When he walked through the halls of McKinley, he ignored and evaded the other members of Glee club. He didn't return to glee and spent those afternoons with Blaine, sitting at the Lima Bean together.
Unfortunately Rachel had managed to corner him by his locker that afternoon.

"I understand that you are upset with us," Rachel huffed, hands on her hips as she looked up at Kurt's bored face. "but you really should be coming to glee. We've already started talking about our qualifying performance."

Kurt started at her, eyes wide with disbelief. He shook his head and shut his locker before turning on his heel and walking away. Rachel was not easily turned away though and hurried to catch up with him.

"Really Kurt. You shouldn't be this upset," Rachel continued. "It could have happened to anyone and you got to spend another night in New York. I fail to see the down side."

Kurt stopped and whirled around at her, jaw set with anger.

"The downside? You mean apart that none of you noticed that I wasn't there. You didn't even notice until my dad told you."

Rachel shifted. "We all had a lot on our minds what with the loss of Nationals and me with my love for Finn."

"I don't care about your love for Finn," Kurt snapped. "You probably won't be together by the end of summer anyway what with the way you all go through relationships like a packet of skittles." Rachel mouth fell open with anger but Kurt didn't allow her to speak. "Ever since I transferred back here it's been just as bad as before. You have no respect of me. First you accused me of cheating on Blaine with Sam, you just stood and watched as I was crowned Prom Queen and you left me behind in New York."

Rachel huffed and shifted guilty.

"I'm tired of being second best to everyone," Kurt told her. He turned on his heel again and stalked away, weaving through the crowd expertly and Rachel lost him in the sea of students. She sighed and let herself be jostled by the crowd. That could have gone over better and she bit her lip. Maybe they had lost Kurt forever.

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Will Schuster was not a popular person at the moment. Emma was disappointed in him and was hardly speaking to him. Sue seemed to bring the incident up whenever he was in sight and even his glee club was upset with him. They were also upset with themselves but Will was the teacher and it was his duty to make sure all his students were safe.

When he walked into glee club he scanned all the members and felt a stab of disappointment that there was no Kurt but he didn't expect him to show up – but that didn't stop him from wishing. He wanted to apologize to Kurt personally but he could never catch the boy alone.

The club was at one of the lowest points that Will had ever seen. They were upset that Kurt had left the first time for Dalton but they understood that he was unsafe. But now Kurt had left because of them and it hurt. Will had never felt so ashamed of himself.

"I know we are all upset that Kurt hasn't be joining us," Will told them, breaking the silence over the room and facing them. "But this is out last session before summer begins and I was hoping we could have a jam session."

Santana rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry but after all I did to get Kurt back, you all went and screwed it up and now he's not even here," Santana snapped, glaring. "I'm ashamed of all of us and don't think we should be 'jamming'."

"Santana's right," Quinn nodded. "He's had a really tough year and then we go and pull this on him. I won't be surprised if he never forgives us."

Mercedes lowered her head with shame and the other's shifted in their chairs.

"But, like, he has to forgive us sometime," Finn said. "He can't ignore us forever. I live with him."

"Which is even worse gigantor," Santana rolled her eyes. "You should have noticed that your step-brother wasn't on the plane."

Finn shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Look, Kurt will come back," Rachel said, looking around at everyone. "He loves singing to much not to be in glee. He'll cool down over the summer and everything will be back to the way it was."

Everyone rolled their eyes at Rachel and Will sighed.

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Kurt sat across from Blaine at their usual coffee shop, smiling as he listened to Blaine prattle on about his choices for his audition at Six Flags this summer. Kurt had no trouble believing that he would get the job and that he would be spending most of his days at a theme park listening to him sing and trying not to get burnt.

"What do you think?" Blaine asked, looking at Kurt, his hazel eyes brimming with excitement and a hint of nerves.

"They're all great choices Blaine," Kurt smiled at him reassuringly. "You know you're going to get the job."

"You don't know that," Blaine mumbled bashfully. "There are many great performers out there."

"Yes," Kurt agreed. "However none of them show as much passion, charm and charisma as you do." Blaine blushed and smiled bashfully at Kurt. "Pick the one that you can have the most fun with. When you're have fun, you can't help but get involved."

"Thank you," Blaine said sincerely and Kurt just shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee.

"How did you last day go?" Blaine asked, changing the topic and Kurt sighed.

"I wish I had never transferred back," Kurt admitted quietly. Blaine frowned and took Kurt's hand in his across the table and rubbed him thumb over his knuckles. "Rachel was bullying me into returning to glee which where I assume they would apologize."

Blaine frowned and shook his head sadly. "They shouldn't be doing that."

Kurt sighed. "I thought things would change. That I would stop being bullied within the club."

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked, confused.

"Puck and Finn used to throw me in dumpsters before school every morning," Kurt told him quietly, embarrassed. "Quinn and Santana threw slurs at me in the hallways. Rachel and I have always been competing against each other and I never talked to anyone else."

Kurt glanced up at Blaine and saw his conflicted look. His face was drawn between devastating sadness and pure anger. Kurt squeezed his hand tightly and covered them with his other hand.

"It's okay Blaine," Kurt said softly and Blaine shook his head frantically, exhaling angrily.

"It is not okay Kurt," Blaine told him bluntly. "I just – shit - I hate that you are going through this. It's not fair."

Kurt smiled bitterly. He drained the rest of his coffee and stood up. He pulled Blaine up, grabbing his satchel and lead Blaine out of the coffee shop by the hand. They had taken Blaine's car – Blaine having picked him up from school – and they slid in, Blaine behind the wheel. Kurt faced him and took both his hands.

"I know it's not fair Blaine," Kurt said gently. "The only thing getting me through is you, my dad and the fact that one day we can get out of this hell hole and move on to bigger things."

"New York," Blaine smiled softly.

Kurt nodded and smiled. "I want to go to New York with you. I want us to both get into the colleges we want and get in the careers that we have been studying for."

Blaine smiled and cupped Kurt's face, pulling him into a kiss. Kurt kissed him back, letting his lips mould against his boyfriends. He felt that Blaine was his only anchor at the moment. They pulled away slowly and Blaine rubbed his thumb over Kurt's cheeks bones, studying the intense blue eyes that were staring back at him.

"I love you," Blaine murmured and Kurt smiled brightly.

"Love you too."

They were content to stare at each other, eyes roaming over each other happily.

"Guess what?" Blaine smiled, breaking the silence between them.

"What?"

"Cooper is coming down to visit," Blaine grinned excitedly and Kurt grinned widely. He had missed Cooper and was glad that this meant he would get to see Blaine's brother again.

"We get to have dinner right?" Kurt asked hopefully and Blaine chuckled.

"He'd give me a noogie if I didn't."

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When Burt heard that Cooper was coming into to town, he immediately invited both he and Blaine over for Friday Night dinner. Blaine had accepted the offer happily and told him he would let Cooper know and they would love to come.

When Friday night arrived it was Finn who answered the door. He opened it slowly and revealed Blaine – who hair was not gelled down for once and dressed stylishly as always – standing next to a guy Finn had never seen before. He was handsome and dressed just as stylishly as Blaine.

"Hello Finn," Blaine nodded at him politely. "This is my brother Cooper."

"Oh," Finn breathed, surprised. "Hey dude. Come on in."

Finn opened the door wider and allowed the brothers to pass on in. They both removed their coats and hung them up before Finn led them through the house.

"He's so tall," Cooper whispered to Blaine who sniggered softly. Cooper was fairly tall himself but had nothing on the teenager.

Cooper looked around the house with a smile, loving that homey feeling that radiated off the walls.

"Hello Mr Hummel," Blaine greeted happily as Burt met them in the living room.

"It's Burt kiddo," Burt chuckled, clapping Blaine lightly on the shoulder. "You must be Cooper."

He held his hand out which Cooper grasped firmly and shook it with a smile.

"It's nice to meet your Mr Hummel," Cooper said politely.

"Call me Burt, please. This is my wife Carol," Burt smiled, indicating to Carol who had just come out of the kitchen.

"Hello boys," she smiled, kissing Blaine's cheek and pulling Cooper into a motherly hug. "It's so nice to meet you." Cooper patted her back gently and she released him. "Can I get you boys anything?"

"No thank you," the chimed together and she nodded.

"Kurt's upstairs Blaine," Carol smiled, gesturing to the stairs. Blaine grinned, looking at Cooper who chuckled and nodded. Blaine hurried up stairs and knocked on Kurt's door. He peeked his head in and was rewarded by Kurt's beautiful smile.

"Hi! I didn't hear you knock," Kurt pouted and Blaine pulled him into a hug, kissing his pouting lips lightly.

"It's okay," he assured Kurt. "Cooper's very excited to see you again."

"Then I can't keep him waiting," Kurt smirked and bounded out of his room, Blaine's laughter following behind him. Cooper beamed at Kurt as he descended into the living room.

"Kurt!" He cried happily and pulled him into a hug. They missed Finn's surprised look and they pulled away, Blaine wrapping an arm around his waist as Kurt stepped back to him. "How have you been?"

"Good," Kurt smiled. "And yourself?"

"Good," Cooper beamed. "Of course I miss your company. I had fun taking you out for dinner in New York."

Burt smiled and Kurt smiled shyly. "Thank you so much for that."

"It was no problem," Cooper assured him. A timer went off in the kitchen and Carol quickly dashed off to go attend to it.

"Finn, you're on cutlery tonight," Burt told Finn who sighed and trudged off to the kitchen.

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Dinner was going well, until Finn stupidly asked how Kurt knew Cooper.

"He let me stay with him when you left me in New York," Kurt told him bluntly and everyone fell silent.

"Dude, we're really sorry about that!" Finn cried. "but you can't hold that over us. You won't let us apologize! And I had a lot on my mind!"

"That's no excuse Finn," Burt said sternly. "We talked about this."

"He won't even let us apologize," Finn protested.

"I don't want your apology Finn," Kurt hissed. "I want you to stop treating me like I come second all the time! I'm a person too you know."

"We're sorry!" Finn cried.

Kurt shook his head and looked away from Finn. Blaine took Kurt's hand under the table while Finn slumped in his chair. The adults glanced at each other before shifting slightly uncomfortably at the tension in the air.

"You can't stay mad forever," Finn told Kurt who looked at incredulously. Blaine shook his head along with Cooper and Burt sighed heavily, Carol looking disappointed.

"He has every right to be angry at you Finn," Burt told him sternly.

"But-" Finn started but Kurt broke him off angrily.

"You have no idea what it's like Finn!" Kurt snapped angrily, unable to hold his anger in anymore. "No idea what it's like to feel hated by everyone just because we like boys. You are not completely innocent Finn. You stood by and watched me get bullied. You and the rest of the club have given me no reason to forgive you and why should I? Am I that invisible to you? That you didn't even notice that I wasn't with you in the taxi or even on the plane?"

Kurt was breathing heavily and Finn shrunk back in his seat, looking guilty.

"It's not like you need me anyway," Kurt continued. "Not with you and Rachel getting every solo and duet. I'm not going to let you or any other member bully me into forgiving you."

"We're sorry," Finn apologized quietly and Kurt shook his head, standing up and leaving the table without another word. Blaine mumbled 'excuse me' quickly and hurried after Kurt.

"You hurt Kurt badly Finn," Carol said. "You can't expect him to forgive you easily. Not after everything that he has been through."

Cooper stood and excused himself. He wondered through the house and found Kurt's room easily, knocking slightly. Kurt and Blaine were sitting on the edge of the bed and Kurt was hastily wiping his eyes. Cooper stepped into the room and crouched down in front of the boys.

"I'm sorry," Kurt apologized. "We ruined your night and it wasn't supposed to be like this." Kurt broke off with a hiccup and Blaine rubbed his back. Cooper placed a hand on his knee and Kurt looked at it with a shocked expression.

"You haven't ruined anything. Dinner was spectacular and the company even greater," Cooper assured him. "What I want to know is if you are okay?"

Blaine rubbed Kurt's back as he shuddered and he shrugged.

"I don't know," Kurt said quietly.

Cooper sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"You mean a lot to Blaine Kurt, so you mean a lot to me and I'm hate that both of you keep getting kicked down by ignorant people," Cooper exhaled angrily.

"Cooper," Blaine said, gripping his shoulder tightly.

"Thank you," Kurt said sincerely.

"Courage," Cooper told them firmly.

Kurt looked at Blaine and smirked and Blaine ducked his head sheepishly.

"Cooper always told me courage before I left for school each morning," Blaine told him sheepishly. "It worked for me so I thought it would for you too."

Cooper's face lit up and Kurt leaned into Blaine, allowing him to wrap an arm around his shoulder. Cooper stood and smoothed the creases out of his pants.

"Courage," he smiled. "Let's finish this dinner because I was told there was dessert."

"Nobody gets in the way of Cooper and his dessert," Blaine told Kurt who laughed and stood up. The three boys made their way back to the table and fell back into their seats. The table had been cleared and Carol hurried to get them dessert. Cooper managed to push the conversation forward, talking to Carol and Burt about his job while Blaine and Kurt tangled their legs under the table and talked quietly about the audition piece that they had chosen. Finn sighed and felt left out of the conversation and new that he had royally screwed up along with the rest of the club and this time Kurt was not going to be as forgiving.

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Summer came and Blaine secured the job at six flags. Those of New Directions who were hoping to catch Kurt at home were disappointed as Kurt always went to see Blaine at his shows and if he wasn't able too, he was working in Burt's garage and Burt didn't like Kurt being distracted at work. Finn had invited New Directions over several times so that they could keep the harmony up in the group and so that they didn't drift apart over the summer. Kurt always managed to be nowhere near the house at these times and the group was slowly accepting that this time they had hurt Kurt far too much.

Kurt wasn't sure if he would be returning to glee when school turned up. Sure he needed it on his application if he wanted to get into to NYADA but wasn't sure if it was worth being miserable for another year.

On the first day back of school, New Directions waited anxiously to see if Kurt would arrive. They shifted and spoke in hushed tones, someone's eyes always on the door. They beamed when Kurt entered and let out a cheer.

"I told you," Rachel called over them loudly and Will beamed at Kurt.

"Welcome back Kurt," Will beamed. "I would like to apologize for what happened-"

Kurt held up his hand and he fell silent. Kurt scanned the room and looked back at their smiling faces but he didn't smile back.

"I want you to know, that they only reason I have come back, is because I need this for my application to NYADA," Kurt told them bluntly. "and because Blaine is transferring to McKinley and will be joining the club too. Sue has also offered me a spot on the Cheerio's again as their lead singer which I have accepted. Cheerio's come first, glee second."

Their smiles faded as Kurt spoke and Mercedes dropped her head in disappointment.

"I won't be joining you today, as I have to help Blaine," Kurt continued. "I can't forgive you for what you did. To many times have I just been a second thought to you all and I won't take that anymore."

He gazed at them one last time before leaving the room in silence. Will turned back to the group and gave a soft sigh.

"It's a start," he told them. "We really need to prove to Kurt that we are his family."

"Mr Schue, we haven't been his family for a long time," Mercedes said disappointedly. "We don't deserve his forgiveness."

"He's back in the club now," Rachel interrupted. "And that's all we need at this moment. This is out last year to win."

Quinn shook her head and Santana sneered at Rachel.

"See, it's this attitude man hands that nobody likes you and wants shove a sock down your throat all the time," Santana growled. "Kurt was your friend and this is how you treat him. Hell, we're lucky he even came back at all."

Rachel huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder but she couldn't help but feel some truth behind Santana's words.

"We just have to prove that he can trust us," Finn said, sitting up straighter.

"I think he'll need a life time of Marc Jacobs for that," Tina muttered to Mike who nodded his head in agreement.

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As the year went on, New Directions found that Kurt was tolerating them but he would never truly forgive them. In glee he always at next to Blaine and they would be in their own little world. They would always give 100% but you could tell that they never really fit into the dysfunctional family. Will tried to give them both solo's and they would accept but both knew they were apology solo's.

Yes they had Kurt back, but he was truly in their family anymore. His family was with Blaine now and with Sue who had taken both of them under her wing. Blaine would always watch Kurt's rehearsals and often sat with Becky, helping her out when she needed it.

When they graduated, nobody was surprised to see Kurt and Blaine leave Ohio within a month and only got updates through Finn who found out through Burt.

They missed Kurt, but was glad that he found a family with Blaine.