"Kurt," I said quietly to myself, as I saw the name on the paper.

"Read it out loud dumbass!" someone shouted from the back of the classroom.

"K-Kurt," I said loudly, so that everyone else could hear. I was with the same person who had chucked my lunch out the school bus window on the first day of high school and who had tripped me over so many times that I had lost count. He who had slammed my head into locker doors, walls, tables,

poles and God knows what else, so that I had bruises everywhere. I was stuck with the same

guy who had hated my guts since the fifth grade.

"Hahaha! Hummel got stuck. Sucked in Hummel! Hummel got stuck with Anderson. Hummel got stuck with Anderson!" Puck began to sing loudly, as the classroom erupted in laughter. Kurt had begun to whack his head on his table rhythmically.

"Settle down class," Ms. Fisher said, but when the class remained loud, she whacked her metal ruler across her desk loudly. It was only then that the class grew silent.

"Ms. Fisher, please make him pick again. I dont want to be Andersons partner," Kurt said, pleading with the teacher.

"Now Mr. Hummel, what did I say before? What you get is what you get. No picking again."

"But Ms. Fisher please, Ill do anything. Ill even do the whole assignment by myself. All of it."

"No."

"How about I do the assignment by myself and Ill do it twice, with no extra time? Ill do the oral

twice as well."

"No and no! Mr. Hummel, you are going to be working on this assignment with Mr. Anderson and

there will be no complaining about it."

"But…but…"

"No! One more but and youll be in after school detention for the rest of the year. Now, Blaine would you please take your things and go and sit next to Kurt."

I picked up my books and went to sit on the empty seat next to Kurt, who had pushed himself up against the wall so that there was maximum space between the two of us.

While everyone else picked out their partner, they each gave Kurt a sympathetic smile.

"Okay, so lets get this straight. Just because we work together it doesnt mean that were like friends or anything like that. Were not allowed to be seen in public together. We dont talk to each other anywhere but here in class and when were working on the assignment. I want to get this finished as quickly as possible. I have better things to do than waste my time with you," Kurt said, reading the criteria sheet.

"Fine," I replied, obliging to his rules.

"So what country are we doing?"

"How about France?"

"Yeah, whatever. We have a month to finish. Man, Im stuck with you for a month?"

"I told you, you shouldve jumped out the window. Thats what I wouldve done," Puck said, putting his unwanted opinion into everything.

"Were on the first floor. What difference would it have made?"

"Maybe we should push Anderson out the window. Make the world a better place."

I started to write some research down in my book and tried to ignore what Kurt and Puck were talking about. I had always wondered why people enjoyed it when someone else suffered at their hand. Maybe it was just easier to pretend to hate someone even more than you hated yourself. Maybe cruelty was much more fun when youre in a group, all banded together against the common enemy. Even though that common enemy hasnt done anything wrong.

"I cant believe I got stuck with Blaine-fucking-Anderson. Out of all the people in the stupid class, I just had to get stuck with him. What have I done to deserve this?" I heard Kurt say to one of his million friends.

"Man that is seriously the worst fucking luck. Im just happy its not me. But seriously man, Id hate to be you," Puck said, as he washed his hands at the sink.