"Do you think I should..."

She didn't continue her sentence when she saw Blaine shake his head.

"It's ok, mom. Let me go and talk with him."

He clenched his fists as he made his way towards Kurt's room. He wasn't quite sure what to say - after all, the meeting with principal Sylvester hadn't gone quite the way he had hoped it would. At Dalton, when a student as much as felt threatened by another student, a meeting would be issued with the students involved, their parents, and the school board. Nobody would leave the room until a solution was found that was acceptable to everyone involved, and measures would be taken to ensure the situation would not arise again. At McKinley, however, things seemed to work differently.

When Mrs. Anderson had contacted principal Sylvester after Blaine had told her about Kurt's bullying, a meeting had been issued, and to Blaine's delight immediate action had even been taken: Karofsky had been suspended for the rest of the week. But things started to go downhill from there, because as soon as it became apparent that there had been no physical abuse -being shoved into lockers 'accidentally' didn't count-, the school board hadn't seen any reason to expel Karofsky or even extend the suspension. Basically, Kurt had been told that what he had been going through was not bad enough for consequences to be justified. Oh, and to 'man up'. It was enough to upset anyone, and Blaine wasn't planning on leaving Kurt alone on a moment like this.

When he first knocked on Kurt's door, he didn't receive a reply. But when he lifted his hand to knock again, he noticed the door wasn't locked. He slowly pushed it open.

"Kurt?"

Kurt was standing in front of the window, looking out over the garden. His shoulders were visibly tensed, but when he turned around to face Blaine, there were no tears in his eyes. Instead, they were shooting fire, and it was directed at Blaine.

"How could you do this to me?" Kurt shouted. "How could you just tell everybody?"

Blaine was stunned. He had walked in expecting having to comfort Kurt but instead he was the full power of Kurt's fury.

"Kurt... Kurt, I..."

"I trusted you! I trusted you and you just went and told everybody! You had no right, Blaine, no right!"

Kurt was screaming, shaking on his feet, his voice cracking with anger, and Blaine tried to regain control of his thoughts as he stood paralyzed, trying to understand what it was that Kurt was accusing him of.

"I only told them about that kid... harassing you! I didn't tell them anything about the kiss or... the threat..." Blaine said desperately.

"Trust me, if you had, we wouldn't even be having a conversation now."

"I was just trying to help!"

"Well, don't!" Kurt snapped. His face was flushed and tears started streaming down his face as he could no longer contain his emotions.

"This is my battle to fight, mine and mine alone, and I don't want you, or anyone else, to get involved in this!"

"Stop doing that!"

"Doing what?"

Blaine stepped closer to Kurt, his arms open, palms facing upwards.

"This! Pushing people away! Pretending like it's no big deal, like you can handle it alone."

"I can handle it alone."

"No, you can't!" Blaine exasperated. "Kurt, this is so much bigger than yourself! You can't do this alone!"

"I thought you said I was strong?" Kurt looked at Blaine defiantly. "What happened to 'You can refuse to be the victim' and 'You're stronger than you think'? What happened to that? Or was that a lie?"

"Of course not!" Blaine pleaded. "I meant what I said - you are strong, Kurt, you're one of the strongest, most courageous people I've ever met. But there's only so much a person can handle before they break, and the situation with Karofsky was just getting out of hand! There is no shame in asking for help."

"And look how that turned out, ha? What do you think will happen when Karofsky returns to school on Monday? Now he will not only hate me for me being me, he'll also be pissed off I got him suspended for a week, and things will be worse than ever."

"We'll figure something out!" Blaine tried to sound confident, although even he could tell it really sounded hollow. "I'll talk to my mom and we'll figure something out. We'll keep you safe, Kurt, I promise, that Karofsky kid won't be able to hurt you any more than he already has."

But Kurt shook his head, holding up his hands.

"Don't, Blaine, just... don't. I understand you were trying to help, but let's just keep it at that. You've messed up my life enough as it is."

Kurt turned his back on Blaine and sat down on the couch, grabbing his laptop in a clear 'just-get-out-I-want-to-be-alone-now' gesture. Blaine hesitated, but decided to ignore the signal and sat down next to Kurt.

"Kurt, please... I know how you feel, I've been there. Just let me h-"

"No!" Kurt looked down on his hands in his lap before he took a deep breath and turned to boy sitting next to him. "No, Blaine. No no no. You don't have a clue how I feel, you don't have a clue how it is to be the only openly gay kid at school. You've been there for me when I was having a hard time, and I really appreciate that - but I obviously cannot trust you."

Blaine opened his mouth to protest, but Kurt didn't give him the chance to say anything.

"Blaine, please - I tell you one thing in confidence, and next thing I know I'm sitting in a confined space with my bully less than 10 feet away from me, your mom and coach Sylvester arguing over my head over what should and should not be done now. You've been a good friend, but you can't just go and make decisions for me about how I should handle my problems. You barely even know me and you're treating me like I'm your little brother who-"

"Because you are! Can't you see?" Blaine moved a little closer to Kurt, putting his hand on the other boy's arm. "I know you have your own family, and believe me, neither me nor my mother want to replace that or take that away from you. But we're family as well now, and we care for you too. You're my brother, Kurt, and I don't want you to go through what I had to go through. So yes, if I think you're in trouble, if I think you need help, then I'll tell my mom, I'll tell your Principal, I'll tell the fucking president if I have to! And if you want to be angry with me for that, then fine, be angry. But I won't let anyone tear you down for no reason at all, I won't sit around and watch you die inside a little more every day because some moron is too stupid to realize what a beautiful person you are."

Kurt looked down at Blaine's hand which was still laying on his arm, and he became suddenly aware of how close the other boy was sitting to him. His eyes trailed along Blaine's arm and shoulder to his face, and he felt his stomach flutter as he caught Blaine's eyes.

A brother. Blaine saw him as a brother. The momentary happiness that statement brought him -Blaine cared about him!- fled as he realized what this meant. For the second year in a row, he was in love with his brother...

"So I'm sorry if you feel like I've betrayed your trust, if you feel I acted behind your back,. That was not my intention, and I hope you'll give me the chance to show you that I am worthy of your trust. But I really think like I did the right thing in telling my mother about Karofsky, and I promise you we won't give up here. We will find a way to help you."

Blaine took away his hand and Kurt felt the cold spot where it had lain on his arm burn. He didn't look when Blaine stood up and walked to the door, and he wasn't even sure the boy would hear him when he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Kurt fumbled with his hands in his lap, trying to find the right words.

"It's just... I'm so used to dealing with all this on my own. My dad's cool and all that, but he never really... got it. Gets it," he corrected himself, feeling that using the past tense when talking about his dad was nothing short of declaring him dead.

"And having other people discuss my problems...," he looked up apologetically. "I know you mean it well, Blaine, but your mother is still kind of a stranger, and suddenly she seems to have all this power over what's happening to me. It... it just made me feel like I lost all control, nobody seemed to bother to listen to what I thought of it."

In three strides, Blaine was back on the couch with Kurt, grabbing his hands.

"No! Kurt... of course we care about how you feel about this! And we would never take a decision without talking it through with you first. But you need to realize that you're not alone, that there's no shame in asking for help if things grow too big for you to handle. That's all we were trying to do - help."

Kurt managed a faint smile.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

Before Kurt could protest, Blaine wrapped his arms around the boy. Kurt wasn't a very touchy-feeling person, and his first instinct was to just pull away. But then he remembered. This was Blaine hugging him, Blaine who cared about him, who considered him a brother. Blaine who he was in love with. And he allowed himself to relax, to enjoy the feel of the strong arms wrapped around him, the scent of shampoo and hair gel, the simple presence of someone he could... trust? The thought came naturally to him, and as he considered it he discovered that yes, despite what had happened, despite Blaine telling Mrs. Anderson about the bullying, Kurt still trusted him. Maybe he didn't trust him to always do what Kurt wanted, but he did trust him to act in whatever way he considered best for Kurt. And that was something, Kurt thought, that was perhaps worth even more.

-o0o-

Mrs. Anderson turned away from the door when she saw the two boys hug. She hadn't doubted she could count on Blaine to comfort Kurt, but when she had heard their voices raise she had needed to check on them. Secretly, she was proud of Blaine and the way he had handled the situation, but right now, she had other things to do than compliment her son: some phone calls needed to be made.

-o0o-

"I won't allow it!"

The man was almost shrieking, his face beet red as he smashed his fist on the table. The woman across the room shuddered at the sudden bang, but forced herself to stay calm.

"It's my money. And I will spend it as I please." There was a confidence in her voice that surprised even herself.

"On a kid you don't even know! A... a...," he wasn't looking for the right word, he was struggling to actually say it. He didn't manage. "One of those kids! I've never interfered with that charity obsession of yours, but this is going too far! You're gonna ruin every bit of spine he's ever had, just like you did with your own son!"

He spit out the words as if they were physically hurting him, and looked at his wife. She didn't say anything, afraid it might make matters even worse. Inwardly she was grateful the boys were still at school, because the tension in the room was so dense she was pretty sure even the tiniest spark would be sufficient to make everything explode. So when the man finally turned around and left the room, slamming the door behind him, she simply let herself fall on the floor in relief. Silent tears ran down her cheeks as she sat there, trying to calm down. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there when a pair of soft, solid hands helped her up. The man was smaller than she was, but he showed surprising strength as he supported her to her bedroom.

"Come on... let's get you to bed... ."

-o0o-

"You... what?"

Kurt sat dumbfounded on the couch. It was Thursday evening and he had been called downstairs by Blaine because Mrs. Anderson had wanted to discuss something with them. Right now, she was sitting across from him, smiling, looking calm and distinguished as usual, and not at all as if she had just proposed to pay for Kurt's tuition at Dalton if he didn't want to return to McKinley after the weekend.

"You can't do that!"

Mrs. Anderson... chuckled?

"I assure you, Kurt, I most definitely can."

"But... but... that's like... I mean... a lot of money."

But his foster mother shook her head.

"A hovercraft is a lot of money. An original Van Gogh is a lot of money. A seat on the space shuttle is a lot of money. Tuition at Dalton is quite affordable, actually. Of course, the kids in Somalia will have to wait a bit longer for their potable water," she winked when she saw the shocked look on Kurt's face, "but I'm sure we can work something out."

Kurt was still speechless. Blaine had told him about the non-bullying policy at Dalton and Kurt had to admit, the thought of transferring there had crossed his mind. The idea of being able to walk to classes without having to look over his shoulder, of not worrying whether his outfit of the day would instigate more laughter and insults, ... it had been very appealing. But it had been a fleeting thought, one he had tried to forget about as quickly as possible, ashamed for even considering to run away from his problems and leave all his friends behind. And either way, there was no chance his dad was able to pay for it, and even if he had been, the current situation was such that Kurt had no access to his dad's funds.

But now Mrs. Anderson was offering to let him transfer. She was offering him the possibility to go to school without being scared, without being taunted, without being confronted on a daily basis with something he couldn't do anything about. She was offering him a new life, and he seriously doubted she even understood the enormity of what she was actually proposing.

Still... he couldn't accept.

"No," he said, after taking a deep breath, "no. I appreciate the offer, and you have to believe me this is the most wonderful thing anyone has ever wanting to give me, but I cannot accept it. It's too big. It's too much. I'm already staying at your house, eating your food, wearing your clothes, ... you have done so much for me already, I cannot possibly accept more."

"Do you really want to return to McKinley?"

Blaine, sitting on his right, sounded incredulous.

"I can't just leave all my friends behind," Kurt evaded the question.

"Of course you can!" Blaine seemed a bit taken aback at the fierceness of his own reaction, but continued, calmer. "I mean... this is not about your friends, Kurt. This is about you."

"Blaine... you're the one who told me that your biggest regret was that you let your bullies chase you away. I don't want to have the same regret."

"I regret letting them chase me away without a fight. I regret just giving in when life became a bit hard. I regret running away from them without even trying to stand up. You have stood up, you have fought. But there is no bravery in fighting a lost battle."

Blaine moved to the tip of his chair, reaching out for Kurt's hands and Kurt felt his skin burn where Blaine touched him.

"Please Kurt... I ask you to consider this. If you truly want to stay with your friends, if you really want to return to McKinley on Monday, I will not stop you, and we will find another way for you to be safe." Blaine paused to look at his mother, who gave him an encouraging nod, and he continued. "But I need you to know that what me and my mum are offering is not charity. It's not pity. We care about you, Kurt. And we want to help. So if there is only a fraction of you that believes you could be happier at Dalton... please... reconsider... don't be afraid to accept."

A single tear rolled over Kurt's cheek and fell on their entwined hands. Blaine gave them a gentle squeeze, and when Kurt looked up, he found nothing but kindness, and encouragement, in those eyes. And deep inside, Kurt knew what he wanted most of all. Only...

"It's the middle of the year. And exams are coming up. Who says I can even enroll in Dalton right now?"

"I've been in touch with the headmaster," Mrs. Anderson said, "if you agree to do some assignments and projects over Christmas break, they could let you skip some of the exams now, so you can divide the workload. You'll still have to do them after the holidays, of course."

"And I still got my books from last year, so I can help you catch up and stuff," Blaine added.

"You really got it all figured out, don't you?"

Kurt smiled, and was rewarded with a wink.

"Well, we had to check if the option was viable before we got your hopes up, didn't we?"

There was nothing to be said about that, and the three of them remained silent. Mrs. Anderson was smiling patiently, while Blaine sat looking at Kurt, outwardly calm although his eyes betrayed the mixture of emotions that he was going through. Kurt himself was still trying to comprehend what was happening. He would never have to see Karofsky again. He would never be teased again, or feel people stare and point, whispering behind his back. He would go to school with Blaine... and even though he knew they wouldn't share classes, they could drive to school together, eat together at lunch breaks, ... . And he could barely wait.

"Well... then I guess I better prepare for my last day at McKinley tomorrow."

It was hard to say which of the three was smiling broader.

-o0o-

Kurt felt his heart sink as he left the choir room. His announcement that he would be leaving McKinley and transfer to Dalton had left everyone as struck by lightning, but Kurt didn't want to stay to further explain. If anyone had the power to persuade him to stay, it was his friends from glee club, and he really didn't want to be persuaded. And thus he had kept it short.

He was just emptying his locker when he felt someone approach him, and he turned around to find Finn standing next to him, looking awkward as always.

"Yes, Finn?"

Kurt looked up at the tall quarterback, who was fiddling nervously with the strap of his bag.

"So... you're really leaving, ha?"

"Yes. I'm really leaving."

"To that... other school." Finn's words came slow, with long pauses in between.

"Dalton. They have a non-bullying policy. I will be safe there."

"That's good. I mean-" Finn hurried to correct himself, "it's not good that you're leaving, I mean, it's good for you, because you'll be safe, but it would be good if you would stay, too, you know, I mean-"

"Finn." Kurt interrupted his former step brother, who was obviously getting himself stuck in his own reasoning again. "It's okay. I understand."

"Oh. Okay." Finn seemed relieved. "But... at least you won't be alone. You will have that other kid, right? The bird one?"

"Blaine. My foster brother." It sounded strange, saying it out loud, but Kurt had to admit, it felt kinda good. Reassuring.

"Yes. And he's... like you. So that's good too."

"Blaine and I are both gay, if that's what you mean. And it's nice to have someone to talk to, yes."

Finn nodded, and a silence fell between them that was neither uncomfortable nor awkward. Then, suddenly, Finn seemed to remember something, and he reached for his bag. He got out a small parcel, packed in brown paper, and held it out to Kurt.

"Here. My mom. She... it's for you."

Kurt took the parcel, a bit surprised.

"Is this for my birthday? Because that's in March."

"No... it's... I've been carrying it around for some time now," Finn sounded slightly embarrassed, "but I always forgot to give it to you."

Kurt nodded as he ripped off the paper, revealing a book. Paulo Coelho. He couldn't read the title as there was a small post-it attached to the front, and Kurt felt tears coming up when he read it.

"When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight."

Know that we are still here for you, Kurt. Stop by anytime.

Carole.

He lifted the note. The Alchemist. He didn't know the author, nor the book, but he knew that if Carole had given it to him, it had to be meaningful. He smiled up at Finn.

"Thank you."

Finn didn't say anything, but simply nodded and gave Kurt an awkward smile as he turned to leave.

"Finn!"

Kurt wasn't sure what it was that he wanted to say when Finn turned around and looked at him questioningly, but the words came naturally.

"Would you... and Carole... want to come visit my dad this weekend?"

Finn seemed surprised, but happily so.

"Yeah... yeah, that... I think I'd like that. And my mom too. Thanks."

Kurt smiled back at him, feeling strangely accomplished, as he threw his bag over his shoulder and closed his now empty locker for the last time.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Ok. And Kurt?"

The countertenor looked up.

"Good luck. We'll miss you."