It was amazing how fast word traveled. After their talk on Friday, Kurt and Blaine had spent the entire weekend together. On Saturday night, they spent the night in, watching a movie at Blaine’s house. Blaine was still entirely too afraid of Kurt’s father to announce their relationship to him and because they wanted to relax somewhere, they decided to go back to the Anderson household. It was also a plus that Blaine’s father was away on business again.

Sunday morning Kurt called Blaine and told him to be ready in an hour and to dress warmly. They made their way to the park and set up a picnic of chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling cider, away from straying eyes, or so they thought. Kurt’s noble intentions were shattered when Blaine caught sight of some chocolate stuck to the corner of Kurt’s mouth.

By the time Monday rolled around, it seemed as though everyone knew about them. They entered school together that morning, watching the faces that turned and stared.

Blaine felt his stomach flip under their scrutinizing eyes. He let his gaze drop to the floor as his face flushed bright red. Kurt saw his expression and gave his shoulder a squeeze with a raised brow. Blaine’s head snapped up to look into those captivating galaxies people so naively called Kurt’s eyes. God, Kurt looked good that day. His hair was styled just so; he wore a dark blue v-neck sweater that complemented his skin tone perfectly and mustard yellow pants. Blaine smiled at him reassuringly. He was so happy to finally be with Kurt. After all they had been through, it only seemed right that they would be able to be together.

“Blaine, are-are you alright?” There was fear in his voice, as if he was afraid that Blaine would up and run away from him.

Let them think whatever the fuck they want, Blaine thought.

He nodded his head and took Kurt’s hand.

“Never better.”

They continued on their way to their lockers, fingers laced.

Suddenly, from around the corner, two identical blonde heads came barreling down the hall toward them. Jeremy Bubb, his cruel green eyes gleaming with excitement, thrust the first slushie directly into Blaine’s face. His twin, James, threw a second slushie onto Kurt.

“Agh!” Kurt cried. Kurt looked at his attacker, James, who had the most confusing expression on his face; a mix of sadness and plea.

“Faggots!” Jeremy bellowed down the hall, pulling his brother behind him.

Kurt wiped the frozen drink out of his eyes, beginning to shiver.

“Fuck,” Blaine slurred, wiping the blue slushie off of himself. “Kurt, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Come on, let’s get this off of us before class starts,” he said, taking Blaine’s hand and leading him into the nearest bathroom.

Kurt started the warm water and ran his sticky hands under it. Blaine took a paper towel from the dispenser and wiped the excess drink from his face. He couldn’t help but watch Kurt as he carefully extracted slushie from his well-groomed hair. He bent close to the mirror, leaving his ass on full display for Blaine to enjoy.

Blaine blushed to his roots. He had never really had those sorts of thoughts before.

He felt himself sliding up behind Kurt and wrapping his arms around his waist.

Kurt laughed. “Can I help you?”

“Mmm, no, I’m all clean, thanks,” Blaine hummed into his neck.

“Well that’s good?” Kurt smiled, looking down at him.

Kurt smelled like heaven, like roses and coffee and raspberry flavoring. Blaine nuzzled his nose into Kurt, enjoying his soft porcelain skin. Kurt rolled his head back slightly, onto Blaine’s shoulder. Blaine took the opportunity to attach his lips to Kurt’s neck. He shivered, most certainly not from the slushie.

Blaine spun him around, pushing him onto the sink. “But you know,” he said, his eyes exploring Kurt’s face, “Your face still has some slushie on it.”

“It does?” Kurt made to look in the mirror but Blaine held him in place.

“Mhmm,” he purred. “I can help with that.”

Blaine nuzzled his face into Kurt’s neck, kissing at the place where his throat and shoulder connected. He made a line of short, wet kisses up his neck, over his jaw and at the corner of his mouth.

Blaine pulled back, his eyes dark with an emotion that Kurt had never seen, but it almost sent him over the edge, “Mmmm, blue raspberry. My favorite.”

“Gah,”

Very Articulate, Hummel. Nice going, Kurt scolded himself.

Blaine chuckled, pressing a slow, teasing kiss to Kurt’s lips. Kurt sighed into his touch. Blaine ran his tongue over Kurt’s mouth and he gasped at the action.  The dark haired boy moved his mouth to his Kurt’s cheek, licking slow, lazy lines across his face.

“B-Blaine,” Kurt sputtered raising his neck so that Blaine could have better access. “S-someone could walk in!”

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, nipping at the sensitive spot at the base of his neck.

“N-no,” he gasped.

Blaine trailed up to Kurt’s ear, his breath hot on his skin. “Relax, Kurt.” He shot his tongue out to lick the shell of his ear, earning a shudder from the taller boy. Kurt pulled Blaine closer, grabbing onto his shoulders. His head was swimming. Sure, they had kissed before, but that had always been something sweet and private. But this, this new type of affection that Blaine was expressing was something that Kurt could get used to.

“Did you want to go to class now?” Blaine teased, his breath sending chills along the path his tongue had made.

“Not just yet,” Kurt groaned, forcefully pulling Blaine’s face to his. Blaine immediately slid his tongue across Kurt’s bottom lip as he opened his mouth obediently. Blaine’s tongue was a talented one for sure, with undoubtedly a lot of practice. Kurt felt like he was on fire, this was so new, but he felt like he need this new feeling, and that Blaine was the perfect person to be with.

“Whoa!” The two boys tore away from one another with a start. James Bubb stood in the doorway of the bathroom, his eyes impossibly wide. Blaine glared at him, standing between Kurt and the blue-eyed twin. Kurt’s face flushed six different shades of red. “I, uh, I s-sorry!” he stammered, rushing out of the room as quickly as he came.

Blaine turned and looked at Kurt who had hopped off the sink and sunk against the far wall. He stood bent over himself, his hand covering his face and his shoulders shaking.

Shit. Blaine thought.

“Kurt, I’m sorry are you-”

Kurt’s head snapped up to reveal him laughing hysterically. Blaine’s smile slowly crept into a giggle, then to a laugh as the two of them laughed together.

Blaine motioned Kurt to him, who threw his arm around Blaine’s shoulders and they exited the bathroom together.

Before they knew it, the weeks had flown by and Regionals was upon them. They couldn’t contain their excitement as they boarded the bus that would bring them one step closer to Nationals. The bus ride to the concert hall was long but pleasant. They practiced their set list a few times over, certain that they had their harmonies down.

Kurt and Blaine sat across from Finn and Rachel. Kurt talked mainly to them on the way there, leaning against Blaine who sat by the window and talked to Puck and Mike who sat in front of them.

Kurt couldn’t help but smile. He couldn’t remember ever being so happy. By being home and going to McKinley, Kurt had gotten a chance to become closer with Finn. Before, he and Finn never really spoke and after the wedding, Kurt had just gone back to Dalton, never getting a chance for brotherly bonding. Now, he and Finn had a chance to really get to know each other.

Kurt had also made a new, very close friend with Rachel. Seeing as she was dating her brother, Rachel was over at the house all the time. The two of them were able to have girl time together and even have sleepovers (a bonus Finn thanked Kurt for). They listened to the same music and found that they both wanted to eventually end up in New York.

And then there was Blaine, his perfect, beautiful boyfriend. Boyfriend. Kurt smiled. Blaine was his boyfriend now. It had finally happened. After years of problems and heartache and separation, they had conquered it all. When they had become public to the New Directions, Blaine had been tentative and worried about their reactions. Luckily, they were all very accepting of their relationship and some of them, particularly Rachel, were infinitely happy for them.

Kurt leaned his head back, gazing up at him, his dark hair curling over his forehead. Blaine’s eyes sparkled as he laughed at something Puck had said. He smiled fondly at him; Blaine’s laughter was like music to Kurt’s ears.

He looked down at Kurt with shining honey eyes and it made Kurt’s stomach flip. God he was beautiful.  And he was all his. Blaine smiled down at him and leaned down to kiss his forehead. Kurt sighed into the touch and settled into his side enjoying the last leg of the ride.

Once they had done everything they needed to in the green room, the New Directions headed to the audience to find their seats, as they were last to perform. As they passed through the backstage wings, Kurt paused at the sight of blue blazers crowding around the curtain that lead to the stage. Blaine stopped short, still holding Kurt’s hand, and stared after him.

Kurt immediately recognized Jeff, his bright yellow hair practically glowing compared to the rest of the dark haired Warblers. He laughed with the boy next to him, who Kurt barely even recognized, but realized was Sam, the boy he had traded places with. So Sam had joined the Warblers? Kurt couldn’t blame him; they really were a great group of guys.

“Kurt?”

“Huh?” He whipped his head around to find that Blaine was still standing with him. The other members of the New Directions had long since left.

“Are you alright?” Blaine asked in a worried tone.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine.”

Blaine followed his gaze to look at the Warblers. He looked back at him, his brow knit.

“Aw, you miss them.”

Kurt nodded slowly, feeling his throat clenching. Why was he feeling like this? Here he was with the most perfect guy in the world and at present all he could think about were boys in blue blazers with red piping.

“Why don’t you go and talk to them?”

“Oh. Oh no, I couldn’t,” Kurt stammered.

“Come on, Kurt. I’m sure they miss you just as much as you miss them.”

“If you remember correctly, Blaine, we didn’t part on the best of terms. I mean, it was my fault we didn’t win Sectionals-”

“Kurt-”

“-And it was my choice to let someone else have a solo!”

Blaine took hold of Kurt’s face to get his attention. “Kurt, relax. You’re over reacting.”

“How could you possibly know that?” Kurt whimpered.

“Because that blonde dude has been waving like a fool and smiling in our direction for the past five minutes.”

Kurt turned on his heel and sure enough, there was Jeff, waving his arms over his head to get Kurt’s attention.

“Come on,” Blaine coaxed, pulling Kurt by the hand.

“Kurt!” Jeff shouted as they approached.

Several Warblers shushed him.

“Jeff,” Wes scolded, “We’re trying to watch The Harmonies perfo- Oh my god, Kurt!”

“Hey, Wes,” Kurt said, shyly.

“Whoa, hey, is that Kurt?”

“Kurt Hummel?”

Slowly, the other Warblers noticed their former soloist with excitement.

“It’s so great to see you! How’s your new school going?” Wes asked.

“It’s good! I’ve made a lot of friends and obviously I’m in the glee club and oh!” Kurt pulled Blaine front and center. “This is Blaine.”

Blaine put on his best badass face he could. There was no way he was going to be intimidated by a bunch of guys in school uniforms.

“And who is Blaine?” Jeff asked accusingly.

Kurt opened his mouth but could say nothing. They had been pretty safe about their relationship, not telling anyone who didn’t really need to know, not their parents and not anyone outside of the New Directions. And with Blaine just coming to terms with his sexuality, Kurt wasn’t sure if he would be willing to call Kurt his-

“Boyfriend.” Blaine answered. “I’m Kurt’s boyfriend.”

Kurt’s eyes welled up as he looked at Blaine, a wide smile spreading across his face. Blaine looked at him, his eyes shining in the dimly lit backstage.

Kurt nodded in agreement.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t our very own Benedict Arnold.” Emmett Adams, flanked by Collin Able and Garrett Ames stepped out of the sea of blue blazers. “Hey there, Kurt.”

“The A-Team,” Kurt glared. Blaine squeezed his hand. “Nice to see you, Emmett.”

“So what brings you here, Hummel? Thought you’d watch your old team take home the trophy?”

“The only trophy you will be taking home is the one for smallest dick and biggest ego.” Blaine snapped.

Several of the Warblers laughed.

“Blaine,” Kurt hissed.

“What’s this?” Emmett growled circling around to get better access at Blaine. “Found yourself a new toy, Hummel? Can I play with him?”

Kurt stepped in front of him, blocking Emmett’s path. “Back off, Emmett!” Kurt spat through his teeth.

“Protective, are we? Come on, it’s only kind to share-”

“Emmett, let it go,” Jeff said, stepping between him and the two boys.

The taller boy whipped around, glaring at Jeff.

“Got something to say, Jeff?” he asked, advancing on him.

“Yes,” Nick spoke up, standing his ground with Jeff. “Ever since Kurt left and you have taken his place, you have been an impossible prick and a complete asshole!”

“Sorry,” Emmett scoffed. “I can’t help it if I’m better than the rest of you.”

“But you’re not, Emmett,” Jeff added. “You used to complain that Kurt had all the solos but at least he wasn’t a dick about it. He listened to our opinions and cared about what we thought. You pick your songs just for you and you don’t care about anyone else but yourself!”

Kurt watched as the Warblers ganged up on Emmett and his heart filled with pride. He had always thought that the Warblers resented him and here they were, defending him.

“You know what, Emmett,” Wes said. “I think Warbler Jeff might be better suited for today’s performance.”

“What?” Emmett bellowed. “You can’t do that!”

“We are a democracy, Emmett. All in favor?” All of the Warblers, minus Emmett, raised their hands.

“Collin! Garrett!” Emmett shrieked.

“Honestly, man,” Garrett shrugged. “You really have been a dick.”

“When we agreed to give you the lead, you promised that we would be featured too.” Collin added. “But all you’ve ever cared about is yourself and we’re sick of it.”

“But- but we’ll loose!”

“Even if we do loose, Emmett,” Wes said stepping forward. “We’ll have done it with dignity. You will be taking Jeff’s place in the fourth harmony. That is final.”

The lights flashed signaling for the Warblers to take their places on the stage. With a hugs and wishing of luck, Kurt said goodbye to his friends as he and Blaine left to find their seats with the New Directions.

“I can’t believe they stood up for us like that.” Kurt gasped as they sat down.

“You’re something worth fighting for, Kurt,” Blaine smiled, taking his hand again and giving it a squeeze.

Over the speakers, the Warblers were introduced as the backup singers started up fading into the opening chords. Kurt could never get over the amazing ability the Warblers had to create an entire band solely with their voices. They started in quietly, building into a symphony of voices. Jeff emerged from the group, a huge smile on his face, as he sang the opening verse:

The more you see the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then, than I do now

Neon heart day glow eyes
A city lit by fireflies
They're advertising in the skies
For people like us

And I miss you when you're not around
I'm getting ready to leave the ground

Collin’s phenomenal beat boxing skills shined through the music break and the Warblers danced around the stage in perfect unison.

Oh, you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

Jeff rushed to the front of the stage, basking in the glow of his solo moment.

Time, time, time, time, time, time
Won't leave me as I am
But time won't take the boy out of this man

Oh, you look so beautiful tonight
Oh, you look so beautiful tonight
Oh, you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

The room erupted into deafening applause, Kurt surely the loudest. Blaine tapped Kurt on the shoulder, telling him it was their turn to take the stage. As the Warblers filed off, Kurt congratulated them with wide smiles. Several of them wished him luck at he ran out to take his place with the New Directions.

Their song went off without a hitch. Mercedes opened up with a jaw-dropping ballad followed by an upbeat dance number lead by Brittany and Mike. The last song was a huge group number that featured everyone with at least one solo each.

As the judges revealed the winners each team was sick with excitement. In third place were The Harmonies who graciously took their award and left the stage. In second place came the Warblers, putting the New Directions through to Nationals.

Kurt jumped into Blaine’s arms, hugging him tightly in celebration. As Blaine spun him around, Kurt couldn’t help but notice the disappointed faces of the Warblers as they exited the stage.

On the bus ride home, the New Directions celebrated loudly, singing songs and congratulating each other. Kurt sat in the back with his head pressed against the window, staring intently outside. Blaine plopped down next to him, throwing a football that Puck had brought back to him.

“Kurt?” Blaine said with a nudge to Kurt’s side. “Are you alright?”

He looked at him with heavy eyes and smiled faintly. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“You don’t seem okay. What’s the matter?”

“It’s the competition,” Kurt sighed.

“What, Nationals? We’ve got this in the bag, Kurt! Don’t worry about it, we’ll beat-”

“No, Blaine, don’t you get it? There won’t be a Nationals for me,” Blaine blinked, trying to understand. “I have to go back to Dalton soon. My exchange is almost up and when I go back, there will be no Nationals, there’ll be no notes in Chemistry class, or New Directions, or you everyday. It’s all going to change, Blaine, and I don’t want it to.

“McKinley has actually been good for me. I feel like I’ve learned something that I never could have at Dalton. I’ve learned to open up to people, to you. And I don’t want to loose that. I’m-I’m scared that I’m going to turn back into that friendless shut in who showed no emotion. I’ve made friends here, Blaine. With Rachel and Finn and even Puck… and-and most of all, with you. I don’t want all of that to go away!”

Kurt was openly sobbing now, trying his best to hide his face from Blaine. Blaine pulled Kurt to him, holding him tightly as Kurt cried into his shoulder.

“Kurt, shhh, it’s okay, I’m here, I’m here, I’m not going anywhere,” Blaine soothed into his ear.

“B-but I am!”

“No, you might be physically somewhere else, but Kurt, you won’t be leaving us anytime soon. You have changed me, Kurt, and I care for you far too much to let anything get in our way, I promise.”

Kurt’s sobs died down as he looked into Blaine’s reassuring golden eyes.

“You’re right,” he whispered, leaning his forehead against Blaine’s. “Nothing is going to split us up.”

Blaine smiled a smile that made Kurt’s stomach flutter wildly. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Kurt’s lips as if sealing the deal.

“Yo, Anderson,” Puck bellowed. “Go long, I wanna see if I can throw this ball without hitting the ceiling!”

Blaine chuckled, giving Kurt one last, sweet kiss and turned to receive Pucks throw.

It was a few days later when they were filing out of the choir room, when Kurt paused to wait for a frantic looking Blaine.

“So when does your dad come home?” Kurt asked, watching Blaine pack his bag in a hurry.

“Like, a half an hour! I promised him the last time he was home that I would clean the whole house,” he explained, heading for the door, Kurt hot on his heels.

“And you haven’t done a thing, have you?”

“No.”

“Would you like me to come with you?” Kurt said, pushing him against the wall next to the door, pinning Blaine’s arms above his head. “I’m sure I can help you with something.”

Blaine’s eyes seemed to darken three shades at the accusation. “I uh, I-I uh, um-”

“Blaine,” he groaned, pressing, nuzzling into his neck with a blush high in his face. “Don’t you want me to help you?”

Feeling bold, Kurt began kissing his neck, trailing his tongue over the sensitive skin there. He ran his hands over his boyfriend’s strong arms and down his chest. Blaine’s hands moved up to Kurt’s shoulders, pulling him in closer.

Kurt smirked at him and moved in for a kiss that Blaine met hungrily.

What had gotten into him? Blaine wondered. Not that he was complaining at all but Kurt had never really been the one to initiate intimate moments. Blaine tilted his head back, giving Kurt better access. He obliged by nipping harshly at his neck.

“K-Kurt,” he gasped.

“God damn it, Blaine,” Kurt growled, his voice huskier than usual. “You just look so hot today. The way your shirt shows off your perfect muscles and how those jeans hug your ass,” as emphasis, Kurt moved his hands down to grab him from behind.

“Kurt!”

“Shhh,” Kurt chuckled. “Someone will hear you.”

“I-I, Kurt, my d-dad will be home s-soon.”

Kurt groaned, pulling away from him. “You really know how to ruin a mood, Blaine Anderson.”

“Wait, no!” Blaine begged, “You can’t stop now!”

“Blaine, you’re the one who brought up your father while making out. We’re done.” Blaine frowned. “Look, you clean your house and we can go to that new action movie you wanted to see.”

“But you hate action movies,” he said, walking up to him and leaning his forehead against Kurt’s.

“I said we could go too it, I didn’t say I was going to watch it.” Kurt said with a kiss, turning Blaine by the shoulders and giving him a firm slap on the butt, sending him on his way.

Blaine groaned, turning over his shoulder to sulk out of the room.

Kurt smiled, sitting at the piano triumphantly.

“Hummel?”

Kurt turned to see James Bubb standing not five feet away from him with a slushie in hand. Kurt’s eyes widened with fear.

No. No not again. Not him. Not one of them.

“You stay away from me!” Kurt shouted, trying to sound braver than he felt.

James looked down at the red drink in his hand, then back up to Kurt as if in panic. “Oh, oh no, it’s for you! Well, not that way. But it’s to drink. I noticed the last time you got slushied with the cherry flavor, you licked your lips and I thought I might bring you one.”

Kurt’s eyes narrowed at him as he pushed himself against the wall, trying to create some space between himself and the tall blonde in front of him.

“No, K-Kurt, listen to me, please,” he pressed, putting up his free hand in surrender. “I just want to talk-”

“I have nothing to say to you,” Kurt snapped. “After what you and your brothers have done to Blaine and I, how can you expect me to forgive you, James?” The twin gawked at him.” What?”

“You-you know my name?”

“Of course I do! How could I forget the name of my childhood tormentor?”

“How did you know that I’m James and not Jeremy?”

“Oh,” Kurt blinked. “Well, I guess it’s your eyes. His are green and yours are blue-”

“Oh.”

“-But there’s more to it than that. Your brother’s have always seemed harsher, more intimidating, but yours, yours are softer and almost kinder, like there’s more to you than the hostile exterior you portray.” James blushed and it caught Kurt off guard. “What do you want, James?”

“Just to talk to you,” he explained. “You’re the only one I can turn to right now.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’ve gone through this before…”

Kurt crossed his arms impenitently. “I’m not following.”

“Look, Kurt, don’t make me say it out loud.” Kurt only stared at him in response. James sighed. “I-I’m gay.”

Kurt felt like someone had punched him in the gut. What? How? How could someone who had beaten him and Blaine within an inch of their lives possibly be gay too?

“I don’t understand,” Kurt retorted.

“I know it might not make sense to you, but please hear me out,” he pleaded.

Kurt nodded for him to continue.

“You see, after you left McKinley Middle School, I started to get these weird feelings towards other guys. I actually think I had a crush on Finn Hudson at one point,” he laughed. “But I could never act on it because of my family. I mean, could you imagine? If I had come out to parents or my brothers? They would kill me! So I stay as far in the closet as I can, hoping that one day they might understand and love me the way they always have.”

“James,” Kurt said with kindness he didn’t know he could have toward the now shivering blonde boy. “You’ll never know how they will react if you don’t tell them.”

“I can’t!” He wailed, coiling in on himself, “Don’t you get it? Jeremy will kill me.”

“And your other brother Aaron?”

“He’s been in jail for two year now. Attempted armed robbery. He shot at a cop.”

Nice, Kurt thought.                                                                 

“I think you would be surprised what brotherly love can do, James.”

James look down at him with watery blue eyes. “No, no, you wouldn’t understand-”

“What wouldn’t I understand?” Kurt retorted. He took a deep breath to calm himself and started again. “Did you know that Finn Hudson is actually my stepbrother?”

James blushed right to his roots. “Oh, shit. Please don’t tell him about the crush thing! The football team would never let me live it down!”

“Relax, relax, I’ve been there, believe me. You know, before we were family.”

James nodded.

“When my dad first married his mom, we were not very close and to be honest, he had said his fair share of slurs against me and my sexuality. Last year when my dad suffered from a heart attack, I felt like all the good had been sucked out of the world. I felt so alone, trapped at Dalton, unable to know what was going on or how his progress was going. It was as if we had been sucked out of the world. But then Finn called me up one afternoon and he offered to pick me up and bring me to see my father. Dalton is a pretty far away, but Finn understood how important it was for me to be with my dad. We bonded over that experience and after my dad got better, I could honestly call Finn my brother. And now? I’m here at McKinley and I see him more than I ever have. And when Blaine and I got together, he was so supportive. It’s a brotherly bond that no one and nothing can break, James. Don’t ever underestimate it.”

James was openly crying at this point. Kurt looked at him, unsure of what to do. Here was a boy who had tortured him throughout his entire childhood. Here was a boy whose own brother had broken his leg and simply stood and watched it happen. Here was a boy who had forced him to transfer schools out of fear. And here was a boy who was crying in front of him, begging for help and acceptance.

“James.”

“Kurt,” he choked. “Kurt, I can’t do it. I can’t. Jeremy he won’t-”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

James stopped. “What?”

“To tell your brother. Do you want me to go with you?”

James stared at him, clearly torn. Kurt took him by the wrist leading him from the room.

“Come on,” he said. “I’m sure he’s still around somewhere.”

James wiped his eyes quickly and pulled his hand away from Kurt.

“No,” he sniffed. “No, this is something I need to do on my own. Thank you, Kurt.”

Kurt smiled at him and pulled James in for a hug.

“If you ever need anything, you can always come to me.”

Later that night Kurt sat at his piano plucking out chords halfheartedly. He had told his father about James and the conversation the two of them had had, leaving out the fact that James was one of his bullies from years past. He had relatively understood and told Kurt that if his friend needed any help that he was always welcome in their home.

Burt and Carole turned in for the night, wishing Kurt goodnight as they went.

He ran his hands through his hair, trying to concentrate on his practice. His fingers curled over the keys to play the opening chords.

Kurt groaned in frustration as he heard a knock at the door.

“Finn, I swear to god!”

He strode across the living room to the front door; yanking it open, ready to yell at his stepbrother. Instead of the awkward football player he found someone else.

“James!” He gawked. “What are you doing here?”

The blue-eyed twin’s lip quivered as he tried his hardest to keep his face composed.

“Come in, come in,” Kurt pulled the taller boy inside, tugging off his coat and leading him to the couch. “What’s going on?”

“Kurt,” he choked. “Kurt-Kurt.”

Tears felling from James’ eyes as he began to shake.

“Shhh,” he soothed, rubbing his back. “It’s okay, it’s okay.  Just tell me what happened.”

“They kicked me out.”

“What?”

“They kicked me out, Kurt. I went home after we talked and I told my mom and Jeremy. I told them about me and that even though I’m gay I’m still the same person and nothing should change. But Jeremy freaked out and told me that was an abomination or something and that I wasn’t his brother anymore. And-and then he- he slapped me. My mom, she told me to get out of her house. To-to leave because she couldn’t handle it and Jeremy-” James was hysterical at this point. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “So I ran. I didn’t even have time to pack a bag or anything. The last thing I saw was Jeremy. He was crying. He was crying into his hands and all I could think about was that I was my fault.”

“No, no, James, no,” Kurt soothed. “Nothing is anyone’s fault.”

James cried into Kurt’s shoulder.

“But they’re my family. How can they suddenly just turn on me like that? They’re my family, Kurt. How could they turn on me?”

“I’d like to think that they haven’t, not yet. Sometimes it’s a lot of information to take all at once and people don’t know how to react to it. I mean when Blaine realized who he was, he had a bit of a freak out too.”

“I don’t even have a place to go,” he sniffed.

“You can stay here,” Kurt offered. “I’ll get you some blankets and a pillow from Finn’s room. Everything is going to be okay, James. You’ll see.”

James smiled weakly at him and Kurt returned it. He scurried down the hall to the linen closet, grabbing a few blankets. He popped into Finn’s room and took one of his five pillows; he never could understand why he needed so many.

Kurt hurried back to the living room to find James sitting in the exact same place as he had left him. Kurt eased him down and placed a blanket over him

“Now, I’m just going to finish my piano practice and then I’ll leave you alone, all right?”

James nodded tiredly.

Kurt patted him on the shoulder and returned to his place at the piano. Once again he softly played the opening chords of a song.

From behind him, Kurt heard James stirring from his place on that couch. He sat down next to Kurt, his eyes still red. Kurt continued to play, smiling softly to him.

And that’s when James surprised Kurt for the umpteenth time that day; he began to sing.

I watched the proverbial sunrise
Coming up over the Pacific and
You might think I'm losing my mind,
But I will shy away from the specifics...

This is no place to try and live my life.

Stop right there. That's exactly where I lost it.
See that line. Well I never should have crossed it.
Stop right there. Well I never should have said
That it's the very moment that
I wish that I could take back.

Kurt could feel his heart breaking as he internally kicked himself for choosing to play this song. Poor James sang with more conviction than Kurt thought possible.

James put a hand on Kurt’s knee causing him to look up. As James sang the next verse, he looked directly at Kurt.

I'm sorry for the person I became.
I'm sorry that it took so long for me to change.
I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again
'cause who I am hates who I've been.
Who I am hates who I've been.

I talked to absolutely no one.
Couldn't keep to myself enough.
And the things bottled inside have finally begun
To create so much pressure that I'll soon blow up.
And I can't let that happen again
'cause then you'll see my heart
In the saddest state it's ever been.

This is no place to try and live my life.

Who I am hates who I've been
And who I am will take the second chance you gave me.
Who I am hates who I've been
'cause who I've been only ever made me...

So sorry for the person I became.
So sorry that it took so long for me to change.
I'm ready to be sure I never become that way again
'cause who I am hates who I've been.
Who I am hates who I've been.