Kurt was lying on his bed trying to comprehend Beowulf. The first few chapters he had read over the weekend were tough, but his brain was not into it today. How could it be when it kept going back to Blaine’s smile from that morning, followed by the hug Rachel gave him after his audition? Why would Rachel have kept Blaine’s existence a secret from everyone? He was definitely intelligent if he was taking precalculus and two AP classes, he styled himself with classic elegance, and had an unbelievable talent when it came to his performance. Kurt had been staring at the same page in his book when his door opened. “You aren’t mad at her, are you?” he heard his stepbrother ask.

“No, Finn. Why would I be mad that my best friend-slash-bitter rival-slash-possibly future sister-in-law failed to disclose the secret sibling hidden away at boarding school?”

Finn walked in, closing the door behind him. “Blaine wasn’t being hidden away. He’s actually a really nice guy. You’d get along great with him.”

“I already determined that when I saw him five minutes before school started,” Kurt snapped. He couldn’t help it if his snark was heightened today. “He needed directions to his first class and since Rachel was too busy making sure you didn’t fail your trig test, he asked the first person he saw.”

“Kurt,” Finn started, sitting on the corner of Kurt’s bed, “you should be careful with Blaine. I don’t want you to get caught up in the same problems that happened to him and their fathers.”

“Problems?”

“Look, I’m not going to go into it since Rachel told me not to let anyone know about their past, but…”

Kurt was livid. “Excuse me? I’m her best friend. Why am I not allowed to know?” And how had he not known with Finn ‘I can’t keep a secret more than five minutes’ Hudson living in the room next to him?

“It’s a private matter,” Finn said. “However, since I’m sure you’ve been wondering all day, yes, Blaine is gay.”

Oh. Well that was a welcome tidbit, although Kurt had suspected it all along.”That’s nice. For me, since I know certain people won’t care for that news once it’s around the school.”

“Which is why he won’t be coming out anytime soon.”

Kurt sighed. He knew firsthand how terrifying it was to admit his preference and why Santana didn’t want to risk her ‘queen of the school’ status by admitting her love for Brittany. And it wasn’t as if the older men of the Berry household hid their commitment rings from anyone. So why would their son?

“So had you met him before?” he asked, changing the subject.

Finn nodded. “Yeah, right after regionals last year since Dalton had already lost in their competition, so he felt there was nothing inappropriate about supporting us. In fact, he loved that we went for the original songs.”

Before Kurt could respond, Carole interrupted to tell the boys that dinner was ready. For the rest of the evening, his thoughts remained on Blaine and what could possibly be the reason for coming to McKinley if he wasn’t going to reveal his true self to the world.

Rachel was waiting for him at his locker the next morning. “I’m sorry.”

Kurt feigned innocence. “Sorry for what?” he asked.

“For not telling you about Blaine. I thought he was going to remain at Dalton throughout high school but then Se...never mind. I understand why he came here, but it’s going to be rough.”

“What? What happened, Rachel?”

She shook her head. “If he doesn’t want to talk to others about it, that’s his decision.”

“Funny, Finn said the exact same thing last night,” Kurt said, closing his locker after he got his books out. “I understand if something awful happened and you don’t want to talk about it, but why on earth did you act like he doesn’t exist?”

“It’s not that simple, Kurt,” Rachel hissed. “You of all people know what it’s like to be yourself in a town like this.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “But I’m still going to be me and not hide, though.” The warning bell rang as soon as he finished. “I’ll see you in glee,” he said, walking off towards his French class. As he passed Blaine’s class, he peeked inside and saw him staring at his book, ignoring the students around him.

The morning went as well as possible, considering his mood, but of all people, Santana cornered him at lunch to ask about Blaine. “I hear we have another spawn of the shire on our hands?” she asked as she sat down at his table.

“We? Last I remember you were no longer a part of New Directions.”

“Au contraire, Monsieur Hummel. As of third period today, Quinn and I are back in the club.”

Kurt raised an eyebrow. “And just how is Coach Sylvester taking this news?”

“What she doesn’t know won’t affect her hideous tracksuits. Besides, I feel like I should offer my services to the new kid, make sure he doesn’t take after Rachel.”

“Santana,” he hissed, “what happened to what we talked about over the summer?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Who said I can’t have a little fun while I figure things out?”

Kurt suddenly stood up and grabbed Santana’s hand. He dragged her to the girls’ restroom furthest away from the cafeteria so they could have some privacy. Once the door closed, he started interrogating her. “I thought you already had things figured out, Santana? What about Brittany? Does she approve of you flirting with every male in existence when you claim she’s the one for you?”

“Hummel, you know she barely knows what day it is,” Santana answered while fixing her ponytail. “I could be feeling him up and she wouldn’t bat an eye.”

“Good thing you won’t be doing that to Blaine, then,” he said. “Besides, and you have to swear on your Cheerios’ uniform that this doesn’t leave this room” he waited for Santana to nod, “…he’s as straight as you and I are.”

Santana froze. “Really? But he looks so…dorky.”

“And that has as much to do with his sexuality as your bitchiness does to yours,” Kurt snapped.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” she said. “Do you like him?”

Kurt shook his head. Technically it was true, he didn’t know Blaine well enough to like him. “He’s also closeted as well, so all the jokes you try on me? The threats of Puck getting us fake IDs so we can get into Scandals? They won’t work with him.”

“But his fathers are gay…”

“I know, Santana. Finn is the only person who knew about Blaine before yesterday, and apparently whatever happened where the Berrys lived before here is serious enough that he doesn’t want it known.”

She nodded. “Probably for the best.” She stared at her reflection for a second before turning towards Kurt. “Look, Kurt, you are incredibly strong. You lost your mother as a kid, you took so much abuse from Karofsky and Azimio, hell, even from half the glee club. But you still don’t hide yourself. Everyone in your life approves of your sexuality. If I come out, I would probably lose my parents, my brother…god, maybe even my Abuela. Not to mention I’d go from cheerleading captain to laughingstock because hey, why else would Santana Lopez be on the squad other than to sleep with all the pretty girls?” She was sobbing by the time she finished talking.

Kurt pulled Santana into a hug, something he never would have thought would happen less than two years earlier. “You’re just as strong, Santana. I mean, you put up with Coach Sylvester day after day. I know from experience how difficult that is.” She cracked a smile. “You can do this, and I bet nobody will care that you prefer girls.”

“You think so?” Kurt nodded. Before she could say something else, the bell rang ending lunch. “It’s not going to be today, but…I’ll let you know when I’m ready, okay?”

“Okay. Now go be the kickass cheerleader you are. Oh, and try not to pick on Blaine this afternoon. I know he may seem like an easy target since he’s Rachel’s brother, but we should ease him into your personality.”

She grabbed some toilet paper from one of the stalls before they walked out. “Sure you don’t like him, Hummel?” she teased.

“Shut up,” Kurt grinned. Somehow, he trusted Santana more now. Maybe senior year wouldn’t be so bad.