Kurt walked into his bedroom, throwing his bag in a corner. He plugged his phone into his speakers and put some music on, turning it up loudly. No one was home, so no one would bother him. He sat on his bed and opened his laptop, logging onto Facebook. He found his fingers typing a name into the search bar before he even realised it. Blaine’s profile was pretty basic – the poor kid only had a hundred friends. Kurt frowned. His profile photo was him with a group of boys, all wearing the same uniform. He zoomed into the logo and rolled his eyes. Dalton Academy. That would explain why Blaine was so smart – that school only accepted the best. Why the hell had he transferred to McKinley? Kurt carried on browsing his photos, even though there weren’t many. There weren’t any of his family – only his friends at Dalton. Kurt frowned again. Strange, his Facebook had photos of his old friends and his family, especially his mum.

Kurt slammed the lid of the laptop shut. Why had he thought of his mother? It still fucking hurt. He glanced at the photo in the frame beside his bed and sighed. He missed her every day. The pain was still there – sure, it had dulled a bit, but it would never go away. Kurt was afraid to get close to anyone, in case they were taken from him again, just like his mother had been.

“You look like you’re going to shit yourself.”

Blaine started. He looked up to see Kurt leaning casually against his locker, watching him. He smiled at him, turning his eyes back to what he was doing.

“I guess I’m just nervous.”

“What for? It’s only school.”

“I’m auditioning for the New Directions.”

Kurt’s mouth dropped open. His eyes were wide as he stared at Blaine. “You… The Glee club?” Blaine nodded. “Why? That’s like social suicide.”

“I like singing. It helps me relax. I did it at my old school.”

“I like to sing as well you know, but I’m not in Glee.”

“How come? I mean, if you like singing…”

“Because I have a reputation to uphold,” Kurt snapped. Hee regretted it immediately. “Sorry Blaine… It’s just… Glee’s not very popular. I’d love to join but…”

“It’s okay. You want to keep up your image.”

“I’m a dick, aren’t I?”

Blaine smiled. “A little. You could always audition though?”

Kurt frowned, thinking. “You know what, I think I might.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… Who knows, maybe I can make Glee club popular.” He winked and Blaine laughed at him. “When’s the audition?”

“In ten minutes, in the auditorium. Are… are you auditioning today?”

“No, I’m doing it next year,” he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, I’m auditioning today.”

“But-but you haven’t prepared anything…”

Kurt flashed a grin at Blaine. “I don’t need to prepare Blaine. I’m fabulous.”

Ten minutes later, Blaine was stood on the stage of the auditorium. All of the members of the Glee club at McKinley were sat in the seats, watching him closely.

“Your name?” said a voice. Blaine realised it was the teacher that had spoken to him the day before.

“Blaine Anderson.”

“Hi Blaine. What are you going to sing?”

“Teenage Dream, by Katy Perry.”

“Good choice. We’re ready when you are.”

Blaine glanced to the side of the stage, where Kurt was stood. He winked at him, giving him the courage he needed. When the music stared, Blaine closed his eyes. He was lost in the song.

“You think I’m pretty without any makeup on

You think I’m funny when I tell the punch line wrong

I know you get me, so I let my walls come down, down

Before you met me I was alright

But things were kinda heavy, you brought me to life

Now every February you’ll be my Valentine, Valentine

Let’s go all the way tonight

No regrets, just love, we can dance until we die

You and I, we’ll be young forever

You make me feel like I’m living a teenage dream

The way you turn me on, I can’t sleep

Let’s run away and don’t ever look back, don’t ever look back

My heart stops when you look at me

Just one touch, now baby I believe

This is real, so take a chance

And don’t ever look back, don’t ever look back

We drove to Cali and got drunk on the beach

Got a motel and built a fort out of sheets

I finally found you, my missing puzzle piece, I’m complete

Let’s go all the way tonight

No regrets, just love, we can dance until we die

You and I, we’ll be young forever

You make me feel like I’m living a teenage dream

The way you turn me on, I can’t sleep

Let’s run away and don’t ever look back, don’t ever look back

My heart stops when you look at me

Just one touch, now baby I believe

This is real, so take a chance

And don’t ever look back, don’t ever look back

I’m a get your heart racing in my skin-tight jeans

Be your teenage dream tonight

Let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans

Be your teenage dream tonight

Yeah, you make me feel like I’m living a teenage dream

The way you turn me on, I can’t sleep

Let’s run away and don’t ever look back

Don’t ever look back

My heart stops when you look at me

Just one touch, now baby I believe

This is real, so take a chance

And don’t ever look back, don’t ever look back

I’m a get your heart racing in my skin-tight jeans

Be your teenage dream tonight

Let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans

Be your teenage dream tonight."

As the song ended, the auditorium burst into applause. Blaine couldn’t help but grin. He took another glance at Kurt, surprised to see him clapping hard. He looked back at the Glee club, still grinning.

“Blaine Anderson, welcome to the New Directions!”

“Thank you so much!”

“There’s a rehearsal today, after school, okay?”

Blaine nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

“Is it okay if I audition too?” Kurt asked, stepping onto the stage. The others gasped. After all, this was Kurt Hummel. Everyone at McKinley knew him, and most of them were afraid of him. They all thought the same thing – why would someone like him want to audition for Glee?

“Um… Of course you can Kurt,” the teacher said. Even he couldn’t hide his surprise. “What are you doing to sing for us?”

“Defying Gravity, from Wicked.” He said confidently. Blaine moved to sit on the side of the stage.

Kurt looked out at the audience, a smirk on his face.

“Something has changed within me

Something is not the same

I’m through with playing by the rules

Of someone else’s game

Too late for second-guessing

Too late to go back to sleep

It’s time to trust my instincts

Close my eyes and leap

It’s time to try defying gravity

I think I’ll try defying gravity

Kiss me goodbye, I’m defying gravity

And you won’t bring me down

I’m through accepting limits

‘Cause someone says they’re so

Some things I cannot change

But till I try, I’ll never know

Too long I’ve been afraid of

Losing love, I guess I’ve lost

Well if that’s love it comes at

A much too high a cost

I’d sooner buy defying gravity

Kiss me goodbye, I’m defying gravity

I think I’ll try defying gravity

And you won’t bring me down

I’d sooner buy defying gravity

Kiss me goodbye, I’m defying gravity

I think I’ll try defying gravity

And you won’t bring me down

Bring me down, oh no.”

Blaine’s jaw dropped. Kurt’s voice was phenomenal. It was the perfect falsetto and… well, Blaine thought he sounded like an angel. The Glee club were sat in a stunned silence too. No one expected Kurt to be able to sing like that.

“Welcome to the New Directions, Kurt.” The teacher said, his mouth open. Kurt gave a little bow and turned to Blaine, who got to his feet and followed him off the stage.

“Kurt, you were… I mean, you were absolutely…”

“Thank you,” he said, unable to conceal his smile. “So were you.”

“You are going to definitely going to go today, aren’t you?” Kurt nodded. “Good, because I don’t want to go on my own.”

“Blaine, why are you so worried about being alone? They’re going to like you – you’re a nice guy.”

Kurt was surprised by the words that were coming out of his own mouth. Did he actually just compliment someone? Blaine rubbed the back of his neck nervously, a smile on his face. Kurt grabbed his wrist before he could lower it, his eyes narrowed. His gaze was fixed on the marks on Blaine’s neck.

“Kurt, what are you-?”

 “Come with me,” he said sharply.

“What, why?”

“Just fucking do it, okay?” He snapped. He took Blaine’s arm and pushed him into one of the bathrooms. There were three other boys in there, all football players. They were rolling up joints of weed. “Get the fuck out,” Kurt spat at them. They looked ready to fight. “NOW!” They glanced at each other, hid their drugs and left the bathroom quickly.

“Kurt-”

“Let me see your neck.”

“What?!”

“Blaine for fuck sake let me see your neck!”

“No, I-”

With a sigh, Kurt grabbed the neckline of Blaine’s jumper and yanked it down. His eyes narrowed as he examined the vivid bruising.

“How much more is there?” Blaine noticed that Kurt’s voice was soft – he knew that was a bad thing. He remained silent, but that seemed to make him angrier. “Damn it Blaine, answer me!”

Blaine didn’t trust his voice. With shaking hands, he lifted up his jumper to reveal the bruising scattered across his torso. Kurt let out a noise like an angry cat.

“Who did this to you?”

“It doesn’t matter Kurt, honestly-”

“Blaine, who the fuck did this to you?!”

“It doesn’t matter! It’s nothing to do with you, okay? Let me deal with this on my own!”

Kurt was taken aback. No one had ever stood up to him before. And he had to admit, it was kind of hot. He mentally shook himself – now was not the time to be thinking about that.

“Blaine, who did this? You can tell me.” He reached a hand out to touch his shoulder, horrified when he flinched. “I… Blaine, I’m not going to hurt you.”

Blaine was crying. He leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, unable to stop his sobs. “I’m sorry Kurt. I can’t tell you. He’ll kill me. Please, don’t make me.”

Kurt sighed and sat beside him. The door opened. He looked up to see a small freshman, who was obviously confused.

“Get out,” he said as calmly as he could. The freshman looked terrified and left. “Blaine… did your dad do this to you?” Blaine remained silent. “I’ll take that as a yes. Can I ask why?”

“Because I’m not good enough! He wants me to be like Cooper, but I’m not. He… he wants me to be my brother. I’m a disappointment. And I think he knows I’m gay!”

“You… you’re gay?”

“I don’t know, maybe! I’ve never had feelings towards a girl. There was a guy in my old school that I liked called Sebastian, but he was way too popular. Plus he was horrible to me. He bullied me, but I never reported him because he’d get kicked out. It’s ridiculous.”

Kurt sighed and wrapped his arm around Blaine’s shoulders. “That was stupid, Blaine. You can’t let people walk all over you, you just can’t.”

“Kurt, why are you so nice to me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve seen the way people look at you,” Blaine said quietly. “They’re afraid of you. But you’re really nice to me. I’m guessing you like me, but I don’t understand why. When you found out you had to show me around, you looked so pissed off… but now here you are, comforting me on the bathroom floor.”

“I… I guess it’s because you don’t treat me the way other people do. Everyone in this school is afraid of me. I don’t socialize with anyone, that’s why. It’s because I’m different. But you, Blaine. You’re so innocent. When you bumped into me yesterday, I was annoyed, yeah. But then I felt so bad for snapping at you the way I did. You looked so… helpless… And you do now. I don’t know why, but you’re different.”

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, before the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. Kurt helped Blaine to his feet, and walked him to his classroom. He didn’t care that he was late to his own lesson. His mind was focused on Blaine.

At the end of the day, Blaine went to the choir room for Glee rehearsals. He was nervous, especially as Kurt wasn’t there yet. They all welcomed him and introduced themselves cheerfully, complimenting his singing.

“Sorry I’m late,” said a voice. Blaine’s heart lifted. Kurt walked in – he didn’t look nervous at all. He put his bag on the seat next to Blaine’s and gave him a small wink. The Glee club introduced themselves timidly, but Kurt seemed to be relaxed. He didn’t look like he wanted to kill them, anyway.

“Hey guys, settle down!” The teacher said. He smiled at Kurt and Blaine. “I’m Mr Schuester, but just call me Mr Schue, everyone else does.” They nodded. “So guys, regionals are in a month!” The Glee club clapped enthusiastically. “We need to think of a setlist. But, I figured we can do that tomorrow. Today, I thought we should make our two newest members feel welcome! You ready?”

The members of Glee nodded and stood up. They burst into ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ cheerfully. Blaine grinned as they sang, thoroughly entertained. Kurt, however, looked rather gloomy.

“What’s wrong?” Blaine whispered.

“I don’t know if I like this. It all seems too… cheerful.”

“Lighten up Kurt,” he said, playfully nudging him. Kurt laughed and watched them perform closely. When they finished, he clapped harder than Blaine.

“Okay, I’ll admit – I liked it in the end.”

“Kurt, can I ask a question?” One of the girls, Rachel, said. Kurt nodded a small frown on his face. “Why are you even here? You hate everyone and… well, Glee isn’t exactly popular.”

“Do I really need a reason to be here? Did it ever occur to you that I just happen to like singing?” They were silent. “I didn’t think so. Blaine’s the one that convinced me to audition in the first place. But if you don’t want me here then fine, I’ll go.”

Once again, they were silent. Mr Schue looked uncomfortable, but didn’t say anything. They sang a few more songs and finished early, no doubt because they were feeling so awkward.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Kurt said to Blaine. “Wait for me if you want, I’ll walk out with you.”

Blaine nodded and watched him go. There was no point denying it, he liked Kurt. A lot

“It’s Blaine isn’t it?” He turned to see the Asian boy from his maths class looking at him, the rest of the Glee club behind him. He nodded. “I thought so.”

“Dude, how the hell did you convince Kurt Hummel to audition for Glee?” a boy named Finn asked.

“I don’t know… I told him I was auditioning. He said he liked singing as well, so I just… suggested he try it.” Blaine shrugged.

“But… that’s Kurt Hummel! You must be the first person he’s actually had a proper conversation with in this school.”

“That’s not true,” Puck said. “I asked him for a lighter once.”

“Yes, and he said he had one, but he wasn’t going to give it to you because of your ridiculous haircut,” a girl called Santana said. Her eyes were fixed on the boy’s Mohawk. Puck rolled his eyes at her.

“Well… Kurt seems nice,” Blaine said quietly. “He’s showing me around the school this week, because I’m new. And… yeah.”

He shrugged again, not really sure what to say. Kurt reappeared.

“Ready Blaine?” He nodded and waved goodbye to the others.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Blaine said once they were alone.

“No, it wasn’t,” Kurt agreed. “But I’m still not sure if I like it.”

“Why not?”

“Did you see the way they were staring at me Blaine? It was like I had three heads or something.”

Blaine laughed. “It’s because you aren’t very sociable. You just have to…” He stopped talking, his eyes fixed ahead. Kurt followed his gaze and gave a quiet snarl.

“That’s your dad, isn’t it?”

Blaine nodded. Andrew Anderson was stood by his car, staring at them. He looked furious.

“It’s because I wasn’t home right after school,” Blaine whispered, looking terrified. “He’s going to be so mad.”

“Not if I can fucking help it,” Kurt snarled. He jumped the remaining stairs and crossed the car park, Blaine trailing behind him. “Are you Mr Anderson?”

Blaine’s father drew himself up to full height. “And who are you?”

“It doesn’t matter who I am, why the fuck have you been hitting your son?”

“I beg your pardon?” He looked livid.

“You heard me. I saw the bruises on Blaine’s neck. You’re disgusting. You fucking stop now, or so help me, I will go to the fucking police.”

Blaine’s father laughed coldly. “I’d like to see you try. Blaine, get in the car now!”

Blaine looked from his father, to Kurt and sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow Kurt.”

“Blaine, I…” He bit his lip. He took a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote down his phone number. “Text me tonight, okay?” Blaine nodded uncertainly and got in the car. His father sneered at Kurt and drove away, leaving him alone.

“What the fuck have you been saying to people?” His father yelled.

“I haven’t – Kurt saw the bruises on my neck and he made me tell him. I’m sorry!”

“Oh you will be, boy. You fucking will be.”

Blaine knew, in that moment, that his father meant it.