The next couple of months went as well as could be expected for someone who was practically shoved into an entirely new school with an entirely new curriculum. Kurt, always the top of his classes at McKinley, was doing alright with the new onslaught of academics that Dalton offered. He was pushed into Calculus and Physics, classes that he’d never anticipated taking at McKinley. Kurt was in Blaine’s room for hours every night, begging for Blaine to help him work out the various formulas and math problems. However, Kurt was flourishing in his Art, English Lit and French classes and Kurt had joined the Warblers as promised (He still chuckled as he remembered Wes sprouting a tear or two when he sang his audition song).

                Overall, Kurt didn’t mind Dalton so much. Of course he missed his family and his friends in New Directions, but he felt this unnerving kind of calm at Dalton. He stopped flinching every time he heard a locker door slam in the locker room after gym class and he was almost overwhelmed with the sheer amount of friendly faces he encountered every day. Boys from practically every grade had introduced themselves to him; once they found out he was a new student and Blaine’s boyfriend. Many of the other boys who lived on the same floor as him frequently knocked on his door asking for fashion advice for their upcoming dates with their boyfriends and girlfriends, or asked him for help on their French homework.

                All in all, Kurt adjusted well to Dalton. He enjoyed seeing his boyfriend every day and his friendship with Jeff was one of the best he’s ever had. The only that thing he wasn’t happy about was the fact that New Directions had seemed stronger than ever as a group since he’d left. Both Glee clubs had been gearing up for Regionals. The presence of a council instead of a group leader was refreshing, but also disappointing. Kurt never knew how to please the council members and he somehow managed to consistently pick the wrong song to audition with. He had refused Blaine’s help, trying to gain a solo on his own by injecting his vibrant personality into all of his performances. After every rejection, Kurt tried to keep strong and remember that life was going to be full of rejections, but he still managed to find himself in Blaine’s arms at the end of the day, trying not to cry.  Blaine personally approached the council and begged them to tell him why he had beat out his boyfriend once again in the audition for a solo. He couldn’t understand why someone with such a beautiful and unique voice and personality continued to be rejected to the point where he was practically stony at each rehearsal. The council simple explained that Kurt’s personality was too big for the a cappella group. Yes, he had an amazing voice and fantastic stage presence, but the council was worried that he wouldn’t mesh well as part of the group.

                Blaine had come to him after and relayed where the thinking behind the council’s decision was coming from. Kurt’s reaction was pure silence. Blaine was worried, until Kurt exclaimed that he simply would try his best at being a team player. And he did, until the decision for the Regionals solos were being decided. Kurt couldn’t help but scream in frustration when the council decided that Blaine would be the perfect person to bring them to Regionals and refused to hold auditions for the coveted spot on the stage. But then came a shock that no one expected. Blaine refuted his solo and requested that the 11 o’clock number be turned into a duet…with Kurt.

                The room went abuzz immediately at Blaine’s request. Kurt swore his heart stopped beating. The council conversed for a moment before asking the members of the group to vote in favour of Kurt singing with Blaine for Regionals. Barely a second passed before every single member of the group held up a hand in the air, voting in favour of a duet.

                Kurt almost cried he was so happy.

                Blaine decided on singing, “Candles” by Hey Monday and they practiced constantly for a week straight before the competition. Try as they might, the Warblers placed second and New Directions were headed to New York for Nationals in May.

Blaine  

“So, Kurt, how’s everything at Dalton? You haven’t talked about it much since we saw you at Regionals,” Mercedes pointed out.

                Blaine had finally convinced Kurt to come home to Lima this weekend after staying at the school for the past two weekends in a row. While Kurt hadn’t said much about it, Blaine knew he was still upset about losing at Regionals. Performing at Nationals in New York had been Kurt’s dream until he was forced to transfer to Dalton and Blaine knew it would be hard for Kurt to be around all of his friends when he was sure that all they would be talking about would be their trip to New York.

                “It’s fine,” said Kurt, pausing to take a sip of his non-fat mocha. “I’m really enjoying the art class I’m taking. The teacher has worked in the fashion industry and she’s been encouraging me to create some design sketches that I’ve had stuck in my head for a while. She’s pretty liberal about the material that she marks, so it’s a great opportunity to work on my portfolio and boost my grade,” said Kurt.

                Blaine noticed the way Kurt’s posture straightened and his eyes brightened a little as Kurt talked about his art class. While Kurt had always had a passion for fashion, he’d never considered going into fashion as a career because of his love for performing. While Kurt hadn’t said it in so many words, he knew that the art teacher had opened his eyes to other avenues and Blaine was happy that Kurt was enjoying the class so much.

                “Oh that reminds me! We wanted to ask you for your opinion on the costumes for Nationals,” Rachel cut in. Blaine noticed Kurt’s shoulders sink immediately and the smile wipe off his face. Neither Mercedes, Rachel or Tina noticed the change in Kurt’s body language and immediately began to barrage Kurt with costume ideas for the upcoming competition. It took a few moments for Kurt to shake off the negative feelings towards the trip to New York before he was taking a sketchpad and his pencil case out from his bag. Blaine sat back and watched Kurt sketch a quick model wearing a cocktail dress, adding embellishments and accessories as he went. Blaine was glad that the girls had distracted him somewhat. He knew it was a matter of time before the girls started to talk about New York and sightseeing and he was prepared to be there for Kurt when he was undoubtedly upset later on tonight. But for now, Blaine was content to sit next to his boyfriend and watch him in his element.

Finn

                “Hudson, can I talk to you for a minute?”

                Finn slammed the locker door shut, the sound resonating through the empty locker room. Gym class had ended a while ago and Finn thought he was the last person in the room, until now.

                “What do you want Karofsky?” he asked angrily. Finn had avoided Karofsky ever since the incident with Kurt. It had been months since Kurt had transferred to Dalton, but McKinley still wasn’t the same without his brother around. At first, Finn basically had to turn around and walk in the opposite direction once he saw Karofsky in the halls because he knew his anger would snap and he’s have Karofsky by his neck against the locker.

                “I need your help with something,” he replied, eyes casted downwards.

                “What could you possibly need from me?” Finn scoffed.

                “I want to apologize to Kurt,” Karfosky said quietly.

                Finn let out a laugh of disbelief. “You want to apologize to Kurt? Are you serious? Do you really think that Kurt is willing to hear an apology from you? You bullied him for years! You attacked him! You kissed him against his will! You forced him to change schools because he was terrified to be around you! It’s been months and you want to apologize to him?”

                “Hudson, can you just stop for a minute and listen to me please?” he asked. “After I…uh…kissed Kurt, I was so angry at myself. Pushing him around and calling him names never really affected me, but that kiss made it personal. And it killed me inside because I knew I’d finally broken him. Hummel’s always been so proud of himself. It seemed like nothing ever hurt him, no matter how hard I pushed him around. After I kissed him I knew I hit my lowest point, so I got help. I came out to my parents and we went to see Miss Pillsbury, who referred me to a therapist. After all these months I still feel horribly guilty about it and my therapist thinks that apologizing to Kurt would, further my recovery or something.”

                “Why did you even do it in the first place?” Finn asked, crossing his arms against his chest.

                “I was scared. I was having all these feelings and I didn’t know where they were coming from. It took me a long time to figure out I was gay and I was absolutely terrified. I was so jealous of Kurt, because he was so out and proud. I wanted that for myself, but I knew that my friends and family would never accept me. I just…wanted to be like him. And maybe I had a little bit of a crush, I don’t know.”

                “Well why didn’t you just tell him that?” asked Finn, sending a calculating look.

                “Who are you trying to kid, Hudson? He wouldn’t have listened to me in a million years.”

                “So what makes you think he’s going to listen to you now?”

                “I was wondering if you could help me do it. You’re a decent guy, Hudson. I know you care about Kurt a lot. I swear I’m not doing it to hurt him. I know it won’t be much, but I know it’s the right thing to do.”

                “Look, I appreciate that you’re getting help now and that you are trying to be a better person, but it can’t just erase everything you’ve done,” said Finn.

                Karofsky sighed loudly and thread his fingers through his hair out of frustration.

                “Don’t you think I know that, Hudson? I’m trying to get better. I know I can’t erase everything I’ve ever done, but doesn’t trying to be a better person count for something? I finally feel like I can figure myself out and I know that apologizing to Kurt is going to be the biggest step to getting there.”

                The way that Karofsky was looking a Finn, well…it almost looked like he was pleading with him. Finn didn’t understand much about therapy, but he figured that it must be doing some good seeing as Karofsky was taking this huge step. Finn’s known the boy for years, ever since elementary school football and the person who is standing in front of him today is not the same person.

                “Okay, I’ll talk to Kurt tonight and I’ll text you later, alright? But just so you know, there’s no way in hell I’m letting you go apologize to him on your own. I’m coming with you. Also, Kurt’s boyfriend will probably want to sit in, unless Kurt can deal with this on his own, so you should prepare yourself for that.”

                Karofsky nodded. “Thanks, Hudson. I really appreciate it.”

                Finn just nodded in response and turned towards his locker, gathering his things and preparing to go home. He heard Karofsky leave the locker room and he intentionally banging his forehead on the metal door of this locker.

                What have I gotten myself into?

Kurt

                Kurt was filling out a worksheet for his French class when his phone started to vibrate next to him, alerting a call from his step-brother.

                “Hi Finn!” he said as he answered. “What’s up?”

                “Hey man…listen. I have something I need to talk to you about. Are you busy?”

                “No…”said Kurt. “What do you want to talk about?”

                He heard Finn take a deep breath on the other end of the line. “I talked to Karofsky today.”

                Kurt immediately sat up straighter in his chair, his heart hammering in panic. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

                “No, Kurt. It was nothing like that, I promise,” Finn reassured.

                “Okay, so then why were you talking to him then?” asked Kurt.

                “He needs my help,” Finn answered.

                “What for?”

                “He wants to apologize to you about everything and he knew he wouldn’t be able to do it if he didn’t talk to me first,” said Finn.

                “Why the hell would Karofsky want to apologize to me? He’s never wanted to do it before,” Kurt asked angrily. This was fucking unbelievable. Karofsky tortured him for years and now he wants to apologize? When he’s two hours away at a boarding school he was practically forced to go to?

                “Kurt, listen. I knew you would react this way. Trust me, I reacted the same way when he told me this. But you have to trust me when I say he was being completely sincere. Apparently he was just scared because he hadn’t figured out that he was gay. That’s why he always bullied you. He didn’t like that you were so out and proud. He was confused and scared. I mean, it’s no excuse. But even he admits that he hit a low point when he attacked you like that. He’s been seeing a therapist and stuff. I really do think he’s changed, Kurt. He’s not the same guy he was before.”

                “So, you’re saying he’s actually gotten help?”

                “Yeah, apparently he came out to his parents and they went to go see Miss Pillsbury together and she referred him to a therapist and everything…”

                “HE CAME OUT?” Kurt shouted into the phone. “ARE YOU SERIOUS?”

                “Jeez, Kurt. Calm down. He said he came out to his parents, but I don’t know if he came out to anyone else.”

                “That’s a huge step…he really must have changed…” said Kurt.

                “Kurt, I’ve known Karofsky since we were little kids. Trust me. He’s changed. Maybe not completely, but…I really think he’s working towards becoming a better person.”

                “Wow…that’s…wow. I don’t even know what to say except for I never expected this from him,” said Kurt.

                “If you want to go through with it, man, I’ll come with him. I promise.”

                “Finn, I’m hardly sure I’ll need a body guard. But, I think it would be comforting none-the-less. So, thank you.”

                “So, do you think you’re going to do it?”

                “I think so, Finn. I’ll probably discuss it with Blaine first, but I think I will. I mean obviously he’s going out of his way to apologize to me. That has to mean something.”

                “Okay, bro. Text me after you talk to Blaine, okay? And we’ll set something up?”

                “Sure, Finn. I’ll talk to you later.”

                Kurt set his phone down on the desk and exhaled loudly. Kurt knew that this was going to be a tricky situation, especially when he told Blaine. Blaine was so protective of Kurt; it was going to take a lot of convincing and persuasion to make Blaine feel comfortable with the situation. Kurt knew he could just go right ahead and meet up with Karofsky, but he’d feel horrible keeping it from Blaine.

                Kurt picked his phone up off the desk and started typing out a message to his boyfriend.

Kurt: Hi! Are you busy right now?

Blaine: Just playing video games with Nick and Jeff. What’s up?

Kurt: Can you come over here? I want to talk to you about something.

Blaine: Absolutely! I’ll be there in a minute. <3

Kurt: <3

                Less than a minute had passed when he heard Blaine’s voice calling out a goodbye to his friends down the hall from his open doorway. Kurt laughed when he heard footsteps pounding loudly in the hallway. He counted seven before Blaine appeared in the doorway with a joyous smile on his face.

                “Hi!” Blaine called out a little breathlessly.

                “Did you just skip down the hall?” Kurt asked, smiling widely.

                “How did you know?” Blaine asked, his nose scrunching up in confusion.

                “I only counted seven, very loud footsteps from the moment you called goodbye to the boys and the moment you appeared in my doorway,” said Kurt.

                “Well aren’t you my little detective?” said Blaine. He walked into the room and paused in front of Kurt. He leant down and pressed a soft kiss to Kurt’s lips. Before Blaine started to kiss him into completely distraction, Kurt pulled away and stood up. Blaine made a small noise of dissent as Kurt guided Blaine to sit down on the bed, while Kurt sat back down in the desk chair and spinning it so he was facing his boyfriend.

                “So what did you want to talk about?” asked Blaine.

                “I just got off the phone with Finn and apparently he and Karofsky just had a nice little conversation after gym class today.”

                “What? Why was Finn talking to Karofsky?” asked Blaine, eyes wide in shock. “They didn’t fight or anything did they? He’s not hurt?”

                “Blaine, calm down. He’s fine,” Kurt reassured. “Karofsky approached him because he wants to apologize to me.”

                “That doesn’t even make any sense. Why would he want to do that? He’s never wanted to apologize to you before!” Blaine exclaimed.

                “I know, that’s what I said. But apparently after the…you know…incident, he realized that what he did was really wrong. I guess he felt so guilty about the whole thing that he sought out help,” Kurt explained. “He came out to his parents and they forced him to go see the guidance counsellor at McKinley. She referred him to a therapist and he’s been seeing her for months.”

                “Wow, that’s unbelievable. I can’t believe he actually came out though,” said Blaine. “I mean, I really wouldn’t have expected that from him. I figured he’d be one of those guys who denies it until they are married with children and get tired of watching gay porn to get off.”

                Kurt snorted. “Blaine, you sound so much like Santana right now.”

                “Do I now? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Should she be notified?”

                Kurt laughed and smacked Blaine’s shoulder playfully. “Stop being a goofball, this is a serious discussion.”

                “Right, of course,” said Blaine. His goofy expression immediately turned into one of stony silence.

                Kurt laughed again and leaned over to give Blaine a quick kiss. “You don’t have to be that serious,” he mumbled against Blaine’s lips.

                “No?” asked Blaine, his eyebrow raised dramatically. “Are you sure?” Blaine was just about to press his lips against Kurt’s when suddenly Kurt’s palm was pressed against his mouth and Kurt was leaning away with a smirk across his face.

                “No more kissing until we are finished discussing the issue, alright?”

                Blaine licked his palm in response. Kurt whipped it away in response.

                “BLAINE! Gross!”

                Blaine just sat there adorably, laughing under his breath.

                “Kurt Hummel, there is going to be a point in time when I’m sure you’ll be enjoying things like that instead of being grossed out by them,” he said.

                Kurt ignored the incoming flush of his cheeks and started up the discussion one again.

                “So, anyways…Blaine,” Kurt shot an annoyed look at Blaine, who was still giggling under his breath. “Karofsky wants to meet up and apologize to me personally. His therapist thinks that apologizing to me is probably the biggest obstacle to overcome in his therapy or something.”

                “Are you actually going to do it though, Kurt?”

                “Yeah, I think so. It’s for a good reason. It’s not like he’s going to try and beat me up or anything. Obviously he’s trying to make the effort to be a better person and who am I to be the roadblock in that situation. To be frank, I’d love to hear an apology. No, it’s not going to fix everything, but it’ll be something.”

                “Are you sure?”

                “Yes, Blaine, I’m sure.”

                “Well, as much as I don’t like the situation, I’m proud of you. I think this is really brave of you, baby.” Blaine reached over and gave Kurt’s hand a squeeze.

                “Thanks,” said Kurt, softly. “Are you going to come with me? I’ll probably just tell Finn to invite Karofsky to our house this weekend. You and Finn can listen protectively in the kitchen while we talk in the living room or something.”

                “Of course I’m going to come, Kurt! Plus I believe it’s my turn to make plans for Date night. I’ll make it extra, super special this weekend, just because.”

                “You’re adorable. But thank you for being so supportive, Blaine. I wasn’t really sure how you would react.”

                “Did I surprise you?”

                “You always surprise me,” said Kurt, fondly. “Now, come on. I believe I promised some kissing?”

                “Yes, yes you did,” said Blaine.