“You don’t have to do this you know, Kurt”.

Kurt’s hand hovered hesitantly over the car doorhandle, as his eyes turned to meet Finn’s.

The pained expression in his stepbrother’s eyes was almost enough to make him strap himself back in and order his father to drive away from the intimidating wrought iron gates they were currently parked in front of.

Almost...but not quite.

“Yes, I do” Kurt sighed, for what felt like the thousandth time.

He went to open the car door again, but was stopped by Finn’s large hand gripping his shoulder, hard.

“No, Kurt... It’ll be different this time! We’ll watch your back, all of us in Glee! Karofsky won’t even be able to look at you without one of us being there...I swear, I’ll look after you better!”

Kurt was alarmed to see tears glisten in the corner of Finn’s eyes, and he felt his own prick up in response.

“Finn!” said Kurt, swallowing back his emotions. “We’ve been over this a million times. I’m not... I’m not happy at McKinley. I don’t feel safe. We tried the guard system, remember? All that did was make a bigger mess of things, and made me feel like a burden! I need.... I need to do this. For me”.

He gently removed Finn’s hand from his shoulder, and attempted a reassuring smile.

His brother looked down, trying to hide the tiny droplet that had just spilled out over onto his cheek.

“I’m gonna miss you, buddy” he mumbled, voice thick.

It was Kurt’s turn to place a hand on Finn’s shoulder.

“You’re still going to see me every day!” he said with a breathy laugh. “We live in the same house, remember?”

Finn didn’t meet his eyes.

“It won’t be the same”.

Kurt sighed again.

No, it wouldn’t.

“Hey now!” Burt’s gentle, gravelly voice piped up from the front seat.  “None of this crying stuff, you hear? We’re here to support your brother wholeheartedly in whatever makes him happiest. If transferring is what it’s gonna take to see that smile on his face again, then we’re all gonna stand behind him while he does that, got it?”

Finn finally looked up, forcing a smile for Kurt’s benefit.

“Good luck today bro, go and cause some trouble, McKinley style”.

Kurt laughed as Finn pulled him into an awkward bear hug.

“Not too much trouble though, okay?” Burt smiled, reaching over and grabbing Kurt’s arm, once Finn released him. “And you call me if there are any problems, any at all! Got that?”

Kurt smiled warmly at his father.

“Yeah dad, got it”.

“Oh Kurt, sweetie, are you sure you don’t want us to walk you to the office?”

Kurt looked at his stepmother Carole, who had been quietly sitting next to his father in the front.

“It’s okay Carole, honestly. I have to do this for myself”.

She nodded, bottom lip quivering when she looked at him.

Suddenly, she twisted around in her seat, and took Kurt into her arms.

“We’re so proud of you” she whispered into his ear, wiping away tears as she pulled back. “You’re gonna be great today honey”.

Kurt nodded, not trusting himself to speak in case it released the army of tears he could feel sitting in the corner of his eyes.

He put his hand back onto the latch, finally pushing it open and stepping out into the car park.

This is it, he thought to himself.

“Love you, kiddo” said Burt, looking up at Kurt from the car.

“Love you too, dad” Kurt mumbled quietly, and then, with a gloomy wave from Finn, his family pulled away from the entrance, and disappeared down the road.

Just like that, his safety network was getting further and further away.

The weight of what he was about to do suddenly hit him, and he felt his hand twitch involuntarily towards the pocket of his blazer where his phone, one simple button away from his dad coming straight back to pick him up, sat silently.

Taking a deep breath, Kurt managed to pull himself together, though he could feel his heart struggling to break free from his chest, under the newly fitted uniform.

“You can do this”, he whispered to himself, and spinning on his heel, he turned to face the suddenly monumentally large building behind him.

One foot in front of the other, Kurt said to himself, as he began his walk down the path.

The sign on the gate served as his first welcome.

‘Welcome to Dalton Academy, the most prestigious co-educational high-school in Ohio’ the sign announced. ‘Accepting boarders and day students alike; at Dalton we aim for excellence and strive for togetherness.”

Kurt traced the words with his fingers.

“Aim for excellence and strive for togetherness” he whispered under his breath. “I’m just aiming to make it through the day without humiliating myself”.

Hitching his satchel higher up onto his shoulder, Kurt continued his path down to the front office consoling himself with the thought that even if the day turned out horribly, at least his new uniform looked fabulous.