Kurt blinked open his eyes as he felt the bus slow and then turn, exiting the interstate. He must have drifted off at some point, still leaning against the window. He sat up and rubbed his eyes once again, unsuccessfully trying to wipe away the dry, gritty feeling of old tears.

Kurt's eyes studied the roadside for clues as to his new surroundings. They definitely were not in Ohio anymore. The trees were taller, thicker and darker. The wildflowers and weeds were different. He cracked the window and took in a deep breath of fresh air. Even the air smelled just a little bit different, and it felt slightly cooler than it had been when the bus left Columbus.

He'd never been to upstate New York before. If he were being objective, it really was beautiful there. Given, the circumstances, however, he felt a little differently. “What a miserable, god-forsaken place” he muttered to himself, wincing at the irony once he thought about what he'd said.

Turning in disgust away from the window, he was startled out of his trance by the sight of two icy blue eyes boring through him. He resisted the urge to snarl at the owner of said eyes, a small, dark-haired boy with a haunted expression on his face. He looked so fragile, and young, too, though he had to be at least eleven since that was the minimum age for Camp Reflection. Kurt regretted his instinct to lash out at another passenger on this trip across Acheron, even more vulnerable than Kurt was if that was possible. But the staring was getting unnerving.

“Hi, I'm Kurt. What's your name?”

“Ian.” The dark-haired boy fell silent again.

“Well, Ian, it's nice to meet you.” Kurt paused, but Ian did not react. “I guess you must be from Ohio too, since you're on this bus, huh?”

Ian nodded solemnly, finally turning to face the back of the seats in front of him.

Weird kid, Kurt thought, I guess I can't blame him. We're in a pretty weird situation.

Kurt shrugged and turned back to his ipod, cursing softly as he determined that the battery was dead. As he secured it in his satchel, he felt the bus slow down dramatically and turn once more. This was it, it had to be. Kurt took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before releasing it slowly. He made a mental note to charge his ipod at the first opportunity. This day was going to be so much more difficult without his headphones to serve as a shield against the world.

* * * * *

A shiver ran up Kurt's spine as his feet hit the pavement. This place was beautiful and peaceful, all of the campers and counselors clean, happy, and smiling. It was a little bit artificial, and it stood in stark contrast with how he felt about his stay here, but he could appreciate the trees and the sunshine nonetheless.

The camp was surrounded by lush, cool forest. The lake sparkled invitingly, all the way out to a small island adorned with a lone pine tree in the very center. A boat house stood at the far end of the camp with canoes lined up on shore. Next to that was a lawn with what looked like a rudimentary football field, and on the near side of the field stood a large, white wooden building with a cross above the door. Next to the church were two long buildings that Kurt supposed were dorms from the number of windows, and a short, square building with low windows and picnic tables out front. The nearest building was the largest, two stories with a wide front porch, and Kurt now noticed several colorful signs directing new arrivals to the camp inside for room assignments. He reluctantly made his way inside, out in front of the rest of the kids from the Ohio bus.

“Welcome, welcome, we're so blessed to have you here!” a chubby, overly chipper middle aged woman exclaimed. “Step right up, what's your name sweetheart?”

“Kurt Hummel,” Kurt replied, eyes darting nervously to the two bored-looking teenagers flanking the woman at the table. The blonde to his right shuffled some papers around and handed a packet to the woman, making a check mark on a list as she did so.

“Well, welcome, Kurt! My name is Wendy McAvoy and I'm the lead counselor here at Camp Reflection. This is Jessica and over here is Amy.” The woman was speaking so quickly and perkily that Kurt felt safe only nodding in response.

“Here's your packet, with your schedule for the day. Normally each day's schedule is posted to your door the night before, after dinner, but this will get you started. Take a look now, you have some free time before Worship so I suggest you go get settled in your dorm. You'll be in the Blue dorm, and I believe your roommate is already here. I'm sure you two will get along wonderfully. Now, remember to keep an eye on the time, you wouldn't want to be late to Worship on your first day, would you? And... you might change into something a little more... something else.”

Kurt's face flushed hot and he glanced down at his clothes. It was nothing out of the ordinary for him, and certainly nothing inappropriate. Well, maybe the skulls decorating his pants were a bit of an ironic choice. He swallowed, quieting the bile rising in his stomach, thankful that he'd made an effort while packing to select some of the most boring clothes in his closet. However, he was still Kurt Freaking Hummel, and it was going to be difficult for him to blunt himself enough to satisfy the people here. “Yes ma'am, thank you, I'll go get settled then,” he said.

Blinking back tears that too readily threatened to return, his eyes still accustomed to the crying he did on the bus, Kurt hurried towards the dorms with his suitcase in one hand and the packet in the other. He pulled a key on a lanyard from inside the packet, and found the room number written on the front page. He started to unlock the door, but thought better of it given that Wendy had said his roommate was there already, knocking instead.

A boy immediately opened the door. He was very thin in a still-growing adolescent way, with short, sandy brown hair and light brown eyes to match. He was a little bit taller than Kurt, but with more narrow shoulders. The boy smiled shyly. “Um, hi, you must be Kurt. I'm Josh. It's nice to meet you. Come on and put your suitcase down.”

Josh backed into the room and sat one one of the plain twin beds, gesturing to the other one, his eyes not leaving Kurt. “There's no dresser but there are shelves, and a little closet space. If you have anything to hang up, it's all yours, I don't have anything on hangers.” The boy drummed his fingers on his knees, noticing the awkward silence. “So, uh, where are you from?”

Kurt decided that he liked Josh's unassuming, friendly demeanor, and once again tried to reel in his bitterness. He put on a warm if not entirely authentic smile. “I'm from Lima, Ohio. I'm sorry for being rude. I'm normally much more chatty, but that Wendy woman just did enough talking for both of us combined and I'm a little overwhelmed.”

“I understand, I was like that last summer when I was new,” Josh said. Kurt gaped in response, “You've had to come here two years in a row?” Kurt immediately regretted the remark, remembering that his new roommate was probably a Christian, and might even be happy to come to Camp Reflection.

“Oh, haha, it's really not that bad. I'm guessing it wasn't your choice to come here, but I'll help you fit in and the week will fly by. It's almost time for Worship so we really need to get going.” Josh smiled and, and this time Kurt smiled genuinely in return, for the first time in a while.