Today was Kurt's first day of kindergarten and he was very nervous. His mommy said there was no reason to be scared but he couldn't help it.

She squeezed his hand as they walked up the steps into the building. Kurt squeezed back three times; that means "I love you." He and mommy always did that. It was like their own special code that only they knew. Mommy looked down and smiled as she led him down a hall he recognized. They had been here before for the Open House where they got to meet his teacher, Miss Faye. Kurt's tense little shoulders eased a little bit when they walked into room nine and the smell of finger paint and play dough filled the air. It smelled like his playroom at home which seemed to calm his nerves a little bit.

Kurt was still scared because he didn't want his mommy to leave, but he wanted to see what other things the room had to offer. He didn't even notice he'd let go of Momma's hand as he took in the rest of the classroom. There was a rug with a road and city on it, and kids were driving cars on top of it; he saw children playing with beads and ribbon in another corner. But his eyes lit up when he saw the table in the center of the room and a tea set sitting right there in the middle.

He'd forgotten about Mommy completely as his little feet took him to that table, and he didn't even stutter when the little girl holding a pink and purple tea cup asked his name.

"Hi, I'm Shelby." the girl smiled sweetly. She had reddish hair, and rosy cheeks. "What's your name?"

"I'm Kurt. Kurt Hummel." Kurt liked saying his full name. He liked the way it sounded, and asked Mommy to teach him how to spell it and everything.

"Kurt Hummel, huh? That's a good name. Do you like to hummm, Kurt Hummmmel?" She asked this in a way that was not mean or teasing; actually, she almost sang it.

"Well, no, not really," he replied sheepishly. "But I do like to sing."

Shelby smiled and nodded and Kurt decided he really liked this Shelby. He didn't even feel nervous anymore, so he had no trouble sharing more with her about himself.

"Sometimes I sing with my mommy in the car. And sometimes we dance in the living room."

"Oh, I love to dance!" Shelby got up and did a pirouette.

"At home I have a tutu and a wand and," she looked around them and whispered, "and I dance even if there's no music!"

They both giggled together, and Kurt decided Shelby was his friend. She grabbed his hand when Miss Faye asked the class to sit in a circle a few minutes later. They both grinned when they saw both of their names were on the triangle table and they got sit together in class.

A girl named Lily and a bigger boy named Jack also sat at their table. Kurt said hello to them both, but Lily seemed rather shy and the boy kind of made Kurt nervous. But he had Shelby, and they were friends. And that was fine with him.

This was Kurt's first day of kindergarten. Even though he was absolutely thrilled to see his Mommy at the end of the day, he already couldn't wait for tomorrow to see Miss Faye and Shelby, and learn and play some more. Kurt liked kindergarten and had to laugh because it was silly for him to be so nervous before.

Kurt and Shelby had developed a routine during the first few weeks of school. At recess, they ate their snack by the cherry tree and then played with chalk or went on the swings. Every Friday, Shelby would let Kurt see what she brought for show-and-tell even though they were supposed to wait until after recess to share what they brought for show and tell.

This Friday, Shelby brought some of her dress up things she liked to dance in. Kurt couldn't help his eyes widen as she pulled out the some of the most elegant tutus he'd ever seen. His vision locked on the soft purple fabric with little flecks of silver glitter and ribbon casting down from a glitter waistband.

"My Nana made 'em for me," she explained.

"They're beautiful." Kurt says in awe. "Can I-" he reached his little hand out and Shelby lifted the fabric up to him.

"Can we-" he starts, but Shelby knew what he was thinking and is smiles and nods as she sticks one leg, and then the other into a second tutu from her backpack.

After they both slipped them on, they grabbed sticks from near their cherry tree to use as wands.

Kurt was having so much fun, gliding around the field with Shelby. This was the first time he'd ever played fairies with someone else. Usually, he played pretend like this with his stuffed animals at home. He decided he liked playing with another person better.

Kurt and Shelby were having such a good time, they flew all the way to the gate separating them from the big kid playground. They decided to catch their breath under a big pine tree, and Shelby began preparing a pretend meal out of it's needles and grass. Kurt looked around as he leaned up against the scratchy bark. He'd never payed much attention to the kids on the other side of the fence before. They all seemed much bigger than him. When he focused again on his friend, she was no longer busying herself with their play food. Shelby's face was pressed up against the fence and she was staring across the field towards the other playground.

"Um, Shelby? What are you looking at?" Kurt asked curiously.

It took a second for her to break her gaze, "I'm trying to find my brother. He's in first grade and I want to say hi."

This was the first time Shelby mentioned having a brother, and it made Kurt wonder what it'd be like to have one too. Maybe he would ask Mommy for one for his birthday.

"Well," Kurt began getting to his feet and standing by his friend. "What does he look like? Maybe I could help you find him."

"He-" Shelby began, still gazing across the field. Kurt didn't get to find out who he was, because at that moment, Miss Faye blew her whistle to call everyone back inside.

Kurt didn't know how it happened; one second, they were filing in from recess and the next, Jack had torn Shelby's tutu from Kurt's waist and the whole class was staring.

Kurt had completely forgotten he was wearing the tutu, so the shock of it being torn from his body really startled him. Then he realized he'd ruined his friends beautiful costume, and it was almost more than the little boy could take.

"Tutu's are for giiiiirrrls!" Jack shouted through spouts of laughter. Kurt felt his cheeks flush, he tried his best to blink away his tears, but they came anyway.

"That's enough, Jack." Miss Faye said as she approached the boys. She gave Kurt a gentle hug as she passed him, making her way towards Jack and holding out her hand for the purple material. Her attention focused on disciplining Jack and separating was now able to absorb the shock of what has happened and to start feeling again.

Kurt felt confused, embarrassed, and trapped. It was getting harder for him to breathe. He didn't realize his feet were moving until he got to the hallway outside the classroom. Before Miss Faye had a chance to follow him, he took off again.

His vision was blurred and his cheeks were cold and wet from tears as he ran through the halls. He wasn't sure where he was going; he made lefts and rights down random halls before eventually finding comfort under a clothed table.

He sat there against the wall, feet sticking out from under the fabric, with his forehead in his palms, trying to catch his breath and stop crying. Why couldn't he stop crying? He tried to block out the thoughts of all the laughter, the look on Jack's face, and all of his classmates just staring at him. He wondered if Shelby will ever talk to him again.

Kurt was so caught up in his thoughts and trying to muffle his sobs, that he didn't hear footsteps approaching. He didn't even realize he was not alone until he heard a quiet cough.

"Uhm."

He wiped his eyes and saw a pair of shoes in front of him. Instinctively, he pulled his own feet back under the table. The shoes outside shuffled and the tablecloth started to rise.

"Hey-um, are you ok?"

At first all Kurt saw was a dark brown mop. He blinked a few times and realized that it was in fact a boy before him, bending over to look under the table. The mop is not a mop, but this boys hair. Kurt continued to look upward, and his gaze locks on a pair of beautiful eyes as the boy brought himself level with Kurt. Kurt was staring. But he has never seen eyes that color before; a soft brown like caramel, with little flecks of green in them. These eyes are warm and comforting and they sat under eyebrows that kind of looked like triangles.

The boy before Kurt looked concerned and he knelt down next to him. "Are you ok?" he asks again. "What's wrong?"

Kurt doesn't know this boy, but there is something about him; maybe his big eyes, or his show of concern that makes Kurt want to trust him. He wants to tell him about how his whole class laughed at him. So he does. He starts to explain what happened, and this time it's easier to hold back tears.

"Did your teacher do anything?" Blaine asks, after Kurt finished.

"I don't know." he replied sheepishly. He began fidgeting with his shirt. "I ran out really fast."

"Well, she's probably looking for you. We better go back to your class before you get in trouble", the boy stood up and offered his hand to Kurt.

"I'm Blaine, by the way." he said as Kurt took his hand and stood up as well. "Blaine Anderson."

Kurt smiled at this. That this boy said his full name when he met people as well.

"I'm Kurt." He turned their grip into a handshake, "Kurt Hummel." Shaking hands and saying his full name made Kurt feel a little older, and braver.

"Kurt you know what?" Blaine smiled gingerly down at the kindergartener. "I- like tutus. And I- I think boys can wear them too."

This was all Blaine said as they walked through the halls back to room nine. Kurt took a great deal of comfort in the fact that Blaine didn't let go of his hand the whole time. As they neared the classroom, Kurt must have been showing signs of not wanting to re-enter because Blaine stopped and took his other hand.

"Kurt, it will be ok, I promise. Miss Faye is really nice, and you won't be in trouble." With that, he opened the door and nudged Kurt back into the room before he could change his mind or wonder when he would see Blaine Anderson again.