The hallways of McKinley always made Kurt nauseous with fear. It wasn't supposed to be like this, not for anyone, but it always was for him. He flinched at loud crashes of lockers being slammed shut, he peeked around corners to make sure the coast was clear, and when he was at his own locker, he checked his mirror that reflected back towards the hallway out of paranoia that the savage known as Karofsky would come out of nowhere and shove him. On the small occasions he had let his guard slip, Karofsky had bullied him.

Now he was in a frozen stage between frightened and exhausted. He couldn't even focus in his favorite class, Creative Writing, because of the constant anxiety he felt. Frankly, He was tired of being scared of anyone who came two inches too close. He was tired of flinching at every flash of red Letterman jacket in his locker mirror. He was just tired.

At least today he had gotten through with only a nasty bruise on his shoulder from the handle on a locker. He occasionally bent the wrong way, sending a dull, sore ache through his shoulder blade. It was a painful reminder of Karofsky that haunted him no matter what, and everyday a new one would replace a healing one, and the cycle never ended.

He entered the hallway that contained the room where Glee Club met after school with a smile. Now he could sit back and relax with his friends, sing away his troubles like he normally did. He placed his hand on the doorknob--

BAM

Karofsky had appeared from nowhere and shoved him against the wall outside the choir room.

Kurt was frozen solid out of fear, out of pain because- ow!- his bruise had hit the corner of the wall. Karofsky was breathing over him, his puffed expression making him appear much more threatening than he actually was.

Kurt regained his senses long enough to stammer out words.

"Let go of me." Kurt said with an attempt to sound brave, though his voice betrayed him on the last word.

Karofsky stayed silent as he plucked a notebook from Kurt's arms that read "Creative Writing" and chucked it into the flooding water fountain. Kurt yelled out in defense for the book, but it was too late. He watched his project he had been working on for weeks disappear in a matter of seconds.

At this point, the only rational thought of Kurt's was to fight back. He shoved Karofsky's hand off of his shoulder and his throat clenched angrily as he yelled.

"What is wrong with you?!" Kurt hissed as he scrambled over to the fountain, the damage done and the once inked words seeping into the water.

"Nothing's wrong with me," Karofsky's breath was labored as he glanced angrily in the direction from where he came from before looking back at Kurt, "Stay away from me in the locker room."

"We have assigned lockers," Kurt spit back while pulling his now damaged notebook out of the water, "I can't change mine."

Karofsky marched up to him, his face so dangerously close that that Kurt found himself leaning back into the water, making his clothes wet.

"Find. A. Way." Karofsky whispered before shoving Kurt into the fountain, making the notebook that Kurt had just grabbed fall from his grasp.

Kurt watched with baited breath as he watched Karofsky disappear around the corner. With a shaky sigh, Kurt grabbed his notebook from the floor. He shook it off, and while doing so, he looked into the Glee practice to see the club staring wide eyed. He saw the looks of concern on everyone's faces and Kurt just shook his head, tears threatening to roll down his cheeks. Not today, he couldn't find his voice after... that.

Mr. Schuester walked over to Kurt, having just noticed the scenario, "Kurt, are you okay?"

Kurt shook his head once again, confirming that, no, he was not okay. Mr. Schue stepped out to place his hand on Kurt's shoulder, but Kurt pulled away with a jerk. He didn't want sympathy from him, not from anyone. He just wanted someone to reach out and stop his tormentor.

So instead of heading into the club, he opened his bag, pulled out his coat, and tugged it on. He couldn't cry in front of everyone, and he was so close to the verge of sobbing. In haste he curled up his ruined notebook to his chest, and jogged towards the parking lot. When he got in his car, he slammed the door shut and swallowed his tears, numbing himself from the pain and the sheer frustration building in his gut.

He got home and full on sprinted for his room. He closed the door behind him and collapsed onto his bed and finally, finally, he cried, adding more water damage to his ruined notebook.

*****

Kurt woke up, his fingers still curled around the edges of his warped notebook, to the sound of a soft knock on his door. He wiped his eyes, still somewhat damp, as he got up and opened the door.

"Hey, you kind of ran up in a hurry when you got home." Burt said, a concerned expression on his face, "You wanna talk?"

Kurt stood silently for a couple of seconds before sighing, "It's nothing Dad."

"You sure?" Burt attempted, "It certainly seems like something."

Kurt kept emotionless, knowing full well what he wanted to say. He wanted to say 'Dad, the bullying has continued', and 'I would like to go to Dalton instead', but he knew from previous experience they would end up in a huge blowout where they argued about how it was too expensive and how his dad just "doesn't like that school". Of course, Kurt knew it was about the fact that the current Head of Dalton had quite a horrid past with his dad.

Burt sighed, breaking Kurt from his train of thought, holding out a piece of paper.

"This came for you in the mail today."

Kurt eyed his father before slowly taking the envelope out of his hand.

"Thanks dad," Kurt mumbled, extremely interested in the fact that the paper had no return address on it, and the fact the print read YOU'RE INVITED in cursive on the front, his name scribed neatly underneath.

"Yeah, and Kurt?" His father asked, regaining Kurt's attention, "When you wanna talk about it, I'll be all ears."

Kurt nodded solemnly, knowing his dad would be all ears until the mention of Dalton, before closing his door and flicking on his bedroom lights. He moved over to his bed, and sat down at the edge. Gingerly, he peeled open the elegant parcel and pulled out an ornate letter.

You are cordially invited to Dalton Academy's Masquerade Ball. In honor of our great founder, every two years we uphold Sir Dalton's tradition of entertainment through a ball. The theme is picked out by our student council, and is then brought to life by generous donations from our Alumni. Each invitee must wear a mask, which will be taken off at the stroke of twelve. We await in high esteem for your RSVP.

Kurt was confused and, to put it mildly, exhilarated. He was invited to a real Dalton party, and one where he could hide his identity nonetheless. He could talk to people who go to the school, actually sink into the atmosphere of the gorgeous academy.

However, the more he read it over and over, the more reality sank back in. There was no way his Dad would let him go. His dad didn't even want him to be out past 10, not to mention driving home from Dalton at midnight, past the curfew for those under eighteen anyways.

Another thing was bothering him as well.

How did he even get sent an invitation? It certainly wasn't a mistake because his name was there on the invite. He sat there and stared at the two pieces of paper on his lap, like if he stared at them long enough it would reveal the answers he was looking for.

All he knew was that luck didn't just throw itself at anyone around, and he was extremely lucky to have this opportunity. He had to go to this party, he would just have to find a way. He sighed as he put it on his desk next to his bed.

He got up to flick the light back off and crawl into the soft sheets of his bed again. But as he settled down in the comfort, he winced uncomfortably as his shoulder surged with the dull pain that made him think of Karofsky. He shivered and sat upright with an all too sudden movement. With a sudden surge of fear, a memory of Karofsky shoving him roughly into a locker flooded into his mind. Kurt flinched absentmindedly, and his eyes stung with tears that would not come. He loathed the fact that Karofsky was able to hurt him like this, and more angry that Karofsky infiltrated the sanity of his mind.

A dry sob came out of his chest and he curled up into a ball.

It just wasn't fair! It wasn't fair that he had to be put through this special hell just because of a money issue. No... that wasn't all true, the majority of it was that his dad had a grudge against the man who ran the school. No matter how hard he would try, no matter how bad he wanted to be free of idiots in McKinley, it would never change anything because his Dad "doesn't like that school". He moved his hand to wipe his eyes although no tears were falling. At the sudden surge of pain in his shoulder, Kurt let out a frustrated sob and chucked his pillow at the wall. This time, tears did fall and he curled up into an even tighter ball.

He didn't go back to bed for another hour.

*****

"Say what now?" Mercedes said, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"I got an invite," Kurt all but squeeled, "An official Dalton Academy invite to one of their parties! And it's a masquerade! 'Cedes it's perfect!"

"Almost too perfect," Mercedes said hesitantly, "Kurt, are you sure this isn't some kind of joke?"

Kurt shook his head fiercely, "No, I checked it out on one of their forums. The students are all buzzing about it. Apparently it only comes around once every two years."

"One of their--" Mercedes shook her head, as if shaking the thought, "Boo, I think it all fine that you want to dream about that school. I'm fine with you using me as an alibi when you spy around there. But something is not right here. How did you even get that invite?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, "It doesn't matter because I have it despite where it came from," When Kurt saw Mercedes giving him a judging look, he mustered his best smile and walked his fingers up her arm, "And I get to invite a plus one."

Kurt gave a hopeful look for about three seconds, but Mercedes was not budging.

"Kurt," Mercedes tried, "You need to get a grip of reality. This is insane! More insane then usual! You would be actually talking to people, not your usual just hanging in the background ordeal. Even if you wear a mask, people don't just forget someone like you," Kurt smiled bitter-sweetly at the compliment, "Your hair swoop is unmistakable and your eyes are too blue. You would most likely be recognized if you tried to blend in after that."

"I'll wear a wig!" Kurt exclaimed, suddenly even more excited, "I'll wear a wig and don't worry about my eyes, they're not that unique. You'll even be with me! If someone tries to get too personal you can whisk me away." Kurt's eyes widened, "Like a fairy godmother!"

Mercedes opened her mouth to protest, but Kurt cut her off with a stream of 'please's and she caved.

"Alright!" Mercedes laughed, "Alright. I'll give in... but you better make me look fierce."

"When haven't I?" Kurt gasped dramatically, gaining a few more laughs from Mercedes. Kurt was absolutely beaming with joy as they moved on to other topics such as the latest trends in fashion, and neither noticed Rachel eavesdropping onto their conversation.

Rachel sighed internally and rolled her eyes. She was not going to have this, not after last time when New Directions was tragically sabotaged by Vocal Adrenaline. The Dalton Academy Warblers were a very big threat, and Kurt could not get away with mingling with them.

No, she was going to have to do something about this.