but people are still people.” He whispered brokenly, horrified to feel tears starting to burn at the back of his eyes. Lifting his face upwards to keep them at bay, he spoke, “I like it here at Dalton. I feel safe here, and I didn’t want anything to jeopardize that. One of the reasons why I left McKinley is because I was different, and the people there couldn’t accept me for my differences. The absolute last thing I wanted was for a whole new set of differences to be the reason why people at this school treated me badly as well.” He finished wearily, covering his eyes with his left hand.
“Kurt,” Wes whispered softly, “Do you really think we could be like that? After everything you’ve seen? Everything you know? Everything you’ve experienced?”
Kurt sniffled once, grateful to realize that it was a normal sniffle and no blood was involved. “Once a skeptic, always a skeptic, I guess.”
“You weren’t going to let us in until you knew for sure what we are like.” David realized. Kurt nodded. Blaine stirred at that.
“A zero-tolerance harassment policy sounds great on paper, but in practice it’s a work in progress. We all acknowledge that, and I can see your point in not telling us about your nose bleeds. But Kurt…” Here Blaine paused, shuffling over the last few feet so that he could pull Kurt into a tight hug. “I wish you had at least told me.” He whispered.
Kurt blindly embraced Blaine in return, feeling his face catch fire at all of the knowing looks the other boys were giving them. Good lord, did Blaine have to do this in front of their friends?
Suddenly, movement out of the corner of his eye caught Kurt’s attention and he barely contained his squeak when Jeff all but tackled them from behind, throwing his arms around Kurt and Blaine at the same time, snuggling his face into Kurt’s neck happily.
“Don’t you ever scare us like that again, Kurt! We aren’t a bunch of sissies! We can handle the sight of a little blood.”
“I don’t know about that,” Nick deadpanned as he flung his arm around them and joined the pile.
“Yeah, I can’t say that the site of blood isn’t going to make me wince once in a while, but you definitely aren’t allowed to go through this alone anymore. Alright Kurt?” Wes put in cheerfully, surprising them by knocking Nick out of the way and taking his spot in the fray.
“I don’t know how I’m going to safely integrate myself into this pile without losing a tooth or something.” David laughed fondly when the group of friends abruptly tipped to the side as Nick made an attempt to reclaim his spot, instead causing Blaine and Kurt to lose their balance and take everyone else down with them. Soon, the dorm room was filled with the sound of laughing boys and good-natured wrestling.
And if any of the boys pointedly made an effort not to rough Kurt up too much, the deliriously happy boy opted not to think about it.
---------------
Thanks for reading. In case you all couldn't tell, I have the same "condition" as Kurt. I got another nosebleed about a week ago, and in addition to that I was having a crap week, so I took my aggression out on this poor fic. And wouldn't you know it!? I got another nosebleed tonight for no reason! Which is why I'm now actually posting this fic.
Sigh....I hope my descriptions weren't too gross, and that you all got some enjoyment over the general zaniness of this fic. Anyone who can relate to myself or Kurt will realize how much of a pain in the butt it is to get nosebleeds. The only difference between myself and Kurt, however, is that I've only ever gotten them in front of my family. None of my friends know that I get them, and I hope that they never will. Oh Kurt, you are so strong and fight my imaginary battles for me...lol.
Btw, may I please have an author tag? Thanks mods.
Edit: Wow! I must admit that I am truly amazed by the amount of people commenting on this story who have also experienced nosebleeds to the extent that Kurt (and myself) have. I must admit that for a long time I've felt sort of awkward about my nosebleeds because I've never know anyone else who has had them. That being said, I am very happy to hear all of your stories and appreciate your words of caring. It has truly made my day to feel connected with all of you like this. Thank you all for commenting on my story, and I hope you all remain in good health!
Title: An Unnecessary Panic
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Kurt/Blaine, Wes, David, Jeff, Nick
Spoilers: Up to 2x14 (Blame it On the Alcohol)
Word Count: 4200
Summary: Kurt has been getting periodic nosebleeds for the last year, and has so far managed to keep it a secret from the Warblers during his time at Dalton. Or course, that was before movie night in Jeff’s dorm room. . .
Warnings: Please do not read if nosebleeds squick you out.
Every Saturday night, Kurt’s circle of Dalton friends (mostly Warblers) had a tradition of staying up late in somebody’s dorm room and watching movies while snacking on far too much junk food and essentially doing anything and everything they didn’t allow themselves to indulge in during the normal week. It wasn’t like they were all a bunch of snobbish rich kids, they just honored a strict, no nonsense policy that requested all students give their studies and extracurricular activities the majority of their time, effort, and attention.
Which easily explained why their weekly Saturday night get-togethers were such a big deal.
And though Kurt had been going to Dalton for a couple months now, he’d only recently been invited to hang out with the rest of the guys for pizza and action movies and more candy than he knew what to do with. By his count, this was his fourth time spending the night in another boy’s dorm (Jeff, an attractive, blond-haired boy he had fourth period French and Warblers with) and Kurt was only just beginning to feel comfortable lounging around in his pajamas in the presence of several other guys outside his ND circle. He’d experienced being in various states of undress numerous times with his girlfriends, either at slumber parties or when he was still on the Cheerios, but hanging out with a bunch of attractive, incredibly friendly, and incredibly fun males his own age was an exciting and terrifyingly new experience that Kurt was still attempting to get used to.
Opting for once not to wear a pair of his dressier, designer nightclothes, Kurt had decided to go for casual-chic, choosing an attractive pair of black, cotton pants and a snug dark-red long-sleeved shirt that he’d been told by more than one of his girlfriends (and maybe Blaine once or twice, not that he was paying any particular attention to this) that it was a really good color on him. Brought out the striking quality of his alabaster skin or something, Kurt couldn’t really remember. All he cared about at the moment was despite the fact that he was dressed much more casually than usual, he still felt over-dressed next to some of the other boys who were wearing boxers and t-shirt and even wifebeaters. Kurt had sworn he’d died and gone to heaven when Blaine had shown up at Jeff’s dorm in a black tank and dark green plaid pajama bottoms. His arms were more sculpted than Kurt had realized, and the discovery had lead to him missing the first few seconds of Blaine speaking to him while he traced the slightly raised veins in Blaine’s forearms with his eyes, watching them tense whenever he moved. It was….kind of ridiculously hot.
Even when he was giggling like a five-year old and wrestling with Nick from Kurt’s Chemistry class and acting like a complete goofball without a care in the world.
Guy on guy wrestling in their underwear…hmm…
Kurt quickly averted his gaze when David accidently bumped into his arm as he was trying to grab a bottle of soda that Wes had swiped from him when he wasn’t looking. Casually, Kurt brushed his hair out of his eyes (no product, for once!) and let his fingers gently brush past his nose. He quickly checked his finger and let out a little sigh of relief when there was nothing there. He’d been lucky so far during his time at Dalton, and so far he’d managed to get through each of these little parties without a single accident to speak of. Ogling Blaine while he rough-housed with another hot guy, however, wasn’t going to help and was probably asking for trouble any way he looked at it, current…issues aside.
The thing was, Kurt got nosebleeds. It was nothing horrible or life-threatening or even terribly inconvenient. They were simply gross and embarrassing. For reasons Kurt couldn’t fathom, just under a year ago he’d started having random nosebleeds a couple times a month. They would happen at completely random times for seemingly no reason whatsoever. At first, Kurt had been incredibly alarmed, having never had a prior nosebleed in his life, then being expected to deal with them on a monthly basis. At first, his mind had flashed to foreshadowing of illness and disease, and anything else unusual bodily reactions could be hinting at, but as time went on and nothing terribly out of the ordinary occurred, Kurt simply had to chalk it up to cold weather or a dry nasal cavity. Neither of these reasons really explained anything, and more often than naught they weren’t even plausible when Kurt got a nosebleed while lying in bed reading a magazine, or while he was watching TV or eating dinner. And over time, he’d learned how to recognize the signs of when a nosebleed was occurring before things got too messy, and with practice, learned how to take care of his body with minimal fussing and accidental coppery ingestion.
Yuck.
It seemed as though Kurt was overdue for another accident, though, which worried him more than he rationally knew it should. He’d had one a month and a half ago during lunch, and had easily managed to steal away to a bathroom for twenty minutes while he methodically blew his nose, spit into the sink, washed his mouth out, then repeated the process. Eventually, he’d rip off a tiny square of tissue and roll it up into a little bundle that he’d resignedly place in one (or sometimes both) or his nostrils. Usually, he was lucky enough to only have one side of his nose bleed, and was able to hide out in one of the stalls while he waited for the heaviest blood-flow to slow. It was annoying and always left a horrible taste in his mouth and always made him afraid to breathe through his nose too hard for the next half hour, but he got through it like he always did and nobody was ever the wiser.
“Kurt, get over here!” Blaine suddenly grabbed his sleeve, laughing as he pulled a squawking Kurt’s onto the floor next to him while Wes finally popped The Labyrinth into his player. Kurt happily forgot about his worries and quoted along with the other five boys as David Bowie strut his stuff like the damn fine mother-fucker he was. Though he wouldn’t admit it, Kurt was kind of a fanboy and only dreamed that he could be as bedazzlingly awesome as the King of Goblins himself one day.
“I’m gonna marry him when I grow up.” Jeff sighed dramatically a few feet away from him. Wes laughed and joked that if Jeff wanted a sugar daddy he could gladly start with Mr. Simons, their pushing sixty and overweight math teacher. Kurt laughed at the face Jeff made and snuggled into Blaine’s side when the other boy casually placed him arm behind Kurt’s back. They weren’t dating, or even…together, but there was something there. At least, Kurt liked to think so. His disastrous confession during Valentine ’s Day had put a little strain on their relationship, and the aftermath of “Rachel-Gate” had really put their friendship to the test in a way that Kurt still shivered from occasionally when he thought back to how horrible it had felt to fight with Blaine. The other boy meant so much to Kurt, and if he were to decide in one moment that Kurt’s bitchiness really wasn’t worth it in the end, Kurt didn’t know how he’d be able to cope.
Was a taste of paradise only to lose it better than not having ever tasted at all, and never knowing the suffering? These were thoughts that occasionally went through Kurt’s mind when he sat back and looked at how spectacular his life was lately, genuinely waiting for the other shoe to drop.
“I don’t know, Wes, Mr. Simmons only teaches eleventh grade calculus. If Jeff was really looking to go for bank I think he should turn his attentions more towards,” Kurt paused for affect when Jeff’s face reddened, “Mr Harris, the senior athletics’ instructor.”
Blaine’s body next to him spasmed as he laughed, gently rocking Kurt with pleasant vibrations while Jeff let out a groan of defeat and collapsed onto his back in misery. It seemed as if that was all it took for the other boys to start chipping in on who they thought the most appropriate (and increasingly cringe-worthy) candidates for sugar daddies out of Dalton’s male teachers were, before somehow the candidates went from ghastly and horrific to dreamy and hilarious as some of their favorite celebrities started entering the fray (Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt just to name a few). Kurt felt his brows raise slightly when Blaine breathlessly offered Leonardo DiCaprio as one of his choices, much to the numerous rolled eyes this earned from some of the other boys.
When he saw Kurt’s curious (and mildly devastated) look, Nick took it up as his job to inform Kurt of Blaine’s shameful (depending on how you looked at it) past.
“Blaine was a huge Leo fan last year when Inception came out. We had to sit through him writing prose to the beauty and talent and sheer godliness of his majesty Leonardo-makes-girls-enter-puberty-DiCaprio.” Blaine grabbed a handful of M&Ms from a bowl in front of him and hurled a good ten or twenty in Nick’s general direction, much to the dismay of Jeff who was sure he’d never be able to find all of it before his room got ants. Kurt merely laughed at the sheer madness of it all, feeling incredibly light and happy for the first time in far too long. He’d never dreamed that he’d be able to sit around with a group of guys and playfully debate the universal hotness of Hollywood’s leading men, whether or not the guys discussing it were gay or not. It didn’t really matter, since they were all secure in themselves and didn’t feel any need to front. There was no judgment here, everyone was equal.
Suddenly, mid laugh, Kurt felt as it if the breath he was taking in through his nose was a little wetter than it had been a few seconds ago. Blaine was still tossing random candies in Nick’s direction, and David was sitting closer to him than he had been a few minutes before. Swallowing cautiously, not daring to bring a finger up to his nose to check, Kurt cringed slightly when the bittersweet taste of copper hit his tongue. Well, that was it then. He needed to get out of there, now.
Kurt started to shift his legs underneath himself so that he could stand, but at the movement Blaine’s attention immediately went back to him, his smile tilting a little into a sort of half frown.
“Hey, Kurt, where’re you going?” He asked curiously. A thought flew through Kurt’s head that he should just mention he was going to the restroom, but fight or flight kicked in before he could stop himself, and in his desire to get out of there as fast as he could, Kurt stood up too fast and tilted dangerously to the side as his head swam dizzily.
“Kurt!” Blaine cried out in alarm, only managing to get to his knees and throw an arm around Kurt’s waist. David was quicker and managed to get one leg under him as he caught Kurt under his ribs and put his arm securely around his back.
“Shit.” Kurt uttered simply as the two boys slowly lowered him back to the floor and tried to convince him to lie down. He batted off their hands in annoyance and sat up so that he could try and stand up again. It was only when Wes suddenly gasped loudly, followed quickly by Jeff and Blaine, that Kurt remember with sharp clarity why he had been trying to stand up, and in his panic, he couldn’t prevent the blood freely smearing the skin above his upper lip and dripping onto his chin. He knew from regrettable experience that he looked like he’s just been punched in the face or something. The amount of blood one lost during each incident changed from time to time, but if there was one thing that didn’t, it was that it was uncomfortable as hell.
“Jesus, Kurt. What the hell just happened?” Jeff gaped at him, scrambling to grab a box of tissues off of his desk. He trust them at Kurt as if it were a weapon meant to ward off evil, but Kurt didn’t pay it any mind as he frantically selected several pieces and promptly wiped off his face.
“Kurt?” Blaine breathed uncertainly beside him, worry radiating from every line of his body. Kurt opened his mouth to say something, anything that would reassure him that there was really nothing wrong with him, but instead pushed the other boy away as a hand flew to his mouth.
He needed to spit, badly.
“Let me up.” He said harshly, feeling his cheeks begin to heat up as a combination of retched blood flavor and the worried, confused stares of his friends began to make his stomach twist.
“What? Kurt, no-” Blaine started, clearly not understanding what was happened, and tried to put a hand on Kurt’s shoulder to hold him down. Kurt glared at the dark-haired boy and pushed him off.
“I said-” He started, but then coughed. Just once.
And there was blood on his palm when he moved his hand away from his mouth.
Nick let out a very strange wail, and Wes was already reaching for his cell phone while David began instructing Kurt to take shallow, careful breaths, but to stop immediately if anything hurt. Blaine had finally gotten the hint and had completely removed himself from Kurt, not touching the other boy at all. But at the site of the blood on Kurt’s palm, he was now staring at him in shock, completely still and unmoving as he stared at the little smear of blood staining the corner of Kurt’s mouth.
Kurt heaved a long-suffering sigh and finally got his legs beneath him, none-too-gently pushing David back with a socked foot to the chest when the other boy once again tried to get him to lie down. Honestly, they were such boys.
“Wes, don’t you dare finish that phone call. If the school nurse or, god forbid, the paramedics show up within the next ten minutes I swear I will break into your bedroom this instant and rub my bloody nose all over your white bed sheets.” He took an unconscious breath through his nose and cringed when blood coated his tongue. Thoroughly exasperated by this point and no longer caring, he spit into the tissue he was holding and crumpled it quickly before any of the boys could have another panic attack or think that Kurt had internal bleeding.
Uhg…boys.
“Wait…bloody nose?” Jeff suddenly spoke up, furrowing his brow lightly before his expression cleared and his mouth formed a little ‘oh’ in realization. Kurt rolled his eyes at that.
“Indeed. And now that you’ve established yourself as the only non-paranoid one among the lot of you, I’ll leave it in your hands to explain that I’m not going off to my death in the bathroom. Nor am I going to drown in a lungful of my own blood.” Kurt rolled his eyes again at the wide-eyed look Blaine graced him with at this thought, and finally decided that it was high time he checked out of this conversation. Turning on his heal, he stepped over David’s legs and Nick’s nauseatingly large pile of candy wrappers and slammed the door to Jeff’s bathroom after him.
*
The spitting was Kurt’s least favorite part of bloody noses, if he were to be honest. Of course, when they first started happening, the most horrible thing that had even happened was getting blood on a brand new Alexander McQueen scarf that he’d honest-to-god nearly sold an arm and a leg to buy. Finn had played it smart and given Kurt a healthy berth at that time, as he was sure he could have pushed the larger boy down the stairs or smothered him with a pillow or something else uncharacteristically homicidal in his moment of despair.
Now, spitting was simply the worst part of the routine. And Kurt despaired inwardly at the fact that he could even call this a routine. His life did still suck pretty enormously from time to time. And as he was very unattractively spitting a bright red hunk of yuck into the sink, Kurt rinsed his mouth out again and gently tested the tissues he’s stuffed up his nose. Finally.
He’d locked the door to Jeff’s bathroom fifteen minutes ago and could still hear voices on the other side. The boys had been disturbingly quite in the first few minutes Kurt had been holed up, but now it seemed as if they were calming down from the insane overreactions and were ready to be rationally talked sense to.
Though if he were being honest with himself, he could see what all of the fuss was about. Nobody was ever prepared to be faced with blood, even Kurt’s own father (and especially Finn) still blanched when a little red line dripped down Kurt’s lip before he could stop it.
Taking a deep breath, feeling oddly nervous, then feeling annoyed at himself for being nervous, Kurt unlatched the lock to the bathroom and stepped back out into the room.
Five pairs of eyes immediately swiveled in his direction, and Kurt gave them his bitchiest glare in return. Jeff was the first one to smile awkwardly and pat the spot on the floor next to him invitingly. If Kurt were to be entirely honest with himself, it wasn’t inviting at all, but he sat next to the blond anyway.
“Did you get everything taken care of?” Jeff asked kindly, “Do you need some water?”
Kurt sighed and shook his head. “No thanks. I’m good now.” He looked at the other boys staring at him uncertainly. Finally, he looked at Blaine, who was now biting his lip and anxiously twisting the drawstring to his pajama pants with his fingers. At any other time it would have been adorable, but right now, the site just made Kurt tired.
“Blaine stop that, it’s making me tired.” He stated bluntly, not feeling the least bit of satisfaction when Blaine immediately dropped the cotton string and bunched his hands into the fabric at his thighs instead.
Jeff shot him a disapproving look.
“So,” Kurt drawled, “I guess you’re all probably wondering what that was about.”
Blaine swallowed and opened his mouth, but Jeff beat him to the punch.
“A nose bleed. That’s what you just got, right?” He asked calmly, seemingly already knowing the answer to his question. Kurt nodded and unconsciously rubbed the bridge of his nose gently, still feeling some phantom soreness.
“I get them every so often, usually for no particular reason, and can take care of them before anyone even realizes what’s happening. They aren’t a big deal,” he hurried to say when he saw the uncomfortable looks on the other boy’s faces. “I can usually deal with them quickly and effectively. Tonight I just…” He trailed off, lowering his eyes.
“Kurt.” Blaine finally said softly, scooting forward a few feet and reaching out his hand. Kurt took it without thinking, and felt lighter when Blaine squeezed his fingers in appreciation. “Why did you feel as if you needed to leave? None of us were going to treat you any different just because of a little blood. I mean,” and here Blaine swallowed a little, as if gathering his reserve, “I won’t deny that it was a bit shocking to see blood on your face, especially because we had no idea what was happening, but I know you know, Kurt, that the last thing any of us want is for you to get hurt in any way.”
“Yeah, man. Don’t worry about it so much, okay? Next time, let us help you before you go off and get Wes almost calling 911.” David joked lightly, causing Wes to throwing him a disgruntled look and for Kurt to smile slightly.
“Thanks,” He said to both of them, making David smile and Wes flush.
Nick, who had been quiet up until this moment, suddenly reached out with one hand and presented Kurt with a miniature snickers bar. Kurt groaned and grabbed the candy out of Nick’s hand, willing to eat anything at this point to drive the lingering touches of copper out of his mouth, even if it meant resorting to empty calories and possible pimples (not that he had any, mind you, but the threat is always present, even if one’s skin care routine is flawless and to be admired by millions).
The boys all laughed a little as Kurt inhaled the little chocolate treat in a few, desperate bites. Smiling despite himself, Kurt felt his body’s equilibrium settling back closer to normal.
“I guess…I just…” He started to explain, pursing his lips when he found it genuinely hard to articulate. The other boys settled down and listened, “It’s messy, for one thing, and absolutely disgusting it goes without saying.”
Kurt rubbed his forehead tiredly and gave up. “I didn’t want anyone to get freaked out, or to think it’s gross. To think I’m gross. Because it is! And I am gross when it’s happening.”
“Kurt, no-” Jeff started, but Kurt cut him off.
“Don’t tell me that two months ago when we barely spoke to each other outside of Warblers meetings that you wouldn’t have thought of me as the weird, sickly new kid if I was suddenly leaking blood at random intervals! Do you know how many times I’ve been asked if I have AIDS? Or some sort of disease?” Kurt tried to reign it in when he saw the stunned and hurt look on Jeff’s face.
“I know this isn’t my old school, or my old town, but people are still people.” He whispered brokenly, horrified to feel tears starting to burn at the back of his eyes. Lifting his face upwards to keep them at bay, he spoke, “I like it here at Dalton. I feel safe here, and I didn’t want anything to jeopardize that. One of the reasons why I left McKinley is because I was different, and the people there couldn’t accept me for my differences. The absolute last thing I wanted was for a whole new set of differences to be the reason why people at this school treated me badly as well.” He finished wearily, covering his eyes with his left hand.
“Kurt,” Wes whispered softly, “Do you really think we could be like that? After everything you’ve seen? Everything you know? Everything you’ve experienced?”
Kurt sniffled once, grateful to realize that it was a normal sniffle and no blood was involved. “Once a skeptic, always a skeptic, I guess.”
“You weren’t going to let us in until you knew for sure what we are like.” David realized. Kurt nodded. Blaine stirred at that.
“A zero-tolerance harassment policy sounds great on paper, but in practice it’s a work in progress. We all acknowledge that, and I can see your point in not telling us about your nose bleeds. But Kurt…” Here Blaine paused, shuffling over the last few feet so that he could pull Kurt into a tight hug. “I wish you had at least told me.” He whispered.
Kurt blindly embraced Blaine in return, feeling his face catch fire at all of the knowing looks the other boys were giving them. Good lord, did Blaine have to do this in front of their friends?
Suddenly, movement out of the corner of his eye caught Kurt’s attention and he barely contained his squeak when Jeff all but tackled them from behind, throwing his arms around Kurt and Blaine at the same time, snuggling his face into Kurt’s neck happily.
“Don’t you ever scare us like that again, Kurt! We aren’t a bunch of sissies! We can handle the sight of a little blood.”
“I don’t know about that,” Nick deadpanned as he flung his arm around them and joined the pile.
“Yeah, I can’t say that the site of blood isn’t going to make me wince once in a while, but you definitely aren’t allowed to go through this alone anymore. Alright Kurt?” Wes put in cheerfully, surprising them by knocking Nick out of the way and taking his spot in the fray.
“I don’t know how I’m going to safely integrate myself into this pile without losing a tooth or something.” David laughed fondly when the group of friends abruptly tipped to the side as Nick made an attempt to reclaim his spot, instead causing Blaine and Kurt to lose their balance and take everyone else down with them. Soon, the dorm room was filled with the sound of laughing boys and good-natured wrestling.
And if any of the boys pointedly made an effort not to rough Kurt up too much, the deliriously happy boy opted not to think about it.
---------------
Thanks for reading. In case you all couldn't tell, I have the same "condition" as Kurt. I got another nosebleed about a week ago, and in addition to that I was having a crap week, so I took my aggression out on this poor fic. And wouldn't you know it!? I got another nosebleed tonight for no reason! Which is why I'm now actually posting this fic.
Sigh....I hope my descriptions weren't too gross, and that you all got some enjoyment over the general zaniness of this fic. Anyone who can relate to myself or Kurt will realize how much of a pain in the butt it is to get nosebleeds. The only difference between myself and Kurt, however, is that I've only ever gotten them in front of my family. None of my friends know that I get them, and I hope that they never will. Oh Kurt, you are so strong and fight my imaginary battles for me...lol.
Btw, may I please have an author tag? Thanks mods.
Edit: Wow! I must admit that I am truly amazed by the amount of people commenting on this story who have also experienced nosebleeds to the extent that Kurt (and myself) have. I must admit that for a long time I've felt sort of awkward about my nosebleeds because I've never know anyone else who has had them. That being said, I am very happy to hear all of your stories and appreciate your words of caring. It has truly made my day to feel connected with all of you like this. Thank you all for commenting on my story, and I hope you all remain in good health!