Rachel didn't answer Kurt and he turned around. She was grinning into her phone, her eyes watery. It looked like she was making up with Finn. Rachel saw that Kurt was watching her and pointed at the phone mouthing 'It's Finn,' to him. If possible her smile grew even bigger and she ran out of the store.

Kurt rolled his eyes, "Talk to you later, Rachel," he muttered to himself, looking back at the mirror. Maybe he would buy it. It was beautiful. The golden frame seemed to pick up every ray of light that shone through the window, giving the illusion that the wave pattern along it was swaying. It seemed to have a personality of it's own and somehow made Kurt's reflection looked flawless. It was as if it wasn't a reflection and instead was a ceramic doll-like clone of Kurt imitating his every move. He reached out his hand, almost believing that it was in fact a twin, separated at birth. His hands hovered about an inch in front of the mirror. His reflection in the mirror didn't lift it's arm. Instead, it turned around and walked further into the mirror, disappearing.

He blinked a few times, not believing what was happening. His reflection didn't reappear. Kurt looked around the store, trying to find someone who worked here. This couldn't be right. It had to be a television screen or some kind of prank. It wasn't possible. Maybe he was just stressed out from spending a whole day with Rachel and he was seeing things. As he looked in every possible direction he realized that the store was empty. He was the only one in there. No employees. No other customers. Not even his reflection was with him anymore.

Kurt could feel his heart pounding in his ears. What was going on? He looked back in the mirror, and suddenly felt himself calm down. His reflection still wasn't there, but somehow he felt that it was okay. The mirror had to be safe. Something that beautiful couldn't harm him. As if calling out to him, Kurt had the urge to touch it. He didn't know why, but he just needed to. It seemed more important than leaving the store. It seemed more important than anything. He watched his arm float up to the mirror. He wasn't controlling it, and it felt like there was an invisible string pulling it to the mirror. Kurt was okay with that too. He didn't really know what to expect to happen when he touched the mirror, but it definitely wasn't to have his arm fall through. He felt the panic start to rise in his stomach again, but some force pushed the feelings back deep inside of him.

"It's safe. Walk through, Kurt."

At any other time a voice in Kurt's head would have drove him insane. Not this one though. It was soft. It was a voice that mixed with the wind, and swam with the ocean. He smiled, took a deep breath, and plunged forewords into the mirror.

Walls were closing in on him. He couldn't breathe. He was falling, fading, disappearing. Surrounded by blackness.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Kurt squinted his eyes open, the sudden light half-blinding him. His head was pounding and his breath was ragged. What the hell had happened to him? Where was he? He closed his eyes again until his head stopped spinning and his vision returned to normal. Even though he could actually see now, it didn't clear anything up for him. Slowly sitting up, Kurt looked around, trying to remember something, anything.

Wherever he was, it didn't look like a place he wanted to be. Everywhere he looked there were buildings; Crumbling buildings that just breathed depression. They went on as far as he could see in every direction. Not just at eye level, but above and below him as well. They seemed to go on forever, fading into the mist. The idea that if he took one step too far he would fall to his death should have bothered him, but there was just too much going on in his head to worry about that. He was still taking in everything else. There were thin alleyways that swirled in and out between the buildings, with no railing or fence to protect people from falling. None of it really made sense. It wasn't possible for so many buildings to be stacked on top of one another. They shouldn't be standing. Plants and vines surrounded everything. They should have brought life to the buildings around, but instead just made them more pathetic to look at. The plants had no dirt to root themselves in and instead dug into the cracks of buildings, leaving the flowers wilted. Looking up, he could see that the roots of one tree had actually dug all the way through the cement ground and were growing a few feet above his head. They needed to be trimmed, watered, fixed.

Why didn't someone take care of them? Was he the only one here? How did he even get here? Kurt squeezed his eyes shut as tight as he could manage, trying to figure out what had happened to him.

"The mirror," he whispered, his voice hoarse, the memories from earlier that day flooding back to him. He had fallen through the mirror. That wasn't possible though. You can't fall through mirrors. Maybe he was dreaming. Kurt bit down hard on his lip, tasting blood. He didn't wake up. It wasn't a dream. He pinched the bridge of his nose, unsure of what to do. He needed to get out of here, but the mirror he came through wasn't anywhere. The only thing he could think of to do was look for it. Look for the mirror, get back in it, and go home. He tried to stand up but his head started spinning and he tripped over his own feet, crashing down close to the edge of the building he was on. Stars started to cloud his vision, and he could taste blood from his head, dripping along his face and into his mouth. It was mixed with the taste of tears and sweat and caused him to cough up more blood.

"You alright there?" asked a voice from behind him. It sounded much too cheery for somewhere like this. It was the exact opposite of what Kurt was feeling and he couldn't help but let out a dry, sarcastic laugh.

"Do I look alright to you?" he choked out.

The sound of footsteps on the dry ground crunched closer to him, stepping right beside his head. "That would depend on one's definition of alright. I'm going to go with 'no' though, just to be safe." The body crouched down beside him, the stranger's face getting uncomfortably close to Kurt's. He lifted his hand and ran it along the side of Kurt's face, causing him to flinch. "What are you doing?" he snapped, touching his own face where the other man just had. It stung at his own touch as well, and he tore his hand away. What was on there? It didn't feel exactly like a cut, but instead felt like someone had burned him with a curling iron.

"You're an Oyster..."

"A what?" Kurt asked, not sure if he should be insulted or not. "What's an Oyster? And who are you?"

The stranger stood up sharply, walking a few steps back. He completely ignored Kurt's questions and started to mutter to himself. "What the hell is an Oyster doing here? He couldn't have escaped from the Scarab, and there was no way he could have managed to get out of The Hearts Casino. He's clearly not part of the Resistance either. Blaine couldn't have found anyone new... They stopped trying to find new Oysters a long time ago." At this point, he was pacing back and forth along the edge of the building, shaking his head.

Kurt shouted a few more questions at him, but just continued to be ignored. He was tempted to try standing up again, but he still felt sick from the last time.

"I need to get the Stone. That can take him back. But if anyone finds him before then it's going to be impossible." He paused, groaning. "Why did he have to go and get the Glow on his damn face. Anywhere else we could cover it up..." The man took a few deep breaths before whipping around to Kurt. "You. Come with me." He started to walk, but remembered that the Oyster had been hurt.

"Sorry," he breathed, rushing back. The boy who still hadn't said his name took his right hand and closed his eyes, hovering it over Kurt. All of the muscles in his face were tensing up and he muttered something under his breath. It took a few seconds, but Kurt felt warmth spread across his body. It started in his toes and slowly dragged all the way up, heating every strand of his hair. He felt like his whole body was glowing, and as the warmth faded he felt significantly better.

Kurt gasped and slowly stood up on his own. He had been offered a hand by whoever the other man was but he didn't take it. He wasn't so weak that he needed someone to pick him up. Was he actually just going to leave with this guy? They hadn't shared so much more than a few words with each other... Kurt didn't even know his name. Somehow though, he knew to trust him. It wasn't the same way that he trusted the mirror. The mirror was forcing him to do things, dragging him. This boy was just offering. Kurt held back for a second. He really didn't have any other options. It was go with him or probably die out here. He nodded, more sure of himself, and followed the stranger.

He was having a lot of trouble keeping up. All of the passages were so complicated and he wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of falling to his death. The farther they walked though, the better condition the buildings seemed to be in. They actually had some colour to them and the windows weren't barred. Even the plants looked like they had more life to them. He could hear the flow of water somewhere distant, and the chirping of some kind of creature. It sounded just like a bird, but the noise it was making was more complex and fluid. It was as if instead of just cawing it was actually singing. Maybe it was just the one area. The edge of town or something. Maybe the rest of it was less depressing. Maybe there would be someone to take him home.

They must have walked for what felt like another hour. The greenery was taking up even more space now, the walls of buildings almost invisible. The water that he had heard a while ago could now be seen as a river that passed right beside him. He was still worried about what would happen if he fell into it, but it was better than being next to the edge. Kurt didn't realize that the person guiding him stopped walking and he almost crashed into him. He held up his hands in defense, still a bit jumpy. He mumbled a quick apology and then looked up to why they had stopped in the first place. The building in front of him was entirely covered in vines. The only part that was free was the door and one window. If the other boy hadn't been staring right at it Kurt never would have thought to look. They stood there for a few minutes and Kurt wondered if they should say something. Before he got the opportunity to work out his thoughts though, the stranger started to walk in slow circles around him, once again, a little too close to be comfortable. He paced around Kurt a few more times before standing right in front of his face.

He just stared at Kurt. Well not exactly at him, but instead at the side of his face where he had touched earlier. He didn't seem to be blinking. It was only then that Kurt really got a chance to look at him. It was hard for him not to stare back, his face was mesmerizing. It reminded Kurt of the way he had looked when he stared into the mirror back in the store. Just like a ceramic doll. Every part of his face blended together. He had pale grey eyes that almost looked as if they could see right into his soul. Into his thoughts. They were the kind of eyes that you couldn't help but stare at. The slender shape of his face and high cheekbones suited him perfectly, making it look as if a part of his mind was off somewhere else thinking of something more important. His light blonde hair flipped back into a top hat, showing off his forehead and the one thing that didn't fit in with the rest of his face - a small scar above his right eyebrow. On anyone else it would go unnoticed, but it was the only blemish on his face and stood out. Not in a bad way, just different.

"What's your name?" the blonde boy asked, finally saying something. He still didn't tear his eyes away from the side of Kurt's face, but at least he was talking to him.

Kurt hesitated for a second, not sure how much he should tell this person. "Kurt," he paused it's not like he could do anything to him just by knowing his name. It wouldn't hurt. "Hummel."

"Marvelous! I'm Hatter." He leaned in a little further, if that was even possible. "Friends call me Logan though. Logan Wright."

Kurt stared at him. "Wait. Hatter? Like the Hatter? From Alice In Wonderland?" Every little thing that Kurt found out about where he was, just made him more puzzled.

Logan let out a belt of laughter. "Of course it's Wonderland. Where else would we be?"

"I don't know... How about somewhere that isn't in a child's storybook?"

"Wonderland isn't a story for kids," Logan said, the joyful look on his face quickly fading. "Look, you need to head in there soon," he said, his head flicking towards the building that was almost completely coated in vines. "I have to explain some things first."

"What are you talking about? I really don't think I should be going anywhere but home." Kurt started to panic, he needed to get out. He didn't need to go with Logan, or Hatter, or whatever he wanted to call himself; He didn't need to go into that building, and he certainly didn't need to stay here. He didn't need to be somewhere where people are insane enough to believe they're in Wonderland.

"You can't," Logan breathed, taking his eyes away from Kurt for the first time in what felt like hours. "You can't go home." "I can go wherever the hell I want!" He was starting to sound slightly hysterical, but what was he supposed to do? "My father is going to be freaking out, wondering where I've been. I have school. I have friends I need to get back to. You're taking me back to wherever that mirror is and, I'm. Going. Home." He practically growled out the last few words. Why had he even come this far? He should have talked to Logan when he first found him.

Logan's expression suddenly turned fierce and he gripped onto Kurt's arm. "It's not that simple," he said between clenched teeth, "and if you can just calm down for one second I can explain." Kurt tore his wrist away, red marks printed on it from how tightly Logan had been gripping him. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say. Logan clearly wasn't just going to let him leave. "Fine," he mumbled after a few minutes. A weak smile spread across Logan's face and he walked over to the side of the building, sliding down to sit cross-legged. He motioned for Kurt to walk over and waited for him to be sitting beside him before talking again.

"I first need to know how you got here. The memory might be foggy, but I really need you to think." There was silence for a few minutes before Kurt finally said something. "It's not foggy... I'm just going to sound crazy," he whispered, looking down at his feet. Logan shook his head. "Trust me, whatever you are going to say, I've definitely heard crazier." He said it as if he was disappointed. Like he didn't want it to be true. Somehow it had caused Kurt to once again trust him. "It was a mirror. I was shopping for a mirror with my friend and we went into this one store... I don't even know what it was called. Anyways, the friend that I was with left because she had to talk to someone and I stayed. There was this one mirror. I don't even think I can describe it. It didn't look real. It was beautiful, but looking back, it was also slightly disturbing. I almost didn't believe it was me in the mirror. It looked like a doll of me." Kurt took a deep breath before continuing, "I- I raised my hand to see if it was really me that the mirror was reflecting, but the me in the mirror didn't raise it's arm. Instead it just- it- it turned around and walked away. I didn't know what to do and so I looked around the store, trying to find someone to tell me what was going on, but there was no one. It was just mirrors, everywhere I looked. No people. I started to panic, but when I looked back in the mirror it was like it was hypnotizing me and I just knew that I needed to touch it. I put my arm up against the glass. The mirror... It pulled me into the mirror. It brought me here." He let out a sigh as he finished, hoping that was the last time he would have to tell the story. It just freaked him out.

Logan stared at him, an unreadable expression on his face. "You mean you weren't taken?" "Taken?" Kurt finally looked up from his feet, confused. "Yeah, usually Oysters get taken from your world by the Suits and brought back here to use your emotions." "Suits? Oysters?" "Interesting, I haven't ever heard of that happening before. You were still branded though..." Logan drifted off, clearly just as confused as Kurt. "Look. Logan. I want to go home. You said you were going to explain and if you don't I'm just going to get up and try to walk back to wherever that mirror is." Logan snapped out of his thoughts, looking and Kurt. "Right... Just first, you have to believe me when I say that you're in Wonderland." Sounds of protest came out of Kurt's mouth at that.

"Look, I get that you don't want to, but you need to," he said, speaking over Kurt. "If you can accept that a mirror practically dragged you into it, I'm pretty sure you can accept that Wonderland is real." At that Kurt fell silent. It was true. So much had already been happening to him, it really shouldn't be that hard to believe in one more thing that should be impossible. "Right. So, about four thousand years ago the Red Queen came into power. Before her it was her father. When he was around things were a lot different. People of Wonderland and Oysters got along. We lived in harmony." "Oysters?" Kurt asked as he had been ever since Logan first mentioned the word. "Oysters. They are what we call your type... Anyways, eventually he died and the Red Queen took over. She didn't exactly agree with what her father had been doing. She thought that Oysters were disgusting and should be used for her benefit. Turns out she found a way to do just that. She started to steal Oysters from your world and bringing them here. She built this place called The Hearts Casino. It's on the other side of Wonderland, and we're hoping that you never see it. So, she brings them to the Casino and... well, drains their emotions. We call them Wonders. The Oysters stay in this Casino room and are kept mildly entertained. Their emotions are sucked out of them and put into jars which the people of Wonderland can buy, drink, and feel. It's disturbing, really." Logan paused with a dark look on his face. "You see, when she first build The Hearts Casino the security was really relaxed. She didn't think that anyone would get the idea to escape. A few did though. That's where Blaine comes into the picture. Him and another guy, Charlie both escaped from the Casino. They found each other when they were in hiding and built this place," he said, pointing to the building that they were sitting in front of, "The Great Library."

"At first it was rundown and small, but soon they started to build up more people. They broke into The Hearts Casino every once in a while and took people out. They started to expand; Then became the Resistance. The Red Queen wanted all of the art, literature, and music to be destroyed. She's big on the idea of the quick fix; Using the Wonders of the Oysters to feed her people and keep them wanting more. If there was art it would cause them to think. It would give them long-term gratification. The Resistance started to collect it all; Keep it locked up where they live. Soon though, the Red Queen started to realize that something was going wrong. She started to notice people going missing and she increased security measures. They had to stop taking people from the Casino at that point. She didn't know about the fact that the Resistance was stealing all of the things that she wanted burned, but they knew that they had to stop searching Wonderland for more. It just wasn't safe any longer. The Caterpillar still finds new music, books, and art to give to them, but it's no where near as much as it was before. Most of it he just finds from your world."

"Anyways, she couldn't find the Resistance, but didn't worry about it. She figured that they would die trying to live on their own. They weren't on their own though. They made friends with some people of Wonderland. I was one of them," he said the word with a bit too much force, but continued as if it didn't happen, "and some others like Caterpillar and Doormouse. We help them with food and clothes and things like that. Now they just stay here together and try to get by. They are still looking for ways to take down the Queen so that the Oysters can be free, but she went missing about 400 years ago so it's been getting harder for them. They just don't really know what do to anymore." Logan looked at Kurt, trying to see how he was taking all of the information. He looked overwhelmed, but also as if he kind of understood. Someone wouldn't just go and make up that whole story. There had to be truth to it.

"Alright... I just don't get why I can't go home," he said, his thoughts all over the place. "Why can't all of us leave?"

Logan sighed, it was clearly the one thing that he really didn't want to have to tell Kurt. "Well, there are a few different problems. One, the longer that Oysters stay here in Wonderland, the more they forget about where they come from. If they went back, they wouldn't know where to go or how to live their life again. It just wouldn't be the same. Time is different here too. One hour in your world is 10 days here. All of the Oysters in the Resistance have been in Wonderland for about 3,000 years our time. That's about 13 years your time. They were all four or five when they got here. Also," he took a ragged breath, "there is the fact that they simply can't. You see, to get back to your world one needs the Stone of Wonderland. Anyone can get through the mirror, just like you did, but to get back they need the Stone. It's in a ring, and only the Queen has access to it. Even though she is missing she somehow is contacting a few people that work for her. They don't know where she is, but she somehow gets the ring to certain people so that the Suits, the Suits are what the people that work for her are called, can travel to your world and continue to steal Oysters." Kurt looked like he was on the verge of snapping again at the idea of not going home, but he just nodded stiffly and didn't say anything.

"I really have to get to work," Logan said, standing up and thrusting out a hand to help Kurt that he didn't take, "but you will get along with everyone here. They'll be happy to see another Oyster." Logan grinned at him as if they were having any other normal conversation and not one that revolved around the fact that Kurt wasn't going to be leaving this place anytime soon. The walked up to the door that wasn't covered in vines and Logan pounded on it three times. "Oh, and you have a giant-ass tattoo on your face that you're going to hate," he said just before a small slat in the door was opened, "but I'll let Blaine explain that one." He flashed a smile and a voice behind the door spoke up.

"What do you need?"

"I'm here to return a library book," Logan answered

"How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail?" The voice droned on, as if he had asked the question a thousand times before.

"Pours the waters of the Nile on every golden scale." The door clicked open at Logan's response to reveal an old man sitting in the driver's seat of a broken down bus. It looked like it was too old to run and instead of a steering wheel there was on valve where it should have been. Logan walked onto the bus and sit in a torn leather seat close to the front. Kurt hesitantly followed him in, taking a seat beside him. Looking out of the cracked windows of the bus, Kurt could see that they were in a narrow room. They were the only thing in it and the walls were covered with smoke stained yellow Victorian style wallpaper. The man in the drivers seat eyes Logan as if he didn't fully trust him, but sighed and tugged down on the blue handled valve anyways.

The whole bus shook with a jolt of energy and was suddenly rushing downwards. Kurt let out a gasp, but Logan didn't react, clearly used to the sensation. They dropped down floor after floor. They were rushing past what looked like different houses. Every so often the wallpaper and paint colour would change and there would be different lighting along the walls. They flashed past rooms with walls that appeared to be made of clocks, rooms that were entirely black, and rooms in which the temperature suddenly dropped to below freezing. Kurt had to stop looking out of the windows at one point because he started to feel like he was going to be sick. The bus came to a quick stop and Kurt leaned over to stand up, but Logan spoke up.

"Not yet," he said, and it jolted down for a few more seconds before stopping again.

"Out," said the driver simply, the doors flinging open at once. Kurt quickly jumped up, impatient to get out. His spinning head was coming back again and he really needed to sit down somewhere that the walls weren't churning around him. As soon as he stepped through the doors though, he realized that wasn't going to be possible. His breath was suddenly taken away by what he saw.

What had Logan called it? The Great Library. That title didn't even cover it. The walls couldn't be seen as every one in all directions was covered with shelves. There were shelves filled with books, cd's, photographs, paintings, and every artistic thing one could wish for. Not only that, but there were towers of art stacked in corners. Red carpet lined the floor and giant chandeliers were cluttered across the ceiling. It looked royal in a way, but at the same time old and worn. It was as if someone had taken a rundown castle and turned it into a jumbled, cozy home. Logan walked out of the bus and stood beside Kurt at the same time as two guys that looked about the same age as them walked down the hall.

The short one on the right had short dark curly hair. It looked like it was on the verge of becoming untamed, and it was held in with slightly too much gel. He had thick eyebrows that suited his defined face shape. Light stubble brushed over his face and his eyes seemed like they couldn't decide if they were blue, green, gold, or grey. He was stunning. The boy to his left had quite a different build. He was a little taller than average height and his muscle definition could be seen through his shirt. His hair was short, light brown and stuck up everywhere, looking as if he also hadn't shaved for a few days. His eyes were a dark green and showed a slightly stern personality in them. The one strange thing about the two boys was their two tattoos. They were a light black and in different places. The shorter boy's started in his hairline and spread across his face, wrapping around his right eye. It appeared to be in the pattern of a hoof and a vine intertwined. The other boy's was peeked out through his shirt collar from the left side of his chest and broke apart, also appearing on part of his neck. It had a much sharper pattern. It looked as if it was a mixture of bark and feathers, and suited the slight anger that was written on his face.

"Logan," the shorter boy spat, his voice lower that Kurt had been expecting.

"Blaine," Logan said, glaring back at the dark haired boy, "Charlie," he added, addressing the one beside him. The three of them shared a moment of agreed emotion. It was clear they had a past together, and not a positive one. Finally the guy that Logan had addressed as Charlie spoke up.

"Who is this? And where did you find him?" he demanded, now looking at Kurt. "His name's Kurt. He says that he fell through the Looking Glass. He was in a mirror store and he was looking at it and it just kind of... pulled him in." The two boys with the tattoos looked equally confused and just stared at Kurt. "That's not possible. It hasn't ever happened. I don't-" Blaine whispered, caught up in his own thoughts. "Should we take him though?" He asked no one in particular. "We don't really have a choice." Charlie answered. "Hatter, you can leave. We'll take care of Kurt."

Just as Logan opened his mouth to answer, two identical looking boys appeared to pop out of thin air behind Blaine and Hatter. "Who's this?" they asked in unison, walking around either side of the two boys and standing right in front of Kurt. "These are the Tweedles," Blaine explained. "Well, you can call them Evan and Ethan. Don't bother trying to tell them apart yet, it'll probably take you awhile." he then turned his attention to the twins. "This is Kurt."

"Well, come with us, Kurt," Evan- or maybe Ethan started, "we're starting soon!" the second twin finished the sentence. One of them grabbed onto Kurt's hand and dragged him away. He looked back, about to say 'bye' to Logan, but noticed that he had already left. The bus was gone. He could tell that Charlie and Blaine clearly hadn't wanted Logan here, but he wasn't really expecting him to just go without saying anything. He was nice. He clearly cared enough to bring Kurt somewhere where he was supposed to be safe until they could find a way to get the Stone of Wonderland and go home.

"What exactly are you starting?" he asked the Tweedles, already overwhelmed. "Well, today is Saturday so that means it's our turn," the twin grinned as if Kurt should know what that meant. Before he knew it he was in some kind of living room. There were mismatched chairs and sofas scattered around the room, sitting beside tables in all sorts of shapes. Lamps and candles of all sizes were placed around the room, and sitting in the middle of it all was a piano. The room still carried the theme of the book-lined walls and red carpet, but here it was slightly more worn down as if the room was constantly in use.

"Take a seat!" one of them cheered, pointing at a green and pale yellow-striped chair before running up a staircase and out of site. "We'll only be a few minutes," the other said before running after his brother. Kurt stared at where they had just been standing a few seconds ago. Had all of that really just happened? And what was it even that just happened? There were so many thoughts and questions running through his head that he couldn't keep them straight. The main one that continuously flickered back was the idea that he wasn't going to be able to go home. He tried to remind himself over and over again that the time was different. Time passed much quicker here, so therefore, by the time that he returns, not that much will have changed. He may only be gone for a few days if he's lucky. As Kurt was trying to get a steady grip on his thoughts, a herd of people rushed in down the staircase. They all seemed excited about something, but all of their talking stopped when they saw Kurt.

"Who the hell is that?" a deep voice from the back of the crowd asked.

Kurt was trying to think of a quick way to explain when Charlie spoke up behind him, he and Blaine had walked back from the front hall. "This is Kurt. He's going to be staying with us now." Murmurs of confusion spread across the crowd, but they all started to take seats. He looked at the people that were around him. Most of them had tattoos across their face, arms, chest, or neck, and Kurt suddenly realized that must have been what Logan was talking about. He had one of those tattoos... That had to be what was hurting on his face. No. He couldn't have one. What happened when he went back home? What if it was still there? Maybe he could get it removed. Maybe that hadn't been what Logan was talking about. He touched the side of his face again and it still stung. Shit. The only explanation was that he had one.

Kurt didn't have time to continue panicking about his face, for a few seconds later everyone suddenly fell silent and turned to look at the wide staircase they had all walked down a few minutes ago. Right then the sound of a guitar started to play a steady beat. Kurt spun around and saw Blaine sitting a few chairs away from him, playing an electric guitar. Beside him was a darker-skinned boy with a tattoo of what looked liked antlers and the side of a deer's face wrapped around his right elbow. He was tapping on a tambourine. Before he knew it, one of the two twins was standing at the top of the staircase, singing.

He had a smooth, cheerful ring to his voice, and even though Kurt was still panicking slightly, he couldn't help but calm down at the sound of it. The other twin ran to the spot beside him from one of the rooms upstairs and continued.

They turned towards each other for a short second, shared a devilish grin, and started to half walk, half skip down the stairs singing together in harmony.

The one on the left side leaned onto the edge of the railing and slid the rest of the way down, while his brother slowly continued to dance his way down the stairs.

The twin that slid down the railing made his way over to where everyone was sitting. As he danced over to them he did a quick flip over one of the piles of books on the floor, causing a few cheers from everyone watching. Everything Kurt had been worrying about melted away and he couldn't help but clap with them. He sat down on an armrest of one of the chairs and continued.

They were now next to each other again and they playfully danced around the room, repeating the chorus.

They finished with the song by getting everyone to stand up and dance around with them, clapping to the beat.

The song finished and Kurt noticed that for the first time since he got here he had a real smile on his face. Sure, it was going to be hell having to wait for the stone, but these people seemed nice. Kurt was going to head back to his chair when he heard the now familiar voice of one of the twins behind him.

"Hi Kurt!"

"Did you like our song, Kurt?"

He turned around and looked at the two boys, "It was amazing! I really li-" he was interrupted by the darker boy that he noticed before who pushed between the Tweedles.

"Evan, Ethan, how dare you hog the new kid!" he laughed, "I'm David by the way. And this is Wes!" he said, pointing to the oriental guy who was now standing beside all of them. He had a tattoo made of hooves and antlers that spread across his back, neck, and shoulder.

"We haven't had anyone new in well... A couple thousand years. This is pretty awesome!" Wes added.

At this point there was a whole crowd of people surrounding Kurt. "We should probably introduce everyone else," Charlie said, walking over to them. "First of all, Kurt, you can call me 'Chaz,' I don't really like 'Charlie,' it's too formal. Anyways, you met Wes, David, Ethan, Evan, and Blaine." Kurt nodded. "Then we have Ali and Ria," he said, pointing to two girls who also looked like twins, but dressed entirely different. The one he addressed as Ali had a simple look to her. Her brown hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she didn't really have any makeup on. Her sister left her hair wavy, cascading across her shoulders. She had on bright red lipstick and heavy eyeliner. They both wore the same happy expressions though, and looked as if they were just as close as Ethan and Evan. Both of them had pale green eyes and slightly rounded faces. As for tattoos, they both had ones that looked similar to butterfly wings, wrapping around opposite eyes. Ali's on her left, while Ria's was on her right. "Justin is over there," he said, pointing at a quiet boy, standing at the back of the crowd. He had a face that looked as if it had been through a lot. As if it was hiding something. His dark brown eyes had a sad look to them, his rough-lined tattoo wrapping around the right one and drooping down his neck as well. "Also, there is Eli and Sam," he turned towards two other girls. The one he said was Eli had bright red hair and freckles across every inch of exposed skin. Her tattoo that looked similar to an animal's fur started at her shoulder and flowed down the rest of her left arm. The Asian girl that he pointed to, Sam, had a huge smile spread across her face. Her eyes glowed with joy and her personality bounced across the room. Her tattoo was much lighter that the others and spread from her cheek, down her neck, and underneath her shirt. "Oh, and Adam," he turned to the last guy in the room, who unlike everyone else, simply didn't looked happy. His eyes had bags under them as if he hadn't gotten proper sleep in a long time. His piercing blue eyes almost scared Kurt, and his tattoo didn't help the matter. It looked similar to the nose of a lion, mirrored on both sides of his jaw. "Reed is off doing something, but you'll run into him eventually. Literally run into him. He has a little problem with hurting himself and people around him." Everyone let out shared laughter and went back to talking amongst one another.

Kurt watched everyone talk with one another, a small smile across his face. Maybe this wasn't going to be too bad.

"Hey," Blaine said from beside him. "I guess your day had been pretty rough, you look like you could use a bit of sleep," Blaine smiled up and him, and Kurt felt his stomach twist a little. He just nodded, not sure what else to say. "I can show you where you're going to be staying if you want, you can get a few hours rest."

The two of them walked up the staircase, and down complicated hallways. Everywhere that Kurt looked there were paintings and photographs. It was beautiful. Blaine eventually pushed through one last door, showing a room filled with a few different beds.

"You'll be in here with Wes, David, and Reed. And you can have that bed," Blaine pointed at the one close to a window. The glass was mostly covered by ivy and he couldn't really see out of it, but light still shone through. Blaine sounded just about as shy as Kurt felt, and he looked a lot younger than he had when he was downstairs. "I'll let you go then," he was about to turn around, but Kurt spoke up.

"Hey Blaine? Evan and Ethan. They aren't Oysters. But they live here." Blaine looked at him, a smirk on his face. "We actually don't know what they are. If they are Oysters they have a tattoo that none of us have ever seen. And if they aren't... Well that doesn't really matter, they help us. They know people that work with the Red Queen and they find out information for us. Reed isn't an Oyster though. We know that for sure. He's actually the Doormouse. He's nice, though." Blaine thought for a second, "You two will get along." He turned to leave again, but Kurt still had another question. "Blaine? Do I have one of those tattoo things on my face too?" Blaine let out a loud laugh at that, a little more comfortable with Kurt. "It's called a brand. Or the Glow. And yes, you have one. It looks good on you though, trust me." and with that he left.

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Kurt walked over to his bed, sitting on the edge of it and looking out the window. If he turned his head the right way he could slightly see the road. He felt a warm feeling pass through him. This wouldn't be too bad. Maybe he would actually like it here for a while. He softly sang to himself as he stared outside.

He took a deep breath and leaned back on his bed, half-whispering the lyrics.

Blaine was nice. That was one person that counted for something.

Kurt felt his eyes start to well up. Yes, he already missed his Dad. Yes, he was going to miss his friends... But maybe for awhile this is what he needed.

He would remember them. He wouldn't forget his family and friends like the others here did. He could never forget them.

A single tear slid down Kurt's face, rolling off of his chin and onto the pillow on his bed. He would be fine.