That Sunday, Burt drove Kurt back to Dalton and helped him unload his luggage. As they were walking to the dorms, he was greeted by a chipper Nick and Jeff hanging outside his door. "Kurtis!" they tackled Kurt as soon as they saw him step off the elevator.

Kurt toppled over with a "thud" taking his suitcase and his over enthusiastic friends down with him. As painful as the fall had been for him given his current state, Kurt couldn't help but laugh at the two of them. Nick and Jeff sprang up off the ground and each offered out a hand to help Kurt off of the floor. As he brushed himself off, he turned to Burt, "Dad, these are my friends Nick and Jeff. Nick, Jeff, this is my dad."

Jeff extended his hand to Burt, "Nice to meet you Mr. Hummel." Burt hesitantly shook his hand and Kurt saw the color drain from his father's face as he took in Jeff's long, blonde tail whipping eagerly behind him.

"Alright! I think I can handle things from here!" he led Burt back to the elevator, praying his father didn't have a heart attack, "I'll be downstairs in a second." As the elevator doors closed, Kurt dug his key out of his pocket and turned to face his luggage to see it already piled in Nick and Jeff's arms. Jeff's tail flicked towards Kurt's hand and snatched the key away from him. The pair turned and ran down the hall, giggling as they went.

Kurt made an exasperated noise and began to run after them down the hall before deciding there was no point in fighting them; he wouldn't win. "Be careful! And don't you dare touch anything or so help me…!" he called after them to no avail as the door to his room slammed shut before he could even finish. He sighed as he turned to press the button to signal the elevator.

He didn't have to wait long before the doors slid open and he was met with a figure that sent a chill running down his spine.

"Fancy seein' you here." Braeden leaned against the railing at the back of the elevator and gestured for Kurt to enter. He did so tentatively, staring at the ground as he did. "Shit! Shit! Shit! What the hell am I supposed to do now" Kurt's mind raced in panic for a few seconds before he decided that he needed to call Blaine. Now.

His hand reached for the phone in his pocket, but stilled as his panic was replaced by the same warmth that he had felt in the library several weeks ago. "What floor?" Braeden smiled as he saw Kurt's hand limply slide out of his pocket in defeat.

"Um…lobby." Braeden chuckled to himself as he leaned over and pressed the button with the '1' imprinted on it.

"How've ya been? I haven't seen ya 'round campus too much? It's a shame…" Braeden's eyes raked over Kurt's body in a way that Kurt knew in the back of his mind should have made him incredibly uncomfortable. His instincts told him to run, but instead the warmth that filled his body increased until he almost felt numb. He simply nodded at Braeden and slumped against the wall.

"So, I hear yar with Anderson here of late. Not sure how I feel 'bout that, but I guess it's me own fault fer not makin' a move sooner." Braeden leaned closer to Kurt as he said this and ran the back of his hand across the cut on Kurt's cheek. Kurt looked up to Braeden's face and, for the first time, noticed a long scar that ran down his left cheek that made his smile appear even more crooked. "I sure hope he's not the one who did this ter ya…" Braeden's hand turned to cup Kurt's face as he moved in closer.

"Ding" The elevator doors glided open. "This is me." Braeden leaned back reluctantly, "See ya 'round." He winked at Kurt before slinking out of the elevator.

Kurt remained frozen until the doors slid shut. The moment they did he collapsed to the floor as his entire body was racked with sobs. He curled his arms around himself as he shook, willing away the feelings of invasion that still lingered in his subconscious. "Why does this keep happening to me?" When the elevator bell announced his arrival to the lobby, Kurt quickly stood and brushed himself off, being sure to wipe his eyes. He took a deep, calming breath to regain his bearings before he stepped off the elevator and searched for his father to tell him goodbye.

At dinner, Kurt had explained his "incident" with a door at the Lima Bean to everyone, Blaine backing his story and making it sound almost believable. He had been getting quite a few odd looks all over campus that afternoon and he and Blaine had decided it was best if they stuck to a simple, non-dramatic story as to quell any rumors that might pop up. After they finished eating, Blaine invited everyone back to his room to watch a movie and hang out. Kurt had said that his room was out of the question as he had returned to it after sending Burt off that afternoon to find Jeff and Nick rearranging his things. They were now officially banned from ever stepping foot inside of it again.

Wes and David sat in desk chairs while Nick and Jeff plopped down on the floor with pillows and a large bowl of popcorn. Blaine and Kurt curled up together on the bed after Blaine put in some movie Kurt had never heard of. It starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt, so Kurt decided it couldn't be all that bad and had agreed to it along with the others. They'd made it about 15 minutes into the film, and Kurt was already engrossed—fascinated by the flow of the dialogue and the strange dialect the characters used. Blaine leaned over to Kurt and pulled him closer so he could lean back on his chest. He absently ran his hand up down his arm and Kurt nuzzled into him, relaxing completely for the first time in several days.

About 45 minutes in to the movie, Blaine leaned down and whispered in Kurt's ear, "Are you alright? You were acting a bit strange earlier" Kurt stiffened slightly at the question as thoughts of his encounter with Braeden ran through his mind. He quickly suppressed the images, praying Blaine had been keeping his promise and had stayed out of his thoughts.

"I'm fine." He smiled weakly at Blaine, "Just a little stressed, that's all." Blaine's lips pursed together and he nodded before turning back to the movie. Kurt could tell that he didn't entirely believe him, but all he could do was hope that he wouldn't dig deeper into his thoughts for any answers. He hoped Blaine would trust him, even though at this point, he really shouldn't trust Kurt at all.

The next day went by as per usual. Nick and Jeff had entertained them all with shenanigans at breakfast, lighting a center piece of one of the tables on fire. Blaine—with help from Wes— put out the fire before any teachers took notice, scolding the boys and grumbling about how they were going to get him stripped of his title someday.

"Oh, I think Kurtis will be the only one stripping you!" Jeff retorted and he and Nick erupted in laughter. Kurt's face glowed red hot as he threw a biscuit at Jeff's head while a blushing Blaine burst into a fit of coughing.

Classes that day were fairly dull as most of his teachers were beginning their end of semester exam reviews. Kurt somehow managed to get out of his first few classes with only a few reading assignments for homework.

Then, at lunch, Aimee bounced over to their table and sat next to Kurt, throwing her arms around his neck and embracing him tightly. She pulled back and her eyes looked glassy with tears. Before Kurt could ask her what was wrong she leaned back in and whispered lightly in his ear, "I know."

Kurt choked on his sandwich and looked over to Blaine, glaring at him. "Don't blame him," she took his hand and gave it a light squeeze, "He was so shook up when he came home that night, I really didn't give him much of a choice." Kurt rolled his eyes at her and laughed as he pictured tiny little Aimee bullying information out of her brother. "Just so you know, if you ever need anything—anything at all—I'm here for you." Aimee gave him a friendly smile before pulling him into another hug and bouncing off across the dining hall to the table her friends were sitting at. It was at that moment that Kurt decided his friends needed an explanation; a real one. They deserved to know the truth about his past, no matter how hard it would be for him to re-live it.

"I thought we weren't allowed in here?" Jeff asked as he picked up a very expensive bottle of hair product off of Kurt's dresser and turned it over in his hand a few times.

"Yep, pretty sure you banned us yesterday." Nick threw open Kurt's closet doors and promptly began digging through it.

Kurt raced over to Jeff and snatched the bottle out of his hands before slamming the closet doors shut in Nick's face. "I did. And that ban will resume immediately after this meeting. I have something important I need to tell all of you."

Kurt looked around his room as his eyes met seven other pairs of eyes staring back at him intently. Aimee, Grant, and Wes were piled on to his bed while David was sitting in a chair at the desk and Blaine was leaning against the door. Kurt held his gaze longer than anyone's, as if to tell him what he was about to do.

Nick plopped down on the floor next to David's chair and Jeff joined the others on the bed, "Well, get on with it."

Kurt chewed his bottom lip before he began, "There's a reason I transferred to Dalton…"

"We know." Nick stared at him blankly, "All of us have our reasons. The whole 'School for Gifted Youngsters' part kind of gives that away."

"Well, my reasons are a little more…extreme than most." He paused, "I…I've never told anyone this before…" He looked around at everyone and was met with silence. He decided it was too late to back out now, even though the memories of what had happened to him always came back with a strong wave of nausea.

"Back at my old school, every day was hell for me. I was bullied constantly. Being…gay, and all, it was just worse than usual. I was picked on for years before anyone knew I had powers. In fact, the first time I ever shifted—ever turned invisible—was in my cafeteria in front of a large crowd of students who were jeering at me as I picked myself and my lunch tray up off of the floor."

Aimee gasped and everyone else shifted uncomfortably in their seats. "After that, it only got worse. Being a freak on top of everything else just turned everyone against me. I didn't have any friends. Even the kids in my choir weren't too fond of me. Then…" Kurt stopped short and looked up at Blaine for reassurance. He met his warm, hazel eyes and Blaine nodded at him to go on. Kurt took a deep, stuttering breath before he continued, "Then there was Karofsky."

"Dave Karofsky was your typical bullying jock. Always making a scene when he would pick on me, always sure to get everyone's attention as he made his buddies laugh while he would taunt me and throw slushies in my face. I didn't think anything of it other than that he was just an ass until…well, until he kissed me." Kurt stared at the ground. You could hear a pin drop in the silence that filled the dorm.

"One day after school, I got fed up with him and I followed him into the boys' locker room to give him a piece of my mind. Finally tell him off for treating me like shit for so damn long. I started in on him and he cut me off, yelling about how I didn't understand. I screamed back at him and he cut me off again, this time by grabbing me and kissing me roughly."

"After that, the death threats came. He told me that if I ever told anyone what he…was, he would kill me. This, of course, freaked me out. I panicked and told my dad, leaving out the bit about our encounter in the locker room. He went to the school and they called in Karofsky's dad and we had to have a big meeting with them and the principal. After going through all of that crap, I decided I just didn't feel safe at McKinley anymore. So, now I'm here."

Kurt bit his lip and looked up to see six pairs of eyes glued to him, mouths gaping open. The seventh pair of eyes was buried in a set of hands. Aimee, realizing he had stopped, looked up at Kurt and he saw the steady stream of tears rolling down her cheeks. It was then that Kurt realized that he too was crying. Blaine walked over to Kurt and wrapped his arms around him in a strong embrace as Kurt sobbed. He struggled for a few minutes to pull himself together as he sobbed into his boyfriend's shoulder before he continued, "That's not everything. I didn't walk into a door last week." Aimee let out a strangled sob—knowing the rest of this story— and Jeff cautiously put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly. Aimee took this as an invitation and threw herself into his arms, much to his dismay.

"Last week—on Thanksgiving, actually— I went for a walk after dinner while I talked on the phone with Blaine. I was a few blocks from my house when I saw him walking towards me. Luckily, Blaine recognized the panic in my voice and came looking for me." At this, Blaine leaned over and planted a kiss on top of Kurt's head. "He walked over to me, trying to start something. I snapped at him and told him to leave me alone and he decided I was being…insolent. He shoved me and I shoved him back, then he punched me. And then he punched me again. He was about to go in for a third and I finally took control back of my body and I grabbed his fist to stop him. My…my hand caught fire suddenly and I ended up burning him really bad." Aimee's breath hitched in her throat and she froze; this was the first she'd heard about Kurt having her other power.

"When I realized what I could do, I gathered up all of my energy and threw a ball of fire at him—except this time it bounced back. He had a force field. See, after all that time, turns out he was a freak too. In fact, he was exactly like me. This was, of course, when it dawned on me how my power actually works."

"The shield in my head, it isn't just in my head. I got it from him. I can absorb powers through contact, but not just any contact. I figured that out a few weeks ago when I didn't start shooting water from my fingertips and sprouting a tail. See, the contact has to have a strong emotion behind it for my power to be triggered; a strong emotion that I'm unfamiliar with. When Karofsky kissed me, I was more terrified and shocked than I had ever been in my entire life. That's what allowed me to absorb his shield. Which then came to my advantage when I used it against him that night when he started fighting back again. I guess seeing me use his power freaked him out because he ran away shortly after that. Then Blaine showed up and took me to get cleaned up."

"I feel like you guys deserved an explanation. You're all my friends and I felt awful lying to you about what happened. I've never really had many friends, and I want to be sure that I don't do anything to screw this up."

The room fell quiet again as Kurt stared at the ground, waiting for someone to break the silence. Nick and Jeff shared a silent exchange before shouting in unison, "Group hug!"

They bounced up and tackled Kurt as everyone else got up to join them. Aimee pushed her way through the boys and wrapped her arms tightly around Kurt, still crying. "So, you guys don't hate me for lying to you?"

Nick and Jeff let out a hoot of laughter "How could we hate you Kurtis?"

"Everyone's got a few skeletons in their closet."

"Even Nicky and I!"

"His are worse though." Jeff jabbed Nick in the side with his elbow.

Blaine walked over to the door and opened it, "All right, everyone out. Kurt needs his sleep. We have school in the morning and might I remind you that curfew is in 10 minutes."

"Mr. Perfect Prefect." Nick mumbled as Blaine pushed him and Jeff out the door, followed by everyone else.

After they left Blaine turned to Kurt and pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry. No one deserves to go through that."

"S'okay, really." Kurt sniffled. "At least I got you out of all of this." He nuzzled his face into Blaine's neck and they both giggled. They stood like that for a few minutes before Blaine kissed him goodnight and went over to his room. Kurt sat back on his bed and let out a sigh of relief, glad to finally get everything off of his chest.

The next day, Kurt walked leisurely back to his dorm after class, enjoying the brisk air and the bright sunlight streaming across the courtyard. He was watching a small yellow bird that was perched on a branch sing cheerfully when he noticed the groups of boys in blazers beginning to close in on him. Out of the crowd, Blaine and Aimee stepped forward.

"Um, care to tell me what's going on?" Kurt asked.

"We're singing to you Kurtis!" Jeff and Nick answered from behind him, causing him to jump. They pulled him down into the chair they carried up before joining the rest of the Warblers.

Blaine stepped forward, "We—well, it was mostly Aimee's idea—" she grinned and shoved him, "We wanted to show you that we're all here for you. You do have friends here, Kurt, and we wanted to show you that we've got your back; no matter what."

The boys around him started vocalizing as Blaine bent down to take Kurt's hand.

When you try your best but you don't succeed

When you get what you want, but not what you need

When you feel so tired that you can't sleep

Stuck in reverse.

Blaine stood up and moved away as Aimee stepped forward now and took Kurt's hands in hers as she sang.

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

Now the brother and sister sang together as the boys around them swayed and sang their parts along with them.

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you.

The boys surrounding Kurt shifted as Nick, Jeff, Wes, and David stepped forward to meet him in the center of the circle.

David: And high up above or down below

Nick: When you're too in love to let it go

Jeff: But if you never try you'll never know

Wes: Just what you're worth

The boys encircled Kurt as they sang the chorus.

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

Nick and Jeff pulled Kurt from where he was sitting as the beat picked up and the volume of the voices around him increased. Kurt was spinning and laughing and crying as he was passed from familiar face to familiar face in the crowd. Friend after friend hugged him and gave him reassuring pats on the back. Kurt finally made it to Aimee and she squeezed him tight around the waist.

Tears stream down your face

When you lose something you cannot replace

Tears stream down your face

And I

Aimee spun Kurt round and round before dropping him back in his original spot in the chair as she sang to him.

Tears stream down your face

I promise you I will learn from my mistakes

Tears stream down your face

And I

Now the crowd separated and Kurt was met with Blaine, who took a step towards him before going down on one knee and taking Kurt's hands in his as he sang the final lines of the song.

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you

The crowd that had built in the courtyard now erupted in a chorus of cheers as the boys around Kurt took a bow. Kurt, overcome with emotion, leapt out of the chair and grabbed Blaine around the neck in a tight hold. Blaine embraced him for a moment before leaning back and brushing the tears off of Kurt's cheeks and smiling at him, "You are home, Kurt."

Kurt leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together gently as he grinned, "I know."