Chapter 1

        Anyone who had a brain and some degree of a self preservation instinct knew that Blaine Anderson was bad news. Ever since his transfer in the middle of freshman year, he had fought his way to the top of the McKinley High food chain of Badassery. Initially, he had transferred in with a bunch of his friends when their private school was shut down for having a marijuana garden in the quad, but after a particularly bad bullying incident and a stint in the local hospital he was a changed man. Gone were the days of bow ties, suspenders, and hot pink sunglasses. His friends tried to talk to him, but it was no use. He would just walk away, leaving nothing but disappointed looks and the smell of cigarettes and leather behind him. 

Kurt Hummel sighed as he pulled into the parking lot of his new school. He wished he could stay in New York, love at first sight be damned. He was all for romantics, but moving to middle-of-homophobic-nowhere Ohio to chase after Carole Hudson was a bit extreme. Her son was a complete idiot, a direct opposite of the cultured teen. Not only that, but Kurt was expected to share a room with the neanderthal. Hah. What a joke. It would be a miracle if that room ever stopped smelling like sweat socks. 

       As soon as he walked through the doors, a barrage of slushies were introduced to his face, a meeting which he hadn’t anticipated. After all, these people had no idea who he was. Did they?

Perfect. Just perfect. He thought bitterly. 

    “Oh my god. Kurt, are you okay?” Carole’s son- What was his name again? Farley? Fred? I don’t even know. - asked, jogging up to him.

“Just fine. Thanks.” Kurt muttered, wiping blue raspberry slush out of his eyes. 

     “Are you sure? You look kinda...pissed.” Whats-his-face tilted his head, his face perpetually set in confusion.

   "Don't worry about it. Although my clothes are completely ruined now." he groaned. What an auspicious start to his new life. 

   “C’mon, you can wear my spare sweatshirt. It’s in my locker.” 

“You REALLY don’t have to do that.”

“What are brothers for? Or step brothers, I guess.” The huge boy shrugged good naturedly.

    Kurt just rolled his eyes and followed after him. He didn’t like it, not at all, but what other choice did he have? It’s not as though he could just go home and get different clothes. Skipping school on your first day is usually frowned upon.

   "Hey Finn!" a short brunette with an unfortunate nose waved, annoyingly chipper. So Finn’s his name. Huh. I would never have guessed that.

     “Oh, uh, hey Rachel. Listen, I gotta go help Kurt. He had a McKinley High Facial.” Finn called over his shoulder as he walked away, completely oblivious to the crestfallen look on Rachel’s face.

   They walked a while longer. Finn held the locker room door open for Kurt. How chivalrous. In another life, he might’ve had a crush in his stepbrother. As it was, he found the whole idea all kinds of repulsive.

   “So. Who was that?” Kurt asked as he pulled the over-large sweatshirt over his once perfect coif. 

  “Who?”

   “That girl.”

      “Oh. Her?” Finn paused, thinking. It was a rare look for him, and Kurt bit back the urge to laugh. “That's Rachel Berry. She’s captain of the Glee Club with me. She’s alright, I guess.”

      Kurt’s ears perked up. “Glee Club?” He had been the lead singer of his school’s Glee Club in New York, an all-male acapella choir. Surely he could make it into this one. “Finn, do  you think you could get me an audition?”

“Oh! Yeah, man! I didn’t know you could sing!”

     “I could say the same for you.” Kurt chuckled. Finn wasn’t actually half bad, just a little slow. But as far as allies went, Finn was a powerful one to have.

    “Alright, guys! It looks like we have a new potential member!” Mr. Schuester announced to the rest of the club.

   Kurt was glad he had rushed home during lunch to change clothes. He needed to make a good impression on these people. Not that any of them cared much about clothes. A biggish black girl caught his appraising look and smiled, rolling her eyes in the direction of Rachel Berry’s abominable kitten sweater. 

     "My name is Kurt Hummel and I'll be singing Defying Gravity from the Tony Award winning musical Wicked," he announced, smiling winningly. Projecting an air of confidence was crucial, one had to treat every audition like it was for Broadway, even if it was actually for some Glee Club in Lima Ohio. This was the song he trotted out to win over, well, everyone in New York. Without waiting for them to reply, he began to sing.

      He did his rendition of the song perfectly, as usual. The applause, though a bit hesitant at first, quickly became hearty. He was wonderful, and he knew it. 

   "Well, I've never heard of a boy with that kind of range before! Your countertenor is almost flawless. Perfect for backup harmonies." Rachel beamed at him. 

      "I think I speak for all of us when I say welcome to the New Directions, Kurt!" Mr. Schuester exclaimed as the bell rung. 

Did he just say the Nude Erections? You have GOT to be kidding me. 

    " Hey Kurt! Wait up!" the black girl called after him. She linked their arms and said, "I'm Mercedes by the way. You were fantastic."

  Kurt smiled gratefully at her. "I'm glad you liked it. Nice to meet you, Mercedes. "

   "So, what brings you to the great town of Lima? Finn said you used to live in New York." She asked. 

   Before he had a chance to reply, a hulking black motorcycle tore up to the school. He barely had time to blink before he watched the infernal thing collide with a car. Not just any car either, not with the day he was having. No. The car just had to be his Navigator.