Kurt Hummel swept through the doors of McKinley High like he owned them, his head held high as he walked through the throngs of fellow students. Most ignored him, but some, Dom and sub alike, sneered, glaring at his clothes, his hair, and his general coolness with the world around them. He paid them no mind, his mind running through his new course schedule for his junior year and possible outfits for the next week. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he nearly passed his locker.

Blinking, he took a step back and turned. 13-48-22 he chanted to himself. The lock twirled and clicked open at his command and the door swung wide, enticing a yelp from the locker next to him as the doors banged together.

"Oops, sorry, didn't know my door was on your side, locker mate," a pleasant voice said beside him. Kurt barely spared him a glance; dark hair, ridiculous eyebrows, brown-y eyes, short, good fashion sense. "I'll do better next time. I'm Blaine."

Kurt was sure there was a hand being held out for him to shake, but he didn't bother looking over, simply setting up the few personal things he had with him. The boy next to him continued talking and Kurt did his best to block him out, not knowing who he was or particularly caring what he had to say.

"So, do you know of any good after school activities to participate in?" The boy's words finally penetrated and Kurt sighed, rolling his eyes as he turned on his heel. He set a quick pace towards his homeroom class, not catching anyone's eye as he went, irritating little man beside him.

"Is this because of the locker slam? Because I really didn't mean to, though, to be fair, you did kinda fling yours open a little hard. Not that I'm complaining or mad or anything, it's just that you're ignoring me when I'm trying t-"

"Maybe there's a reason for that," Kurt snapped, stopping to glare at the boy. "Now quit following me."

He held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I was just trying to make light conversation. I mean, we're going to be locker buddies for a whole year, I thought we could make nice."

"I'll be sure to ask for a different locker if a stalker is what I get out of this one." Kurt turned, picking up his pace as the bell clanged loudly overhead. He dropped gracefully into a seat in the middle of his homeroom class, pulling out a brand new notebook and a pen out of his messenger bag. Much to his dismay, the boy hurried into the classroom just as the final bell sounded and, since everyone tended to avoid Kurt like the plague, the only remaining seats were next to him.

When the boy noticed, the smile on his face flickered, though he recovered so quickly that Kurt wasn't sure if he imagined it or not. He watched from the corner of his eye as the boy sits gingerly in the desk on his right, shooting Kurt furtive glances, as though he wasn't sure if he'd be snapped at again. Kurt took the distracting opportunity of the teacher walking in to really look at the other boy for the first time, taking in details that his quick glance in the hallway missed.

His dark hair was slicked back and parted on the side, giving him an old fashioned movie star look. He stared at the teacher as they introduced themselves, face fixed into a look of concentration. His shoulders were broad, his arm muscles bulging against the sleeves of his tight, white polo. His hands looked strong, long fingers flexing as he took a textbook from whoever was passing them around and, yup, there, seated snugly on his right thumb, a black ring marking him as a Dom. Kurt should have guessed; the boy had been annoyingly persistent. He probably hadn't even realized that he was talking to a lowly sub, Kurt thought with a sneer. Of course that wasn't unusual, since he didn't act like most subs. Not since last year; before that, even, if he was being truthful.

Throughout class, Kurt caught the boy glancing at him, but he kept his own eyes forward, pretending to be engrossed in what the teacher was saying. He was hyper aware of every movement on that side and by the time class ended, he was a ball of tension, jumping up and practically running out of the door the moment the bell rang. He kept his book with him, hoping to avoid another locker confrontation. After two periods with no sign of him and his load getting ever heavier with textbooks, Kurt decided to stop by his locker. He wasn't going to let some random Dom dictate his movements; he was Kurt Hummel and he was going to go to his locker.

He peeked around the corner as casually as possible and let out a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was nearby. Head held high, he hurried to his locker and put the three books he had accumulated in, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth when he caught sight of the picture of him and his father that he had hung on the door. It was from a few weeks ago, both of them bent over a car. One of the guys at the shop had been playing with his new camera and had yelled for them to smile. It wasn't a huge moment, small and insignificant over the course of his life, but held dear after everything that had happened last year.

"Is that your dad?"

Kurt's body tensed and he glanced over to find the boy spinning the combination on his locker. His eyes flickered over to Kurt's a few times, a timid smile on his face. Kurt shut his locker, making sure to use his left hand so that his silver ring, the one on his left thumb that marked him a sub, glinted in the light. "Yes."

Kurt didn't wait for him for extrapolate, once again walking away from the boy. Unfortunately for him, in a repeat of that morning, the boy followed him to class, and there he remained for the rest of the day. Algebra II, Chemistry, French III, all of his afternoon classes were with the boy, as was lunch. Every time he turned around, it seemed like there he was, always with a sweet smile and a hello. The next three days were like a special hell for him, his body constantly tense in expectation, until it all came to a head Thursday before the first glee club practice of the year.

Kurt traded books out, getting what he needed for homework before practice. The familiar whirCLICK sound of the locker being unlocked next to him sounded and he braced himself for the inevitable question. There was always one.

"Can you at least tell me what I've done wrong?" As he had earlier in the week, Kurt turned and walked away, the boy following, his locker hastily slammed shut with a bang. "What about your name? Will you tell me that?"

"What is your problem? Can you not just take the hint that I don't want to talk to you?" Kurt hissed, whirling on the boy again. "I thought I made that perfectly clear every time I ignored you, but no, you just have to keep on nosing in where you're not wanted. Geez, take a friggin' hint and leave me alone!"

He looked at him, his honey eyes trained on Kurt's blue ones. "I could make you tell me, you know." He inclined his head towards Kurt's left hand, sliver ring dull in the florescent lights of the hallway. "I could make you do what I want, but I'm not. I'm trying to be nice and you're just throwing it all back in my face. I only want a friend and I was hoping that person could be you, since our lockers are next to each other and you look like you could a friend, too, but I guess I was wrong."

For the first time, the boy (Blaine, that was his name, wasn't it?) walked away from Kurt.

He made his way to the choir room, thoughts tumultuous in his head. A friend? He had only one, a Dom named Sam Evans, who had been there for him since the first grade. He had held Kurt's hand after the accident and tried to ward off any bullies. Sam had caught a stomach bug the day before school started and had missed the entire week so far, though he had promised Kurt he would be there Monday. The thought of allowing someone else to be as close as Sam is was daunting. Yes, he had the glee club, too, but he wasn't close to many of them, as they seemed to attract drama like a magnet.

A friend...

He turned the thought over and over in his head, worrying it like a stone as he dropped gracefully into his usual seat and gave Mercedes a vague smile when she leaned over to give him a one armed hug. Like Sam, she was one of the few people, sub or Dom, who would willingly touch him. He wasn't too close to her, but ever since Sam had found out that she was his soulmate, he had made an effort.

That was something else. Blaine had had a point when he said that he could have easily forced Kurt to talk to him. Most Doms assumed it was their right to force any sub in their path to do whatever they wanted, though the law did draw a very strict line at unwanted sexual advances. But this boy, he had instead tried over and over to instigate conversations in a friendly and open manner. And Kurt had shut him out each time, his ice hard walls blocking communication on every level until that word had drilled through.

Friend.

He was still lost in his thoughts when Mr. Schue entered the room, clapping his hands together loudly. "All right, guys, welcome back! I trust you all had a good summer and are gearing up to win at Sectionals!" His words were met with cheers, though Kurt remained stoic. Once they had died down, their teacher rubbed his hands together, his face lit up with excitement. "Now, here to, hopefully, help us with that is Blaine Anderson." He waved someone forward from his office and continued speaking. "He's going to audition for us before we get started for today."

There were five snaps in secession before the band joined and then Blaine was suddenly there, in the middle of the room, singing.

She keeps Moet et Chandon
In her pretty cabinet
'Let them eat cake' she says
Just like Marie Antoinette

And, wow, Kurt did not expect him to sound like that. He was no Freddie Mercury, then again, no one was, but he was good. His was well suited for a Queen song and he used his hands a lot when singing, doing silly steps as though he couldn't stop himself from moving, just a bit, even though the song didn't really have much of a rhythm for solo dancing. His singing faces were a bit ridiculous, though.

After the last note faded, he gave a small bow, a grin splitting his face. Mr. Schue came over and clapped him on the shoulder, saying, "That was awesome, Blaine, and I think I speak for everyone when I say, welcome to the New Directions!" Everyone broke into applause as Blaine waved somewhat bashfully before Mr. Schue motioned for him to take a seat and began their lesson.

Much like it was in every class, the only open seat was next to Kurt, since Sam was out and he usually sat beside him and Mercedes. Blaine didn't even frown this time, bouncing excitedly as he made his way over, graciously accepting accolades from everyone he passed. He nodded to Kurt the same way he did everyone else, though slightly uneasy. Kurt allowed his lips to twitch into the barest of smiles and that seemed to relax him the rest of the way.

The next day at school, Kurt was at his locker, rearranging his books for easy grabbing when a throat was cleared beside him. He looked over to see Blaine standing next to him holding two cups of coffee from the Lima Bean.

"Truce?" he asked, offering one of the cups to Kurt. When Kurt just stared at him blankly, he continued, "You were right, yesterday. I shouldn't have continued pestering you when you were obviously unhappy about it. I, uh, saw you with a cup of coffee the other day and thought I would get you one for today as a peace offering and, wow, that sounded a lot less creepy in my head. I promise I'm not stalking you or anything."

When Kurt still didn't say anything, Blaine sighed. "I'm sorry, I'll-" he cut himself off, turning to leave and muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "It was a stupid idea anyway."

"Wait!" Blaine's head whipped around. "Um, thank you, for the, uh, coffee, but you shouldn't have had to apologize. I was the one who was being rude to you and, um, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you, either." He tried to smile, his lips twitching as he reached out to take the offered cup.

"KURTIE!" was the only warning he got before strong arms wrapped around his waist and he was lifted off of the floor. His head snapped back and suddenly he had a face full of blonde hair.

"Samuel Evans, you put me down right now!" Kurt shrieked as his body was wiggled from side to side. He was squeezed tightly one last time before his command was obeyed and he immediately smacked his friends' chest.

"Aw, don't be mad, Kurtie," Sam cooed teasingly. He squinted when he noticed Blaine standing there and staring at them, two cups of coffee in his hands. He jerked his head in his direction and asked, "Who's this guy?"

"Oh, um, this is Blaine." Kurt quickly took the proffered cup from him so he would have a free hand. Blaine offered his hand with a bright smile, though his eyes flicked to Sam's thumb and the black ring that sat there. For his part, Sam slowly held out his own, taking in Blaine's appearance, his ring, his slightly nervous smile.

"Nice to meet you, Blaine, I'm Sam," he said, making his voice an octave deeper as they let go. Kurt rolled his eyes and almost smacked him again when he noticed Sam flexing slightly.

"You, too," Blaine said. Kurt saw his hand stretch and then flex before reaching into his bag. "Um, I wasn't sure how you took it, so I brought some creamer and sugar for you," he told Kurt, not quite looking at him as he handed over a small brown bag. Waving off Kurt's thanks, he mumbled, "I'll see you later," and hurried off.

"Sammy, that was rude," Kurt scolded as he handed the cup to Sam and popped the lid off.

"What do you expect, I come back from being gone all week and the first thing I see is some strange guy talking to you and you looking uncomfortable. I didn't know if it was like last year all over again or what," he said as Kurt doctored the cup to his liking.

"You practically pissed on my leg! And what are you doing here, I thought you weren't coming back until Monday?" He took the cup back from him with a thank you, pressing the lid back on and taking a small sip.

Sam fell in step beside him as he began walking to class. "Yeah, I've felt fine the past two days as I'm going kinda stir crazy, so my mom let me off with good behavior. And don't change the subject, who was that guy?"

"Sam, he told you his name," Kurt sighed as they stopped outside Sam's homeroom class.

"That doesn't tell me who he is and why you looked so weird when you were talking to him."

"Sam, I don't need you to-"

"Yes, you do, Kurtie," Sam interrupted with a grin. He leaned down and Kurt automatically tilted his face up, accepting the kiss on his cheek. "I'll always be here to protect my little buddy," Sam added as he pulled back, throwing a wink over his shoulder as he walked into his class.

"Someday, I'll be taller than you!" Kurt yelled after him.

"But not stronger!" Sam turned, walking backwards as he flexed his arms. Kurt rolled his eyes and hurried to get to his own class before the bell rang. Blaine refused to meet his eyes as he walked around his desk to sit down and he practically ran out of the room when the period ended. He ignored Kurt for most of the day, except for the occasional glance when he thought Kurt wasn't looking.

It probably didn't help that Sam was taking his role of protector way seriously and was very nearly attached to Kurt's hip when he wasn't with Mercedes. By the end of the day, Kurt was actually pretty sick of his friend and sat down next to Mercedes, pointedly placing his bag in the empty chair next to him and glaring when Sam made to move it. He held his hands up in surrender and sat on the other side of Mercedes, who was openly laughing at the two of them.

"Um, do you mind if I sit there?" a voice asked, forcing Kurt to tear his eyes away from attempting to drill holes in the side of Sam's stupid fake blond hair. Blaine was standing in front of him, shifting nervously and not meeting his eyes. Kurt saw his eyes flicker over to Sam, who was staring at Blaine intently, but not harshly. "I mean, there's nowhere else to sit and it would be preferable not to sit on the floor, though I will if necessary, I just-"

"Here you go." Kurt moved his bag and stowed it under his seat, patting the one next to him and smiling up at Blaine. It stretched across his lips more easily that he thought it would, even if it was still a little stiff. Blaine smiled at him in relief before quickly dropping his gaze with one last look at Sam.

Kurt leaned forward to glare at him, but of course it had no effect.

888

Over the weekend, Kurt berated his dad for sicking Sam on him at school, claiming he could take care of himself and he didn't need either of them hovering over him. Burt, of course, denied everything and then proceeded to pester first Kurt for information about Blaine. Kurt had only said that he was a new friend, which was enough for Burt to launch a full scale investigation that turned up very little, since Kurt only really talked to Sam at school and he still wasn't happy with the other boy.

Things didn't improve much on Monday. Blaine was still barely talking to him, and while he was mostly over Sam's protectiveness, he was still irritated enough to shoo him off to walk Mercedes to class. Most subs were left alone by the Doms that weren't theirs, but Kurt was one of the few exceptions. Many Doms considered him to 'act above his station' because he didn't look down respectively when they looked his way or scamper off to do what they told him to do when they demanded. Added with his 'ice princess' behavior, it made him an easy target for ridicule. Doms would get in too much trouble for hitting a sub, but words thrown like knives dug like barbs under his skin. He kept his walls up for a reason, protecting him from the worst of their verbal assault. That's why Sam usually walked him to class; he was friends with the jocks, the star quarterback, one of the most popular guys in school, and no one dared mess with Kurt when he was around. It hadn't been too bad while he was out sick, but Kurt knew they were just gearing up for something even worse later.

He found himself watching Blaine more and more frequently as the days pass, more interested than he would be with any other random guy. Most didn't bother giving him the time of day except to tear him down, but Blaine had tried, had wanted to be his friend, and now he was ignoring Kurt. They sat at the same lunch table, surrounded by the other Gleeks, but never spoke. He would sometimes see Blaine looking at him, but any time he tried to talk to him, the other boy disappeared.

Kurt wasn't sure what to make of Blaine, but he was willing to wait to figure it out.