Kurt Hummel looked out of the study window and down at the the street below. He sighed at the huddle of children who sat by the side of the road, laughing in the blistering heat. They were all about 11 or 12, Kurt even recognized some of them from his 6th grade class. Even then they were the popular kids, the kids who played soccer at break and were constantly in trouble or receiving bad grades. Kurt had no idea why being stupid was a good thing, but he had to admit getting 'F's in every single paper did wonders for their popularity.

Ignoring the sounds of fun and friendship, Kurt went back to his drawing, shading his new dress design in midnight blue. He didn't have many friends, well that was an exaggeration, unless you counted his own dad, Kurt Hummel didn't have any friends. The other boys bullied him for his voice and how he liked 'girly' things, but he didn't see anything wrong with liking singing, dancing and drawing, and as he was a boy they couldn't have only been for girls' because surely then he wouldn't like them, he reasoned.

But long since he was first laughed at he'd come to realize that there was no getting around his unpopular status. It had just become uncool to like him. Kurt knew that not many people really had anything personal against him, the problem was that the people who did were the highest on the food chain and so everyone else just copied them.

His blue eyes danced back to the window. The fact was, that although he didn't like any of the people in that stupid little group, he would still die to be in it. He hated being lonely, not having anyone to sit with at lunch, anyone to talk to, anyone to stick up for him. He frowned, pinning up his drawing on the wall with the others.

School had only been back for a week, but it had been bad enough, he'd had his new purse (although his Dad tried to get him to call it a wallet) flushed down a toilet. Though he saw that as a success as it had nearly been his head. He'd also had his summer assignment stolen and used by his least favorite bully, Sam Danes, and had a bowl of coleslaw dumped on his, carefully hair-sprayed head. In essence Kurt Hummel had not enjoyed his first week of middle school.

Kurt looked at his watch, it was 2 o'clock. He headed down stairs, unsure of what to do for the next 3 hours before his dad got home from the Garage, as he was now old enough for his Dad to trust him at home alone. What he really wanted to do was go outside, but judging by the loud chatter and harsh laughter that was coming from the street, that wouldn't be a good idea. He wasn't one to walk into the lion's den.

Instead the brown haired boy decided to go out into the back lawn. Kurt loved this little space, it was fenced off one one side but on the other there was nothing, the house next to his had been empty for as long as he could remember and so the garden had almost become an extension of his own. Kurt ran his fingers through the lush, green grass, remembering coming out here to play tea parties with his Dad when he was younger.

He smiled looking back up at the empty house, who's garden he'd played in. It looked very similar to his house, made of brown-red bricks with big, paned windows, except there was a lot more ivy on the other house, it having not had a tender in so long. There was a also a cross hatched, ladder type thing, which he had asked his Dad countless times what it was called, but could never remember the answer he gave. Kurt had spent a lot of his childhood climbing us it and subsequently being told of by his Dad. That was a time when Kurt had been a little bit less wary with the state of his clothes.

Catching sight of a clump of daisies, he smiled, they'd been his Mom's favorite flower, bar the rose, and he'd loved to go out side and pick them for her and then make them into a little bracelet or necklace. A tear caught in his eye at the thought of how she would smile at the little gift, and he quickly wiped it free.

Kurt sat down by the patch of daisies, trying not to ruin his skinny jeans. He picked some, careful to do it low down the stalk, so they were big enough to slit the hole into. Happy with his selection of flower's – he had at least enough for a necklace – he lay his head back against a grassy bank, rejoicing in his freedom to be who he was without being laughed at for being childish or girly.

Something caught his eye as he fiddled with the stems of the flowers, not quite bothered to fix them into a chain yet. Kurt sat up straight and stared into the top left window of the abandoned house, he was sure he'd seen something. Someone. Carefully, he got to his feet, heading towards the window.

Kurt looked at the wooden cross-hatched structure, he hadn't climbed it in a while and didn't know if it would still support his weight, but it was the only way that he was going to get up to that window, to see who or what was up there. He looked down at his clothes, a pair of black skinny jeans and a dark blue shirt with a light blue bow tie, nothing too precious.

Tucking the daisies into his jean pocket, he stretched out his leg a little, checking he was actually able to move enough to do what he was going to do, and put his first foot on to the wood, experimentally, before putting another foot on and clasping on with his hands, thinking furiously of what this would do to his nails. When the structure did not collapse underneath him, he continued to climb up.

As much as people at school might call him one, Kurt Hummel wasn't a coward. He had courage, he just didn't see the necessity in showing that for the sake of it. Well that's what his dad told him. He looked down at the ground, he really wasn't too high, he thought that even if he did fall over he wouldn't really hurt himself.

Tentatively he lifted his head up to the wide window, in which he though he'd seen someone, he looked around, in anticipation, at the slightly dank, gray-white room. There was no one there.

Kurt sighed in disappointment, his nails had been wrecked for nothing. He was just about to climb down when a head popped up from the blind spot under the window ledge. Kurt screamed. Then nearly fell off. Then regained his balance. This was all watched by a horrified pair of hazel eyes, surrounded by the curliest dark brown hair Kurt had ever seen in his life. The owner of these raised himself to his full height, which was, admittedly, not much higher than before, and stood there flapping his hands, evidently, panicking.

Kurt laughed a little at the bewildered look on the other boys face, thinking how curious this was, the house had been empty for so long and yet here was this strange little...hobbit. He tapped on the window, near the handle, indicating for the other boy to open it. The strange curly-haired boy complied, whilst letting out a stream of apologies.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know who was there, I saw you in the garden...then I saw you climbing up so I didn't know what to do...I hid. Then I thought you were going so I took little look...I didn't mean to scare you!" He bumbled, going a little red as he did so. Kurt smiled at him, after all he seemed like a nice enough boy,

"That's okay," he said simply. "Do you...want to come out and play?" The other boys face lit up and he nodded a big smile on his face, he looked down at Kurt and his smile faltered.

"I think I'll take the stairs though, if that's okay?"

Kurt laughed again, nodding, glad that he'd found someone who didn't mind playing with him. He carefully started to dismount the strange wooden structure, jumping the last few feet to where the boy other stood waiting for him. He could see him properly now and looked at his clothes, and grinned goofily, they were both wearing bow ties, although the hobbit-haired boy's was an emerald colour.

"What's your name?" said the Kurt, curiously as they walked back to the bank where he'd been lying down before.

"Blaine Anderson," he answered, smiling. Kurt thought over the name and decided he liked it, Blaine Anderson was a good name. "What about you?"

"Kurt Elizabeth Hummel."

"Elizabeth, but...isn't that a g-girl's name?" he whispered conspiratorially, and Kurt's heart dropped, maybe this boy was just like the others.

Blaine looked at the other boy's crestfallen face and frowned, "Well, I think Elizabeth is a pretty name anyway," he added, smiling and Kurt's face lifted, he had very pretty eyes, thought Blaine, especially when he smiled. "It's nice to meet you Mr. Kurt Elizabeth Hummel," he said, jokingly formal, offering Kurt his hand. Kurt laughed, making his eyes look even prettier, and took his outstretched hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Blaine Anderson!"

They laughed for a minute, before sitting down on the grass. "Blaine, can I ask you something?" Blaine nodded and Kurt proceeded. "Why were you in that room?" The other boy looked at him, and crooked an eyebrow.

"Well, we just moved in and...that's my new room!"

Kurt smiled, "So we're gonna be neighbors?" he asked happily. "I live in that house!" he pointed to his house and Blaine, following his finger, smiled.

"I guess so."

They sat for a while, smiling and chatting, it turned out that Blaine had moved from Columbus because his Mom had got a new job in Lima and so he was going to go to Kurt's school now, but his brother was a junior at a boys boarding school in Westerville and his Dad was always on business trips, so mostly it was just him and his mom. Kurt told Blaine about his Dad, and how his own Mom had died, Blaine had said he was very sorry about that.

"What's that in your pocket?" asked Blaine, as they lay down on the grass, looking up at the sky. Kurt looked down in confusion, until he saw the daisies and remembered what he'd been doing before he'd met the curly haired boy. He blushed, he didn't want Blaine to think that he was girly or childish, or say anything mean like those other kids would do.

"They're daisies," he said eventually, avoiding those hazel eyes that he knew were looking at him. "I was going to make a daisy chain." he added, still not looking at Blaine.

Blaine looked at Kurt in surprise, they'd been talking happily about their families a second ago, what an earth had made him suddenly go all shy? Giving up with his guesses, he decided that the best way to find out was to ask. "What's wrong, Kurt?" he said quietly, leaning in towards the other boy.

"Well...everyone always s-says that that's really g-girly...and silly, and I thought that...well you'd think that...and then you w-wouldn't want to be f-friends," Blaine looked at the stuttering boy in surprise, feeling horrified as he saw a big fat tear roll down Kurt's cheek.

Blaine wrapped his arms around Kurt, much to the boy's surprise, and hugged him. It was all he could really think of doing, it's what his Mom did whenever he felt upset. "I happen to like daisy chains," he said, smiling. "Even if they are girly!" Kurt looked up, hope filling his blue eyes.

"Really?"

"Really, really." Kurt hugged him back, feeling that maybe at last he had someone who understood him.

"Do you have enough for both of us?" asked Blaine, as they let go of each other and sat back down in their respective places, still smiling widely.

"Well I picked enough for a necklace, but we could each make a bracelet? I think there's enough for that!"

When Burt Hummel arrived home from work that day he looked all around for his son, resolving that, as he wasn't in the house, he must be in the back yard. He pushed the back door open and was about to call his son's name, when he saw a very unusual sight.

"No, not like that!" sighed his son, pulling the hand of another slightly shorter boy away from the line of daisies that were in his other hand. "Use your nail, if you try and put your whole finger through it then the hole will be to big and the chain will break." The other boy held his hands up to Kurt's face.

"But I don't have any nails!" he complained. "I bite them."

Kurt's face broke in horror at this statement. "Blaine Anderson," he said dramatically. "You must not bite your fingernails!" the other boy just laughed and rolled his eyes. "Well, how about I make the slits, and you just put it together?" Kurt proposed and Blaine nodded.

Burt smiled at the two boys as they quickly finished the two chains, of course, he had no idea who this other boy was, but he seemed nice, and Kurt didn't generally have anyone to play with who wasn't himself.

"There!" said Blaine as he attached his complete chain to Kurt's wrist, who smiled and put his on Blaine's wrist.

It was at this point Burt decided it was time to announce himself. "Hey kiddo!" he said, walking towards the two boys. Kurt got up with a cry of "Dad!" and ran over to hug him.

"Who's this then?" he asked, gesturing towards the curly-haired boy who was standing awkwardly, in a strange half bow kind of position.

"This is my new friend Blaine!" said Kurt happily. "Blaine this is my Dad." Burt thought the boy looked a little wary of him, but brushed that aside and offered out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Blaine." he said.

"It's nice to meet you too, sir," he said, politely, taking the man's hand.

"please call me Burt." Blaine just smiled.

Blaine and Kurt parted then, hugging and saying that they'd see each other soon, and of course they'd be in each others grade at school, and hopefully class. Kurt beamed the rest of the night, telling his father all about his new friend. Somehow he knew that him and Blaine would be best friends for years to come, and as for Burt, well, he'd never seen his son happier.

Kurt was especially careful when he got dressed the next day, he put on his favorite pair of dark blue skin tight pants and a baggy white t-shirt which had lots of drawings of eyes on it, with a red nearing-knee length cardigan. He looked at himself in the mirror, styling his hair eloquently, and immediately felt worried. What if Blaine didn't want to stay with him at lunch and break? What if he wanted to play with the 'cool kids'? He'd already told Kurt he liked soccer and football.

Kurt was still freaking out when he walked next door to pick up Blaine, as they arranged, so they could walk to school together and Blaine wouldn't have to be alone for his first day. He was about to knock when Blaine opened the door, smiling nervously, his hand running through the mad curls that surrounded his head.

They started walking, their middle school really wasn't too far from home, and Kurt grinned widely at Blaine. He'd never had someone who wanted to walk to school with him and it felt nice. Blaine looked around him in interest, as if there was something intriguing to be found in Lima, Kurt personally thought it was the most boring place he'd ever been!

"You have good fashion sense," said Kurt, looking at Blaine's light gray jeans, checked green shirt, suspenders and bow tie. "I like the bow tie especially." Blaine grinned, straightening out said bow tie.

"They're kind of my thing," he said grinning. "I like what you're wearing too." It was nice to hear someone say that they liked what he was wearing, most people told him he looked ridiculous and this was a very welcome change.

Under Kurt's instruction Blaine ducked his head low and crossed the street as they passed some of the less pleasant residents of Lima, with the explanation that 'some people aren't quite as excepting of people who look different around here'. Blaine had just nodded.

Kurt showed Blaine to the Principal's office, Principal West, telling him 'not to get on the bad side of the wicked witch of the west' Blaine had laughed but agreed. Having been welcomed and collected his timetable in record time, Blaine got back to Kurt to see which classes they'd be share.

"Well we've got most of them, all except you're taking athletics and Spanish this semester and I'm taking French and Performing Arts, but that's only our electives, that's pretty good!" said Kurt, grinning, they hugged before making their way to English, chatting happily.

It was last period and Blaine was trying really hard to stay awake. He'd had the rest of the day with Kurt, who'd been enough to keep him motivated and working, but now he was sitting in the back of his Spanish class and he really couldn't be bothered. He couldn't even read what on earth was being written on the board. He took out his glasses, he'd been trying not to wear them all day, he didn't want to give anyone a reason to pick on him and he preferred not wearing them anyway, they made him feel like his eyes were boxed in. But he could really do with staying awake.

Finally the bell went and he collected his books together shoved them in his satchel bag and pretty much ran out the room to find Kurt. He was waiting by Kurt's locker, looking anxiously around for the boy, when four quite burly looking boys approached him, he smiled and looked down, trying not to bring too much attention on himself.

"Hey, glasses!" said one of them, Blaine tried to ignore him – Kurt had told him that not talking to these kinds was the best way. "I'm talking to you, don't ignore me. I just wanted to say welcome!" Blaine looked up in surprise to see the boy standing with his hand out to shake, he stepped forward, ready to take the boys hand when...

"UGH, what the – " he spluttered, wiping the slushie off his face, the boy who had reached his hand forward shoved him into the locker and the group walked away laughing and fist bumping.

Blaine slid down the lockers and sat on the floor huddled in a heap until he heard Kurt's voice. "Blaine, Blaine are you okay? I'm so sorry!" he looked up at Kurt who was fussing over him.

"S'not your fault," he whispered, letting Kurt help him up and towards the boys toilets.

They didn't see anyone on their walk home and so Kurt took Blaine's hand in his and held it tight, Blaine looked up at him, tears steaming silently down his face. Kurt brought their entwined hands up to the other boy's cheek and wiped his tears away.

Life went on like this for Blaine and Kurt, and still they stuck together, the closest friends there could possibly be. It didn't matter to them that every other day one of them would get a slushie facial, or something equally horrific, because through it all they had each other. They played in their joint back yard, making daisy chains or having tickle fights, they had dinner at each others houses pretty much every night, they were two halves of the same person.

Kurt realized that not all the world was cruel, not everyone was as judgmental as the bullies in their school and finally that he mattered more to Blaine than being popular. At least that's what he thought until they started their freshman year at McKinley High School.