AN: I promise there will be some fluff soon, but September isn't a good month for the Hummel-Hudson-Andersons either. I'm sure that once Glee starts again, I won't want to write anything but happyKurt :)

September - Part 1

Carole was observing her stepson closely after Tala told her about Blaine's transfer back to Dalton and she was sad to see that Kurt was still sulking a week after his punishment had ended.

Blaine had been there for the last Friday night dinner, but had to leave early because the Warblers had hosted a back to school party Kurt wasn't invited to because they wanted to talk about their plans for the competition season this year and Carole understood why Kurt was down but she didn't want to see him looking so downcast much longer.

Under the pretence of checking if he had any laundry for her – and they both knew it wasn't the real reason why she came into the room because Kurt did his own laundry – she sat down on the edge on his bed, while Kurt was moodily glaring at his homework.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked when he finally acknowledged her presence.

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm just sad because I've only seen Blaine for like two hours since he transfered back to Dalton because we're both busy with senior year."

Carole looked at him in sympathy. "Have I ever told you about Finn's dad?" she asked then.

Kurt shook his head. Everyone in the family knew she was a widow as well but she wasn't sure if Burt had ever told his son the details.

"I got pregnant with Finn my senior year of high school and Christopher decided to join the army to make money for us, so we could get married once he was done with his contract and we could both go to college. I moved to Texas with him were he did his basic training, but only a few months in he had to go to Iraq."

It'd been a long time, but somehow it was still hard for her to talk about it.

"It was hard being so far apart and this was before Skype and cell phones, but I had Finn to take care off and I knew he was doing it for us. You are the same age as I was back then and you are so lucky that you're boyfriend is only one and a half hours away and you have all this modern technology at your disposal to reach him whenever you want. I know this is difficult for you but it could be so much worse."

She didn't want to downplay Kurt's feeling but she wanted him to realize that Blaine transferring to another school really wasn't that bad.

Kurt looked thoughtful before he smiled at her. "Thanks Carole."

They were both silent for a moment and when she thought that was the end of the conversation she stood up and kissed his forehead before walking over to the door.

"Can I ask what happened to him?" Kurt stopped her. "Did he die in the war?"

Carole slowly turned around again debating whether she should tell Kurt the truth.

"Finn doesn't know because he idolizes his father, but I promise to tell him when the time is right, so please keep this between the two of us," she told Kurt as she sat down again. Kurt nodded.

"When Christopher came back from the war after one year he was different. He went out with his friends a lot, getting drunk and refused to talk to me about what had happened in Iraq. I tried to help him as best as I could, but he wouldn't let him in and when he started neglecting Finn, I moved in with a friend for a bit. He died from a drug induced overdose a few weeks later."

Kurt stared at her with wide eyes before he stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm so sorry Carole," he whispered and Carole gave him a watery smile.

"Finn thinks his dad died a hero and I've never had the heart to tell him that he got a dishonorable discharge from the Army. I just know it's going to break his heart when I tell him."

"I promise I won't say anything to him," Kurt assured her as he released her from his arms.

Carole gave him a grateful smile as she stood up and wiped away the few tears that had escaped her eyes.

"I know what it feels like to be lonely because the person you love isn't close to you any minute of the day, so whenever you are sad, you can come to me, okay?"

Carole left Kurt's bedroom deep in thoughts. Burt of course knew the true story about Christopher's death, just as he had told her the reason for his divorce, but they had both agreed to wait to tell Finn till he was older. But Finn was nearly eighteen already and she wondered if she shouldn't tell him soon.

Looking back into Kurt's room where her stepson looked a lot happier than he had before, she knew that she and Burt would be able to deal with it when the time came.

Kurt tried not to start an argument when his dad told him that Blaine couldn't come to Friday night dinner because Burt wanted to make a private announcement but it was hard. Still, he decided to give his dad a chance to talk first before he decided whether it was important enough to exclude his boyfriend from the dinner.

His father kept shooting him nervous glances all throughout dinner and Kurt began to wonder if his dad had done something to anger Kurt again. But if that were the case he wouldn't have called a family meeting.

Taking care of the dishes seemed to take forever even though the four of them worked together but after the last plate was finally put away they all went into the living room, Carole and his dad taking the couch, Finn the armchair and Kurt the loveseat.

"What's going on?" he and Finn asked in unison. His dad shifted a few times in his seat before he started his explanation.

"I know you have all seen Richard Nelson's ads on TV, right?" Kurt nodded, a look of utter disgust on his face. He couldn't believe some people hated him enough to try to ruin his life.

"Well, the thing is, as there was no opponent apart from that crazy cheerleading coach Carole had decided to run against him," he continued.

"Way to go mom!" Finn interrupted and made his mom bump her fist against his. His dad rolled his eyes before he continued.

"Unfortunately, your mom wasn't allowed to because she hasn't been a resident in Ohio for long enough, so I did some thinking because I knew how important it is to her that someone runs against this jerk, and I entered my name into the race a few weeks ago."

Finn and Kurt both sat there in silence until Finn spoke up. "Why didn't you tell us earlier? Doesn't that affect us too?" Kurt was surprised that Finn actually had valid questions for once.

"I wanted to think about my strategy first and about how much I want you involved in this," his dad explained, shooting Kurt another nervous glance.

To avoid blowing up at his dad, Kurt quickly left the living room to get himself a glass of water. His dad was doing this because he thought what the other candidate said was wrong, right? So that was good, right? He was just afraid of people airing their dirty laundry, because there were things in his life, no one but his immediate friends and family had to know.

He didn't know how he would deal if someone brought up his attack or the fact that he was chased out of high school because he couldn't handle the bullying.

But there wasn't anything he could do. He couldn't tell his dad to withdraw because even though he thought coach Sylvester could be convincing, he was sure Richard Nelson would win by a landslide if no serious candidate opposed him.

Feeling more collected again, Kurt went back into the living room and sat down in his chair again.

"So what does this mean for us?" he finally asked the question he'd been burning to ask the moment his dad announced his candidacy.

"There will be media we'll have to deal with, people wanting to take a picture of me and my family, people asking questions about us. So I need you on your best behavior the next couple of months. No sneaking into bars," his dad said with a glance at Kurt. Kurt rolled his eyes. As if he ever wanted to go back to Scandals again.

Next to him Finn was promising to try and stay out of trouble as well and Kurt barely suppressed a laugh. Finn always managed to get into trouble somehow.

"Now, there is something else we need to talk about, and I'm sorry if you're not going to like it, but my decision is final and I ask you to respect it," Burt continued and Kurt frowned because he didn't like his dad's tone.

"We all know what Nelson stands for and if I want a chance to defeat him no one can know that I have a gay son." Kurt felt like he got punched in the stomach. Was his dad still ashamed of him after all this time?

"Burt, it's not like that's a secret. Everyone at school knows he's dating Blaine," Finn interjected and Kurt was grateful for that because he was speechless for a moment.

"I'm not asking you to lie about it, but I'm asking you not to comment on it if someone asks and be careful when you see Blaine in public." Burt was looking intently at Kurt but Kurt had to look away.

"Do you agree with that too?" he suddenly turned to Carole who shook her head. "I don't because I think people aren't going to be happy when they find out they were lied to and I also think we could use it to our advantage, showing people there's nothing wrong with you, but it's your dad's campaign.

"Look buddy, nothing really changes and now with Blaine at Dalton it's not like I'm asking you to pretend he isn't your boyfriend at school," his dad tried again and Kurt had heard enough. He jumped up from his seat and yelled at his dad.

"I bet your happy Blaine's gone so I can't ruin your precious reputation. I thought you had changed but clearly I was wrong." He didn't wait around to hear more of his father's excuses and ran out of the door slamming it behind him.

He got into his car and was driving around aimlessly for close to half an hour, wishing Blaine were home instead of at yet another Warblers party. He needed his boyfriend to tell him he was right and his dad was a jerk and to just hold him.

He stopped the car in the parking lot of a twenty-four hour diner and took out his phone, dialing Blaine's number but his boyfriend didn't pick up. After another round of unsuccessful calls, he furiously typed out a message. "I need you, please call me."

He was about to turn on the ignition to drive back home, when his phone chimed. "Busy at the party baby, call you later." Kurt threw his phone against the windshield before dissolving into tears.

Blaine had promised to always be there for him, but apparently his boyfriend wasn't big on keeping promises either.

At some point he must have managed to drive home and go up to his room, but his racing thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and Carole pocked her head in, a cup of hot chocolate in her hand.

"You okay, honey? I was worried when you just left and didn't come back for two hours," she said as she sat down next to him on his bed.

Kurt shrugged his shoulders. As much as he loved Carole by now, she wasn't the person he wanted to talk in this moment.

"I'm sorry about your dad. He thinks he's doing the right thing here because he really wants to win this election for you, but we both know that can be misguided in his attempts to reach a goal."

"So you are on his side now?" Kurt spat out. Carole shook her head. "No, I still think he's making a mistake, but I'm asking you to see it from his point of view, okay. He didn't tell you to keep quiet because he's ashamed of you, but because he honestly believes he can't win if people here know about you."

Okay fine, he could understand that some people might not vote for his dad if they knew he had a gay son, but he'd rather not have their votes at all if they couldn't accept him. He was not going back into the closet, because as Texas had taught him, people always assumed, whether he confirmed it or not was mostly irrelevant.

"I need some time, Carole," he told his stepmom and turned onto his side, so his back was facing her.

He could feel the bed dip next to him as she kissed his head, before the door closed behind her.

Kurt spared a glance at his phone again, hoping Blaine had finally tried to contact him, but there were still no missed calls or new texts on his display. That night he fell asleep crying, with his phone clutched to his chest.

"He okay?" Burt asked his wife when she came back from Kurt's room. He had wanted to talk to his son as soon as he had heard the front door open, but Carole had thought it would be better if she talked to him.

"Not really, but what did you expect to happen Burt. I told you it was a bad idea not to tell them immediately and you know I don't agree with you hiding your son," his wife told him, not for the first time.

But she didn't understand. He knew the people in Lima, he had grown up with them and he had been one of them. They wouldn't be accepting and they wouldn't vote for him if they knew he was. Nelson was a fanatic and he needed to give the people someone who still stood for what they believed in but was less radical in his own believes.

"By telling Kurt to go back into the closet you are just telling all the haters they are right. That being gay in wrong and should be hidden as not to offend someone. I told you, you'd have my full support, but I'm not supporting you in this," Carole told him, gathering up her pillow and blanket before leaving him alone in their bedroom.

It wasn't that they never fought, but it's been a while since Carole decided not to spend the night with him, the last time when he told Kurt he couldn't wear his own clothes to school in Austin.

Still, he thought he was doing the right thing here and once he was elected his family would surely forgive him for telling Kurt to keep quiet. But if he was so sure, why was it getting harder to convince himself he was in fact doing the right thing?

Finn was glad to go back to school on Monday, not just because he managed to get back onto the football team but also because he had caught his mom coming out of the guest room in the morning the last two days.

He hated when his parents fought, but he was on his mom and Kurt's side this time. There had been a time when he had lied about Kurt's sexuality because he was afraid of his friends' opinion about him, but he put that behind him and was now proud to be Kurt's brother.

He had tried to talk to Kurt over the weekend but his brother had ignored him most of the time and had even gone as far as to throw his phone in Finn's direction when it started ringing Saturday night and Finn dared to ask why Kurt wasn't picking up the fourth time it happened. After that he had stay clear of Kurt's room and had spent the rest of the weekend with the Glee guys for a COD marathon just to escape the tense atmosphere at home.

Kurt still didn't look happy when he drove them to school on Monday but Finn decided to let Kurt come to him if he wanted to talk because he didn't want to find out if he had better aim during the day.

He managed to stay awake during most of his classes because he knew he couldn't afford to sleep through his senior year if he wanted to stay on the team and after the final bell had rung, he headed to practice while Kurt went to the library to work on some project.

He hadn't meant to make Kurt wait for him outside the locker room after practice but he got sidetracked by Puck who was telling him about his latest adventures in cougar land.

When he finally left the locker room he froze as he spotted an already tall and bulky freshman who's name Finn couldn't remember because he was only on reserve pinning Kurt to a wall and leaning in closer to say something to him.

He couldn't hear what he said but Kurt's eyes widened in fear before he struggled to get out of the younger boys hold. The other boy, punched the locker next to Kurt's head in frustration before he ran away from a shaking Kurt.

Finn finally unfroze and ran over to his brother.

"Are you okay? Do I need to beat someone up for you?" Finn asked, immediately regretting he choice of words because Kurt flinched before he schooled his face into a neutral expression.

"It was nothing Finn. Let it go, I can handle myself," Kurt assured him in a tone that told Finn the discussion was over.

Finn knew by now not to push Kurt when he didn't want to talk about something, but he vowed to keep an eye on Kurt and the freshman, because after a year of little to no harassment – that he knew of – Kurt didn't deserved to bullied again in his senior year by a fucking freshman.

Blaine was only back in school for a little over a week but he was already stressed out. After a year at McKinley it was hard to deal with Dalton's curriculum again and he definitely wasn't used to deal with the huge amount of homework he got every day.

Additionally he had Warblers' practice and joined the student union because he thought it would look good on his college application.

The guys he had know from before seemed happy to welcome him back into the Warblers, especially after most of the old team had graduated and they immediately offered him a spot on the council but Blaine declined because he didn't want to add even more responsibilities because it was hard enough to find time he could spend with Kurt as it was.

To his chagrin, Sebastian was a member of the Warbler's council – another reason why he didn't want to be part of it – and though he kept his distance most of the time, he didn't like the way he kept leering at him.

His first day at Dalton, Sebastian had come up to him in an empty hallway and Blaine had instinctively taking a step back.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away from me," the other boy had drawled. "They always come back for more."

Blaine had glared at Sebastian and had made sure afterward to never be alone with Sebastian again.

Other then the looks, Sebastian seemed to have backed off afterward though and so when Kurt told Blaine he couldn't come to dinner, he had immediately agreed to come to the first real Warblers' party that Friday night. He had planned not to drink at all because he didn't trust Sebastian, but when he arrived at Trent's house and couldn't find the other boy anywhere, he relaxed and grabbed a beer for himself.

Blaine was on the way to being tipsy when he noticed that his phone he had put on the coffee tabled was gone, but Blaine shrugged it off, because things always reappeared the morning after a party.

He was suspicious however when Sebastian appeared an hour later with Blaine's phone, claiming to have found it on one of the couches.

He snatched the phone out of his hand and immediately went outside to check the call log and his texts, but everything seemed to be in order, apart from the fact that Sebastian had programmed his number into the phone, which Blaine deleted promptly.

To escape Sebastian's presence he went upstairs to one of the bedrooms where Trent and a few of the other Warblers where playing truth or dare with some girls from their sister school Crawford Country Day.

It didn't take long for him to get from tipsy to seriously drunk and once the group finished their game and went back downstairs, he locked the door and collapsed face forward onto the bed.

The next morning, he woke up with a pounding headache and once he had emptied his stomach and taken some aspirin he went straight back to bed and slept till well past noon.

It wasn't until he was back at Dalton later that night that he remembered he'd promised Kurt to call after the party, but his boyfriend wasn't picking up the phone even after he texted him a couple of times asking him to call.

He checked his phone again to make sure he didn't accidentally drunk dial Kurt and said something to make Kurt angry, but when he couldn't find anything, he couldn't help it and got angry himself.

Kurt was the one who was always complaining they didn't see each other enough and now that he called to make plans with him for Sunday his calls were being ignored.

Well, two can play this game he thought. He was done running after Kurt when Kurt clearly didn't want to talk to him. Even if his hear broke a little at the thought.

AN: Part 2 should be up in a couple of days