Blaine sat with his knees drawn up into his arms, burying his face into his legs. He could hear his mother and brother fighting again, about something so trivial that Blaine didn't even bother to actually listen. He just sat on his bed, feeling the wet warmth of tears staining his pants as sobs tore through his body. He barely heard his mother yell the words "Dalton" and "tuition" and "sacrifice" before the sound of the front door slamming and a car engine starting. Blaine listened intently as wheels skidded against gravel and pavement, and then silence. An object of some description hit the floor and shattered, and then more silence. Blaine curled up with a pillow and slid completely under the covers of his bed, but there was no hiding. He just closed his eyes as angry footsteps got closer to his bedroom, loud and ominous. He hoped that the footsteps would pass by his bedroom this time; that he would be safe tonight. Blaine thought about when he was much younger and would pretend that the footsteps were just thunder. The thunder wasn't that bad- it happens quickly and then it's over, and it doesn't always mean that there will be a storm. Sometimes, the thunder is just scary and then the hurricane passes over you. It was the rest of the storm that was the worst; the rain, and the lightning.
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Blaine put on his bravest face as he walked into the front office at William McKinley High School. He retrieved his schedule from the lady at the front desk, and quietly slipped into Principal Figgins' office and sat in one of the chairs.

After a minute or two, Figgins arrived with a stack of papers and a cup of some strange looking liquid, and took a seat in his chair. "Welcome, Blaine Warbler, to McKinley High School!"

"Actually, my name is Blaine Anderson-"

"I suspect that you'll find McKinley to be quite affable and enjoyable, although it's certainly not what you're accustomed to," Figgins said, clearly ignoring Blaine's correction.

Blaine strongly disagreed, but decided that it would be easier just to be polite and lie.

"Thank you, sir. I'm sure I will too, it will just take some time to... adjust."

"Always good to see a student with a good attitude, Mr. Andrewson," Blaine cringed at the incorrect name. "My office aid will direct you to your first class and also show you to your locker."

He shook the Principal's hand, and walked back to the main office to find a small girl with long, dark brown hair sitting in one of the chairs next to the door. Blaine assumed that she was the office aid. She looked quite put out; her arms were crossed and one foot was tapping impatiently, but she smiled when she noticed Blaine. "Hi, you must be the new student!"

Blaine smiled as the girl took his hand and led him out into the hallway.

"Let me see your schedule," the girl ordered, holding out her hand expectedly. Blaine fished into his pocket and placed a folded piece of paper into her hand.

"Oh look at that, your locker is right next to my boyfriend's. I guess you'll be seeing me a lot then," she smirked. Blaine fiddled with the combination for a few seconds. When he finally got the locker to open, the girl was still there; her smirk replaced with a look of... contempt? anger?

"I know you came from Dalton Academy, and I know you were a Warbler. So answer this question," she pointed a finger in Blaine's face. "Are you a spy? Did you transfer here to spy on the New Directions?" the girl raised her voice considerably and waved her finger sternly in Blaine's face. "I will have you know that I am NOT to be messed with and if spying is your game then you should-"

"Hey hey hey! calm down, I'm not here to spy. I promise." Blaine raised his hands up as if in surrender, and the girl let out a sigh. Whether it was a sigh of relief or annoyance, he wasn't sure.

"Good, because we need another member for the New Directions. Obviously you can sing if you were in the Warblers, so be in the choir room afterschool." The girl walked off before Blaine could agree or disagree to anything.

He still had no clue where any of his classes were. He felt a little more than hopelessly lost when he thought about having to wander around and find classes himself, when the girl returned and grabbed his hand again.

"Right, new kid, sorry." She shook her head and laughed. "My name is Rachel Berry."

"Blaine Anderson."

She smiled and led him to a classroom nearby. "Well Blaine Anderson, here you are. First period Chemistry with Mrs. Holmes. Have fun," she winked. "I'll wait here for you after this class is over, to take you to your next one, okay?"

Rachel waved goodbye before interlocking hands with a tall guy in a football jersey, and disappearing down the hallway.

The bell rang as Blaine entered the dull, meagerly decorated class room. He handed the teacher a slip with his information on it, and scanned the room for an empty seat.

"Everyone, this is Blaine Anderson. He just transferred from Dalton Academy, and I expect you all to make him feel welcome."

As the teacher introduced him, the class fell silent with the exception of a few students who were snickering. All eyes were on him, causing a flush to rise on his face. He didn't actually feel welcomed at all.

He made his way to a desk in the back, the majority of focus still on him as the teacher called roll. Blaine settled into a desk, and felt a hand tap his shoulder. He jumped a bit, and turned to see blue eyes locked onto his. The blue eyes belonged to a boy with flawless porcelain skin, who was smiling.

"I didn't mean to startle you," the boy said. "I just wanted to say welcome to McKinley."

The boy moved to the empty desk beside Blaine, and extended his hand. "I'm Kurt."

Blaine shook Kurt's hand. "I'm Blaine."

"If you'll let me see your schedule, I could show you to your next class so you don't get hopelessly lost," Kurt suggested, with a chuckle.

"You don't have to do that if you don't want to, Figgins' office aid said she would and i don't want to put you out or-"

"Oh God," Kurt interrupted. People at McKinley sure did interrupt a lot, Blaine thought. "Rachel Berry was the first person you met here?" He looked genuinely concerned. Blaine was confused. Sure she had accused him of being a spy, but was she really that bad?

"Yeah, she accused me of being a Glee Club spy."

"That's not surprising," Kurt was laughing, and Blaine found himself staring. This boy was just so different; his voice was fairly high which was strange, but it seemed to suit him. "You're not, are you?"

"Um, no. I mean, I was in the Glee Club at my old school, but I'm not a spy."

"Did Rachel invite you to join New Directions? Because if she didn't, I will."

"She did, actually. Well she didn't really ask, more like... demanded."

Kurt laughed a little too loudly and shook his head. A few surrounding students looked at him curiously, but he didn't seem to notice. "Well, you don't want to disobey Rachel," he said sarcastically. "Seriously though, we’d love to have you join. I'll be there, so it's not as if you won't know anyone." Kurt finished with a wink and Blaine felt the flush return to his face. The two quieted as the teacher passed out books and went over the syllabus.

Mrs. Holmes' voice was monotonous and condescending, and it grated on Blaine's nerves. It was exhausting to listen to her. The material was watered down, and the book he had received was about twelve years old and thoroughly worn and drawn in. The bell rang and woke the portion of the class that had dozed off, and Blaine gathered his things and quickly made his way to the door. Rachel was there to greet him, just as she'd promised. She was accompanied by the same tall boy from earlier, which Blaine assumed was her boyfriend.

"Blaine, this is Finn," Rachel gestured to the boy beside her, who had his hand awkwardly extended already.

"Nice to meet ya, man," Finn said, trying a little too hard to be enthusiastic.

Rachel smiled at the two boys. The height difference between them was major, and she found it humorous that Blaine had to look up at Finn when he said anything. She definitely knew how that felt. "Alright new kid, what's your next class?"

Blaine once again went to retrieve the folded paper from his pocket. "Um... American History."

"I have that next, too," A familiar voice spoke from behind him, and took the paper from Blaine's hand. It was Kurt. "I'm sure it would be easier for me to show you, seeing as how Rachel has Mr. Garmon's class, and that's all the way on the other side of the school. He doesn't take being late lightly, and I'm sure Rachel doesn't want to blemish her perfect never-being-late record."

Rachel wasn't too surprised that Kurt was jumping at the chance to befriend Blaine. After some doing some slight research (basically spying) on the Warblers a few weeks ago, both she and Kurt had learned that Blaine was openly gay, and she knew how desperately Kurt needed someone he could relate to. Also, he was right, and she did NOT want to ruin her record. Rachel Berry had never been late for a class and she didn't want to start now.

"Alright. Don't worry, you're in good hands," Rachel said reassuringly, giving Blaine a pat on the arm and a smile. "We'll see you at lunch!" Kurt and Rachel exchanged hugs, and she and Finn were off again.

Blaine followed Kurt's lead down the hallway, stopping first at Blaine's locker first to deposit the ratty chemistry book, and then stopping at Kurt's as well. The two exchanged comfortable small talk; from playful questions regarding the school cafeteria's cuisine, to more serious questions about Blaine's transfer. Blaine told Kurt honestly about how the tuition at Dalton was becoming a strain on the family, so the transfer was to ease things in the Anderson household, and according to Kurt, the lunchroom food should be avoided at all costs. Kurt was witty, and listening to his comebacks and comments was thoroughly enjoyable. Whenever Blaine laughed at one of his clever retorts, Kurt's face lit up. He guessed that most of Kurt's humor probably went over people's heads, especially here.

"Well, it looks like we have very similar schedules," Kurt scanned the piece of paper that had Blaine's schedule printed on it. Blaine hadn't even remembered it being taken from him. "In fact, with the exception of third period Glee, we have every single class together." Kurt relinquished Blaine's schedule, and Blaine returned it to his pocket without bothering to fold it. Obviously he wasn't going to need it- following Kurt around for the rest of the day like a lost puppy seemed like a much more enjoyable option.

"That's my free period, right?" Blaine thought it might have been a little strange that he was asking Kurt a question about his own schedule, but Blaine had barely even looked at the thing, so Kurt would probably know better than he would. Kurt nodded yes, and Blaine continued. "I could check out glee club today, and maybe get my schedule changed if I like it."

The suggestion made Kurt beam as they arrived at their next class. American History with Coach Blevins. Kurt had explained that this class would be incredibly easy, and that if "you're quiet and don't get on the coach's radar, then he won't even notice if you don't turn in assignments. and as long as you ace the tests, you'll have an A." Blaine was definitely shocked; he'd never had a teacher anywhere near that lenient. Then again, he'd gone to one of the best private schools in Westerville from K-5 through 9th grade, and then Dalton academy.
---------

The day went better than Blaine expected, with the exception of a few unsettling sneers from some of the football and hockey jocks. His third period sit-in on Glee Club was... interesting. The club convinced Blaine to sing something to "prove himself", and he ended up with a guitar singing a very enthusiastic rendition of Eric Hutchinson's "Rock and Roll", earning him a standing ovation and an overwhelming sense of pride. Blaine had just earned his first solo with the warblers before he had to transfer, and his audition for that solo had just been in front of the three-member council, so getting to actually sing in front of a group was more than satisfying. He loved to sing, and he had honestly felt a little cheated leaving Dalton before he got to properly perform. Being in the McKinley choir room, though, singing and hearing the cheers and applause, felt like a second chance. Not becoming a part of that wasn't an option, and the minute third period was over, Blaine immediately put in for a schedule change.

During lunch, Blaine sat with Kurt, Rachel, Finn, and a few other glee kids. He actually felt comfortable- he joined the conversation and even joked. He felt so accepted around these people, and so fortunate to have found his niche in this school on the very first day. Blaine Anderson seemed to finally have luck on his side.

The day flew by after that, and before Blaine knew it, after-school Glee practice was already over and he was standing at his locker getting ready to go home.

"So today didn't suck too badly, huh?" Blaine wasn't surprised to see Kurt beside him, leaned up against the locker, smiling and waiting for some kind of response.
"Not too bad, but I did have a pretty good tour guide."

While it was true, Blaine hadn't meant for it to sound too flirty or forward, but Kurt was smiling and blushing, so all was well.

Kurt suddenly tensed. The smile quickly fled from his face, replaced with an eerie calmness.

Blaine, confused, tried to turn to see where Kurt was looking down the hallway, but was stopped by Kurt's hand on his arm, his grip tight, and Blaine was forced to look into the boy's eyes.

"Close your eyes," Kurt said, hushed. It sounded strained, like it was meant to be a whisper but didn't really come out that way. Blaine stared dumbly at Kurt, blue eyes still locked on his own. A few seconds of silence passed, which gave Blaine a little bit too much time to let his mind wander before his eyelids finally fluttered closed, not knowing what to expect.

There were heavy footsteps, and then a strong hand digging fingers into Blaine's shoulder. He didn't have time to register what was happening before he was being roughly spun around. He heard a loud slam against the lockers next to him and a muffled noise escaped Kurt's mouth. Blaine's eyes flew open then, just as a cold, stinging substance hit his face like a brick wall, and the hand on his shoulder shoved Blaine back into the lockers, hard.

Blaine let his back slide down the lockers until he came into contact with the floor, and then he brought his hands to his eyes that felt like they were on fire. The sticky substance seeped into his shirt and settled on his skin, cold and sharp. Kurt shuffled on the floor next to him, to put a hand on Blaine's knee to offer some sort of comfort.

The perpetrators shared laughs and high fives, and Kurt managed to get out "you should be ashamed of yourselves, assholes" in a shaken voice. The guys-there was three of them- just laughed harder. All three of the boys wore football jerseys, which to Kurt, wasn't shocking at all.

"Welcome to McKinley, faggot."

Blaine was in pain. Kurt listened for the slamming of the exit door before trying to get both himself and Blaine on their feet. "C'mon, you'll be okay. We'll get you cleaned up."

Kurt led Blaine to the locker room bathroom, where he grabbed a chair and gingerly led Blaine to the sink. He turned the faucet on and when the water reached an acceptable temperature and tilted Blaine's head back into the sink, letting the warm water soak into Blaine's hair until all of the red corn syrup ran down the drain.

"Flush your eyes out with water until they aren't burning as badly, okay?"

Blaine did so as Kurt went to one of the lockers and retrieved a fluffy white towel, and eye drops.

"These will hurt a little at first, but I promise they will make the stinging stop," Kurt said, and placed the small bottle into the palm of Blaine's hand.

Blaine hissed as the drops hit his eyes. "I can't believe that this happens to you all of the time."

Blaine had been warned about the slushies, but neither Kurt nor Blaine thought that today would be the day he received one. Tomorrow, maybe. Kurt still wasn't surprised, however. Blaine had spent his entire first day with Kurt, and the glee club...

"The first time is always the worst," Kurt assured in a comforting tone. "After that, you learn to close your eyes."

The stinging in Blaine's eyes subsided, and he could finally open them again. Everything was glowing and too bright and fuzzy, and a dull ache remained. Blaine looked to Kurt, who was sitting beside him. Kurt hadn't been slushied, but his neck and collar was still stained with...

It took Blaine a little less than a second to realize that the red seeping into Kurt's shirt wasn't syrup.

"Oh god, Kurt, you're bleeding."

Kurt brought his fingers to the back of his neck, where the fabric there was soaked. "I... I hadn't even noticed," Kurt winced at the touch. "I think I caught the edge of your locker door."

"Let me see it."

With a nod, Kurt turned his back to Blaine and tilted his head forward, allowing Blaine to get a look at the gash.

Most of the bleeding had stopped by now. The cut didn't look too deep, but Blaine needed to clean it before he could really tell. One problem- Kurt's collar was in the way.

"Can you, um... could you unbutton your shirt a little and move it so I can clean this? I- I can't tell how bad it really is unless I clean it, and uh..." Blaine trailed off, his cheeks hot and flushed at the fact that he'd just asked this beautiful boy whom he'd known for less than 24 hours to undress in front of him; even if it was to examine a wound.

Kurt nodded and avoided Blaine's eyes, his face also red and flushed. He cleared his throat. "Y-yeah," his voice came out a little higher than he'd intended, but steady, thankfully. "Of course."

Kurt unbuttoned the first few buttons, moving the shirt down and out of the way, exposing his shoulders. He hissed when the fabric was peeled away, drawing fresh blood from the cut.

Blaine didn't want to make things awkward by letting his gaze linger too long, so he focused on getting a clean towel and running it under warm water, and dabbing the place on Kurt's back. It stung, and Kurt winced, but the warmth settled into his back and he eased. Blaine dabbed at the gash until it was clean, and then gently scrubbed away the dried blood.

"It's not deep and it's pretty small," Blaine diagnosed, wringing the towel out in the sink. "A band aid should cover it and be fine. Are there any around here?" Kurt pointed to the first aid kit on the wall, and Blaine went to it and retrieved some Neosporin and a bandage, and Kurt was good as new. Well, mostly.

"Thank you, Blaine."

Kurt re-buttoned his shirt, and stood up. He took the towels and placed them in a hamper of some sort, and then motioned for Blaine to follow him back into the hallway. They went back to Blaine's locker, where they both retrieved their things from where they lay in the floor, and then made their way to the exit. They stopped right outside the door.

"So, what are you gonna tell you dad?" Blaine gestured to the huge stain on his shirt. He knew Kurt would want to hide this, after what he's been told happened prior to Blaine's transfer. If Kurt's dad knew that his son was still being thrown around this badly, he'd have a come apart.

"Nothing- he won't see anything. I keep spare clothes in my car for this very situation."

Blaine forced a small, sad smile. It was a shame that Kurt had to go through this on an almost daily basis. It truly wasn't fair.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Kurt."

"Yes, you will," Kurt winked. With a wave, he was off to his car, and Blaine was off to his.

Note to self, Blaine thought as he settled uncomfortably into the driver's seat of his Chrysler, the front of him sticky and damp. Remember to put extra clothes in the trunk.