A slender, brown-haired boy entered the room. He dropped his school bag next to the bed and pressed a soft kiss on the forehead of his father.

"Hello, Kurt! Don't you look dashing today?"

Kurt smiled at the nurse who had just entered the room and put his hands in his sides, twirling to show off his brand new outfit.

"My new uniform."

The nurse raised her eyebrows questioningly as she checked his father's IV.

"I've transferred," he explained, "to Dalton Academy. It was my first day today."

"Ooh, how exciting for you!"

The woman turned around and smiled when she saw the look of joy on Kurt's face.

"And was it a good first day?"

Kurt nodded and beamed. "Very good."

-o0o-

There were three quick knocks on the door.

"Come in!" Kurt shouted, without turning around.

Blaine entered the room, and couldn't help but smile at the sight before him. Kurt was standing in front of a high mirror in the Dalton uniform, preening himself extensively. There hadn't been time to buy a uniform of his own, so for now he had been given one of Blaine's spare uniforms. It was slightly too small, and Kurt kept turning and twisting, trying in vain to adjust his sleeves to make them fit.

"Ready to go?"

Kurt looked sideways and sighed.

"I guess... but I really have to get used to this uniform. This blazer... it's stiff, and quite frankly, the cut is so 'new millennium'. We're 2010!"

Blaine chuckled and moved behind Kurt. He put his hands on Kurt's shoulders, and squeezed them lightly.

"It's not fashion school you're attending, Kurt. The uniform's just a part of the deal. And besides...", Blaine leaned in and dropped his voice, "you know you love that blazer."

A shiver ran down Kurt's spine and he closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down, hoping Blaine wouldn't notice his flushed cheeks. It seemed he didn't, because his foster brother straightened himself and patted his shoulders:

"Come on, let's get you to your first day of school."

.

"We drove to school together, and Blaine showed me the shortcuts - he says traffic can be crazy on the 33 and especially the 68, so it's best to avoid those in the mornings... . It still took us over an hour to get there."

Kurt paused for a second, looking at the immobile man on the bed.

"I was so nervous, dad... I mean, I know I'm not stupid but... what if I screw up? What if I'm not smart enough? What if I fail and I have to quit and return to McKinley and then everything will be even worse then before? And Mrs. A... she would be so disappointed..."

.

"Nobody is going to be disappointed, Kurt. You'll do fine."

Kurt was still sitting in the car, stiff and immobile, as if he was glued to his seat. He shook his head violently, breathing quickly.

"No. I'll screw up. They'll hate me. Oh my god, what if they hate me?"

He looked at Blaine, eyes wide open in fear, but the other boy simply tilted his head sideways, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't be silly, nobody's gonna hate you. Now will you please get out of the car? People are watching... ."

Blaine reached out his hand, and Kurt took it, hesitantly - but as he climbed out of the car, he felt his breath choke.

He remembered feeling slightly intimidated when he had first seen the Anderson's house, but that was nothing compared to the awe he felt at that moment, looking up at the main building of Dalton Academy. It was a tall, old, ivy-covered building which, in a distant way, made him think of Hogwarts. The comparison brought a slight smile to his face. In some way, he thought, he was very much like Harry. They both had been made miserable all their lives by people who didn't like them, simply because they were different. And they both had gotten the chance to start anew, to go to a school where tolerance and acceptance weren't merely empty words, but the very foundation of its community. Kurt only hoped Dalton could mean even half as much to him as Hogwarts had meant to Harry.

He looked at all the students arriving and making their way to the entrance. They smiled and shook hands as they found each other, exchanging exciting stories of their past weekend on their way to class. He thought of his friends at McKinley's glee club, each and every single one of whom had send him a text to wish him good luck on his first day. He thought of Mrs. Anderson, who had given him this chance. He thought of his father, at the hospital, and wondered what he would say if he could've seen his son now.

Kurt Hummel, you go show them.

Kurt straightened his shoulders, picked up his bag and without even looking to see if Blaine was following, he started to make his way towards the entrance.

.

"They usually assign a junior student to each newcomer, and since Blaine already knew me, he was allowed to be my mentor." Kurt told his dad while he was arranging a new bouquet on the bedside table. "So he was allowed to skip his classes in the morning and showed me around. The school's huge, they have their own swimming pool and even a gym - although why anyone would want to spend their lunch break on a home trainer or an elliptical is beyond me. There's a large park around the school as well, I think that will be great in spring..."

Kurt took a step back, eyeing his arrangement critically and making some minor adjustments before continuing.

"And then there was a lot of administration to be taken care of: getting a parking spot, a locker, visit the tailor for my uniform, a scholarship application, and of course the guidance counselor, to sort out my curriculum." He turned to look at his dad indignantly. "They had me drop Home Economics, can you imagine that? No Home Economics at Dalton! Who is going to teach those boys how to make a perfect cr�me brul�e? They suggested I take Home Maintenance instead, but honestly, I can't imagine them being able to teach me something about wielding a drill you haven't taught me."

He chuckled.

"We finally settled on Drafting. As it happens, Blaine is taking the same course, I'm sure that will be fun... ."

.

"You're gonna regret taking Drafting," Blaine warned him, "Mr. Burken is a... determined teacher."

But Kurt sent him an indignant look.

"My dearest Blaine, I grew up in a garage. I was reading line symbols before I could spell."

Blaine opened his mouth to reply, but finally thought the better of it: after all, it was only Kurt's first day, and he needed all the confidence he could get. Instead, he took his foster brother by the elbow and pulled him to a small corridor and through a couple of doors. Suddenly, the noise surrounding them was deafening.

They were standing in a large hall, filled with tables, chairs and what appeared to be an army of starving boys. On his left, Kurt could see a couple of vending machines containing soft drinks and right in front of him he could see a long queue of boys who were waiting to get one of the 4 hot meals that were apparently served that day. Even from where he was standing Kurt could tell the quality of the food was much higher than what he was used to at McKinley's and he turned to remark on this to Blaine when he suddenly found himself standing alone. A wave of panic came over him while his eyes darted over the room, trying to single out Blaine's blue blazer out of the hundreds of others that were there, until he finally caught sight of him standing across the room, and quickly made his way towards the table.

"There you are, where did you disappear to all of a sudden?" Blaine gestured with his arm around him. "Kurt, let me introduce you to some of my fellow Warblers: Jeff, Nick, Trent, Thad, and of course you've met David and Wes."

Kurt decided to ignore the fact that it was Blaine who had disappeared on him instead of the other way around, and instead smiled to the boys sitting around the table who were now looking up at him expectantly. Clinging to the strap of his bag, he managed a little wave before he gathered his courage.

"Hello. I'm Kurt."

.

"Most of them seemed very friendly, and they've even invited me to audition for the Warblers - which I think is really nice, since Sectionals are in a couple of weeks already. They seem really tight, though... I mean, they were very welcoming and all, and I'm sure they won't start talking behind my back or something like that. It's just, they've know each other for so long already, and I just don't know if... if I'll fit in, you know what I mean?"

Burt Hummel didn't reply. His blood pressure remained at the same level, and his heart rate kept the same, steady pace it had been at for almost two months now. Nothing indicated that he had even heard his son, but Kurt didn't mind. His question had been rhetorical - he just wanted someone to talk to, to bounce his thoughts to.

"But it appears I won't see much of Blaine aside from Drafting and the occasional commute together... you wouldn't believe how busy he is! Everybody seems to know him. All the while during lunch, every couple of minutes there would be someone coming to talk to him, ask him something, or give him some paper, or even just say hi. As far as I can tell he's in Speech and Debate, the Chess Club, the Math Society and the School Paper. And that's not even the end of it."

.

"Alright guys... we better get going - the next period is starting in 15 minutes."

Blaine shove his chair back and stood up, and the other boys followed his example quickly, collecting their plates and cups to return them to the kitchen.

"Hey Blaine!"

Kurt looked over his shoulder to see Kyle making his way towards them, and he waited with Blaine until the boy had reached them. Kyle gave Kurt a small nod in recognition, but immediately turned his attention to Blaine.

"Joining for a ride after school?"

But Blaine shook his head, pointing at Kurt with his thumb.

"I can't. We drove together today, so I'll be driving him home right after school."

"That's a pity." Kyle frowned. "Elisabeth is finally getting better, she was looking forward to go outside after being locked in for a week. And Meryem is missing you, too."

"Excuse me," Kurt entered the conversation. "But who exactly are you talking about?"

He had no clue who these girls were, but somehow the idea of Blaine "going on a ride" with them and Kyle was very unsettling to him. Blaine, however, started laughing.

"Lizzy and Meryem - they are two of the horses here at the Dalton stables. I haven't been... spending much time with them, lately, as Kyle has so subtly pointed out." Blaine gave Kyle'a dark look, but the boy didn't seem to notice.

"You ride horse?" Kurt blurted out. He was immediately ready to slap himself in the head. Of co�rse Blaine rode horse - Kurt had seen him come home in his horse-riding gear often enough, the smell that surrounded Blaine at such times was quite unmistakable. And hard to forget, to be honest.

"I mean," he tried to recover himself, "you ride horse here at Dalton?"

"Are you kidding me?" Kyle patted Blaine on the shoulder with a broad grin. "He's our champ!"

The remark made Blaine visibly uneasy, although Kurt could tell that the implicit compliment did mean a lot to him, especially coming from Kyle. And was that a blush appearing on his cheeks? It made him look all the more adorable, Kurt thought.

"Liar," Blaine tried to dismiss Kyle's remark. "You are the reigning champion now. And I'm done with competition - I have enough on my plate as it is, thank you very much."

"But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a ride now and then, does it? You're still one of the best riders in Ohio, I'm sure Kurt would appreciate a small demonstration? Maybe he would even like to join us?"

Kyle sounded sincere in his offer, but Blaine's reply came as quick as it was blunt.

"I don't think he would."

There was a sudden edge to Blaine's voice, so subtle Kurt wasn't even sure he had heard it right, let alone what it meant. And although he w�s curious to see Blaine ride (he wasn't so eager to have a go at it himself though, because, well, that sm�ll), Kurt didn't want to force him into anything he obviously didn't feel like.

"Today's not really a good day," he therefore said to Kyle apologetically, after a quick glance at Blaine, "but maybe some other time?"

Kyle didn't seem too happy by the lack of support for his idea from Kurt, but he took it in grace - he gave Kurt a stiff nod and threw his bag over his shoulder.

"Some other time then. See you around, Blaine."

And with those words the senior stalked off in the other direction, leaving Kurt and Blaine standing in an almost empty dinner hall now.

"Now would you mind explaining me what th�t was all about?" Kurt turned to Blaine.

"Nothing."

Blaine grabbed his bag and made to leave the hall, but Kurt wasn't quite ready to drop the subject yet.

"Blaine..."

It was just a name, but the tone in which it was said contained so much more: 'don't try to fool me'. The lead Warbler stopped, rubbing his forehead before turning around to face Kurt again.

"It's nothing, alright? It's nothing. I used to do competition jumping with the Dalton Equestrian Club, but I quit last summer, something which Kyle seems to be incapable of accepting, and he just keeps bugging me about it. That's all."

"But you still ride?"

The answer was unwilling.

"Not as much as I used to... but yes... sometimes I still ride."

"Just not jumping?

"That's what I said, right?" Blaine started to sound impatient. "Now if I remember correctly you have an Algebra class in 5 minutes - I don't suppose you want to be late for your first lecture here at Dalton, now do you?"

.

"-and he just left me standing there, dad, didn't even bother to show me to my classroom!"

Kurt shook his head, still not understanding quite why Blaine had suddenly become so agitated about something that was supposed to have been his hobby, something that he liked.

"There's something he's not telling me, I can feel it, but I'll figure it out. You know me, right?"

He winked at his dad, and then turned his attention to the heap of papers on his lap, containing the homework for Algebra, French, and Biology he had gotten that day. It was more than he usually got over a week back at McKinley, and although he knew that this was partly due to the fact that he had some catching up to do, he still wondered how Blaine managed to combine Dalton's academic workload with all his extracurricular activities. No wonder he had dropped competition jumping...

Kurt sighed and took his pen. He would be there until the nurse came to tell him visitor hour was over.

-o0o-

It was almost 10 when Kurt pulled the Anderson's front door behind him. To his surprise, the living room was strangely empty. Usually, around this time, Mrs. Anderson would be watching tv with Blaine sitting next to her on the couch, reading a book or finishing something for school. Most often Kevin would also be there, folding laundry or ironing. Today, however, the tv was off and the only person in the living room was Mr. Anderson, reading something what looked like a business magazine.

"Good evening, Mr. A."

There was no reply, which Kurt found odd - Mr. Anderson was usually very talkative, and surely he must have known it had been Kurt's first day at Dalton? He looked busy, though, and Kurt decided not to bother him and continued to the kitchen to have a glass of water before going to bed. When he turned on the kitchen light, however, he all but jumped - in the dark, he hadn't seen Blaine who apparently had been leaning against the fridge and was now squinting his eyes against the bright light.

"Blaine - what are you doing here in the dark?"

The other boy held up his glass.

"Get a drink. Didn't want to draw my dad's attention by switching on the light."

"Oh. Sorry."

Blaine shrugged his shoulders, taking a sip from his glass, but remained silent.

"Is something bothering your dad?" Kurt asked, in a lower voice, "He seems preoccupied. Didn't even say hello."

It earned him a wry smile from Blaine.

"Yeah. Well. Better get used to that."

Kurt frowned, not sure how he was supposed to take that last comment. If anything, Blaine seemed to be preoccupied as well.

"Blaine? Is something bothering you?" Kurt asked. "Is this about earlier? About the horse riding? Because I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I didn't mean to-"

"It's alright." Blaine emptied his glass, put it back on the counter and stood up. "If anything, I'm the one who should apologize. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

The apology sounded sincere, but Blaine didn't look at Kurt once, instead keeping his eyes on the ground. It wasn't until Kurt called his name as he was leaving the room, that he looked up.

"Blaine? You know that you can talk to me, right?"

A small smile appeared on Blaine's face, but it didn't reach his eyes. It only strengthened Kurt's conviction that there was something he didn't know. Yet.

"Maybe later. But thanks for the offer."

And Blaine was out of the door, leaving Kurt alone with his thoughts.