“You can wear all the feathers you want. You’ll blend right in.” Kurt’s gaze shot to Noah, eyes caught between narrowing in reaction to the perpetuation of gay stereotypes and widening at the déjà vu. Realising he must be having a lucid dream, Kurt took the chance to say what he’d never had the confidence to say to the Glee guys before, much less the guy who used to throw him into dumpsters.

“Screw you, Puckerman.” Puck nearly broke his neck doing a double-take, as did everybody else. “In fact, screw all of you. I’m through taking homophobic crap from people who are supposed to be on my side.” Mike and Sam looked away first but Kurt wasn’t angry at them right now. Sure they could have been more supportive but they hadn’t recently insulted him, if dreaming about things that happened two years ago made them recent. Finn, Noah and Artie however, got the full weight of his glare.

“FYI Artie, not all gay guys are into drag, even the ones who have more back issues of Vogue than I do…Finn, you know how thin the ice you’re on is…and Noah, private schools aren’t hotbeds of same sex action, your class prejudice and porn addiction are showing.” Seeing each boy react to his sharp words brought Kurt some satisfaction but he was more annoyed that it had got to this point than anything else. He took down the mood boards and paused before delivering his parting blow.

“We’re not friends, fine….quite frankly I’m more than happy to not be subjected to tales of your sexploits, get near enough to you to asphyxiate from the toxic flea dip you douse yourselves in or lose my voice explaining every single way you offend my superior sense of taste and style…but we’re supposed to stick together, be a team…and your casual homophobia makes it that much easier for other people to act on their prejudice. The Karofskys and Rick Nelsons of the school shout slurs at me and push me into lockers because they think they can get away with it, and they think that because, in their eyes, I’m on my own…the things you come out with only confirm it for them…and for me.” Hearing his voice crack on the last three words, Kurt turned away and took a deep breath, trying not to cry, knowing that if he did, it would lose him any respect this little outburst had gained him. Even if it was only a dream, gaining mastery over his tear ducts was something he was desperate to achieve in the real world. He was sick of the pitying looks Chase and Isabelle were giving him.

“Kurt-” The lumbering footsteps informed him that Finn had been guilt-ed into action.

“I swear to Gaga, if you apologise right now I will strangle you with my feather boa.” Bitch-face in place he turned back to give them a withering look. Finn backpedalled to his corner. “I’ll go and spy on the Warblers, I’ll sing back-up again when you decide which songs to butch-up, I’ll even keep my mouth shut about the costumes…just think about what I said.” They muttered their promises to do just that and Kurt thought Noah might even have meant his, the jock was looking at him like he’d just grown an extra head, or pulled an uzi out of his satchel.

Kurt closed the door behind him, gratified by the silence that meant his words had sunk in and Mike saying they should still go with Diana Ross.

Next stop Dalton, and Blaine…if he didn’t wake up first.

Given recent events, he wasn’t sure if he was desperate to stay asleep or desperate to wake up.