"What's wrong, Kurt?" Tina asks when she sees the look on his face.

"I got paired with Karofsky," Kurt told her, still not quite believing it.

"No way. You have to talk to Moss, I'm sure she'll let you switch partners," Tina said, concerned.

"Yeah. I'll talk to her after class," Kurt said.

He glanced over at Karofsky, who was red in the face. Kurt knew he couldn't be happy with the partner arrangements, either. He took notes for the rest of the period, contributing very little to the discussion. For the most part, he planned what he would say to Ms. Moss to convince her to let him change partners. As soon as class let out,most people bolted for the door and Kurt was left alone with his teacher.

"Ms. Moss? There's something I wanted to ask you," he said hesitantly.

"Yes, Kurt, what can I do for you?" she asked, not looking up from her computer.

" I was wondering if there was any way I could switch partners. Karofsky and I don't really get along," Kurt said in a rush. "I would even be willing to work on my own."

"Kurt, my partner decisions are not made willy-nilly. I put you and David together for a reason," Ms. Moss replied, finally looking up at him. "I'm sure that if you and David spent some time together, you could overcome your...differences."

Kurt tried not to let the disbelief he felt show on his face. She really thought this would help?

"I really think there is more to the situation than you know," he told her.

"I will not change my mind, Mr. Hummel. Now I suggest you move on to your next class." She said with an tone of finality.

Kurt, sensing his defeat, left the room. He hurried to History, barely making it to his seat before the bell rang. Ms. Gantz began a lecture about the Spanish Inquisition, but Kurt didn't hear any of it. He spent the period trying to figure out how to survive the English project. Maybe if he offered to do all of the work, he and Karofsky would never have to meet.

That thought cheered him up enough to actually pay attention in his next classes. At lunch, he filled Mercedes in on the situation. Neither she nor Tina could understand why Ms. Moss thought she was helping. It was nice to have friends he knew supported him.

Blaine sat with the jocks again. Although there were a few comments when he walked by their table, and a wistful sigh from Mercedes, the conversation did not revolve around the him like it had the day before. Kurt didn't tell anybody about sitting with Blaine in Chemistry or the conversations they had. He wasn't sure why, but it felt nice knowing there was somebody outside his group of friends who was nice to him. Kurt wanted to keep it to himself for a while.

Kurt was ready for Chemistry long before the bell rang. He knew Chemistry meant talking to Blaine. As soon as he heard the bell, he quickly walked to class. Blaine was already there by the time he walked into the room, again in the seat next to Kurt's.

"Hey!" Blaine said when Kurt walked over to him.

"Hi," Kurt replied, sitting down and dropping his bag on the floor. "How has your day been?"

"Great!" Blaine told him. "What about you?"

"It was good this morning. But then Moss decided that it would be best if I didn't survive high school," Kurt said.

"What are you talking about?" Blaine asked, looking confused.

"You know how we got assigned partners for that project? I got partnered with Karofsky," Kurt replied.

Now Blaine looked even more confused. "What's wrong with Karofsky? He seems like a pretty nice guy."

"He hates me," Kurt informed him.

"How could he hate you? You're so cool!" Blaine declared.

"He hates me because I'm... Because I'm gay," Kurt said, not looking at Blaine.

"You're gay?" Blaine asked.Kurt heard wonder and amazement in his voice, but not disgust.He looked back at Blaine. Blaine didn't look disgusted at all. He was looking at Kurt with wide eyes.

"Uh, yeah I am," he said awkwardly.

"And you're out? And people are ok with that here?" Blaine kept asking questions.

"Of course people aren't ok with it. I get slammed into the lockers on a daily basis. I get called names. That's why I got that slushy facial yesterday. People think I'm disgusting," Kurt burst out, refusing to look back at Blaine.

"I don't think you're disgusting, Kurt," Blaine said quietly."I think you're pretty brave."

Kurt looked at Blaine, astonished by his acceptance.
 
"Hey, do you wanna get coffee after school? I still haven't found a good coffee place in Lima," Blaine said.

"Oh, um, yeah! I'd like that," Kurt said, still amazed.

Kurt couldn't stop smiling for the rest of class.