Kurt didn't have a difficult time transitioning back into McKinley. His friends were suddenly present in ways they had never been before, to watch his back and give him support. With Karofsky officially dedicated to fighting bullying instead of promoting it, there was a much safer and more accepting feel to the school. If he had one concern, it was that before he went to Dalton the classes here were too easy for him, so now they seemed utterly basic and useless. The one upside to that though, it was that he could now fly through assignments during lessons and he had little to no homework anymore. He could deal with that in exchange for putting up with an array of jaded, boring teachers who offered no challenge to him whatsoever.

Blaine was also ever present at his side even though they only shared French class. He would be there waiting at his locker, or at the door to his class when he was done, ready to spend those few minutes in between with Kurt. Kurt wasn't sure if it was because Blaine so intensely felt the need to protect him or because he just wanted to spend that extra bit of time with him. Whatever it was, Kurt enjoyed it. He enjoyed the questioning looks of people in the halls as his boyfriend would slip a hand to the small of Kurt's back as they walked through the halls, or the stares when Kurt would put a hand on Blaine's thigh during lunch. No one said anything, or did anything, and while many students still seemed uncomfortable with the obvious affection between the two boys, they didn't toss out homophobic remarks or go out of their way to make the pair feel uncomfortable themselves. It was the school environment that Kurt had always wanted at McKinley.

"I loved your shirt you wore..." Kurt said in French, during their French class as they lazily worked on their assignment.

Blaine smiled at Kurt, eyes smiling as well behind the veil of curls. "Good. That was the point."

"I get it now... Why you got mad at me earlier in the year for being out... For not hiding it. You didn't feel okay to show it and now you can..."

Blaine made a little shrug and looked back down at the paper as he spoke, "It's not like its hard to show it... So long as it's you I get to show it with."

Little things like that made Kurt feel like his heart was going to crumble into pieces from being so overwhelmed. Blaine was still as doting as he had ever been while Kurt was at Dalton, though Burt had put an end to the regular flower deliveries stating that not only was it a giant waste of money, but it was going to make him look bad to Carol for not getting her flowers on more than just special events.

Kurt was getting spoiled.

So when he looked across the choir room to see Sam, hands shoved into pockets that were so worn out his fingers poked through them, he immediately felt guilty.

Here he was with a dad who would do most anything for him, a nice house, a fantastic wardrobe, and a boyfriend whose gift giving made all the girls in Glee club jealous, and he knew Sam was living in a one room hotel after his dad had lost his job and their house has been repossessed by the bank.

He had found out while he was back in Dalton. Trent, as was his usual Wednesday night tradition, had ordered pizza in order to evade having to eat the vegetarian special in the Dalton cafeteria. Usually Kurt had no trouble with the Wednesday night special, and in fact quite enjoyed it, but that particular night he had too much homework and not enough motivation to walk to the cafeteria so he agreed to split a pizza with Trent.

It was Sam who delivered. Asking him why he was all the way over at Dalton, Sam explained that this was the only place he could find a part time job and even though half his wages went to paying for the gas, it was still better than nothing. Probing further, Sam admitted that his family was having financial problems and having to sell everything to pay for the hotel they were staying at, while Sam's meager wages paid for their food. Kurt had given him a very big tip that night.

He could see by the distant look in Sam's eyes now, the worn jeans, and the shoes that the toes were creeping out the front of that Sam's family's financial situation hadn't improved at all. He had asked his dad if there were any jobs in the shop Sam might be able to pick up on, but none of the mechanics were willing to take on an apprentice and Burt was still on a reduced schedule as he worked to improve his heart health. How else could Kurt help Sam?

Blaine leaned over as Mr. Schuester regailed the glee club with another one of his "when I was in glee club, this is how we did it" stories, and whispered into Kurt's ear. "Your dad said I can't take you shopping for more clothing unless you get rid of some of the clothing you already have. Apparently every free closet in the house is packed with your clothing."

Why Blaine was having private conversations with his dad about his clothing, Kurt didn't know, what he did know though was that Sam was roughly the same size as him, and he had a solution for how he could help Sam now.

By the next glee club meeting, gossip had spread around the school like wildfire. The defunct school newspaper, The Muckraker, had been reinstated, and in its first issue, it had not only suggested that Santana was gay, but that Quinn and Sam were having an affair at a hotel.

It was enough to get Finn and Sam at one another's throats, and Kurt realized that there was probably a lot more to the story than the Muckraker had printed. Sam was, at the least, an honest guy, and Kurt didn't think for an instant that Sam would be alright with helping Quinn cheat on Finn.

After Mr. Schuester had broken up the fight, Kurt excused himself to the bathroom where Sam had gone to cool off.

"I'm guessing Quinn knows?"

Sam looked over at Kurt from where he was leaning back against the sink counter and just nodded sadly.

"Sorry... I happened to notice that your clothing is in need of a little TLC... My dad is making me get rid of some of mine. Would you want any?"

Sam's face lit up a little, "Yah. That would be great if you could spare some... I'm not the most fashionable guy, but it would be nice to not wear the same thing everyday..."

Kurt smiled gently, and set up a time to meet. He never questioned why Sam wouldn't want to tell anyone, knowing that just like being gay, it was something most people probably couldn't understand and might get made fun of for. If he could be a supportive friend, that would be good enough.

So that night, he delivered to the hotel two big boxes of clothing, which Sam's younger sister in particular was quite eager to pick through, deciding what Sam should wear like he was a big doll to her. They made idle small talk, about nothing in particular, such as wheat they both thought the better word was for Blaine and Brittany's friendship (Sam liked Brine, but Kurt liked he way Blattany sounded), how many vests they thought Mr. Schuester owned, and what chairs were the best to get in the choir room. Kurt had a difficult time thinking about what he would be like in a similar situation, much less with younger siblings that Sam was taking care of so very well. Again he felt grateful for not having to worry about having enough money for food or a new jacket, and secretly left a twenty dollar bill in the bathroom when he went to use it while he visited.

"What the hell is this?" Blaine greeted Kurt the next day, shoving the latest Muckraker under his nose.

"Poorly written nonsense?" Kurt suggested, taken aback as he hadn't even gotten to his locker yet, much less read the school tabloid.

"It says you were seen with Sam at a hotel last night!"

Oh.
Uh oh.

Kurt sighed and looked at Blaine gently, "I was... And it's not my place to tell you why... But please trust me."

He could see the gears turning in Blaine's head as Blaine's eyes went from Kurt's face to the picture of Kurt in the paper. "This looks so fucking bad Kurt..."

"Blaine..."

"My dad cheated on my mom so many times..."

"Blaine..."

"How could someone make someone they say they love feel so awful..."

"Blaine, please..."

"How am I supposed to trust you when you won't even tell me why you were there?"

"Blaine. Please."

"I knew that Sam was trouble..."

Kurt was on the verge of crying, seeing how emotionally draining this was on Blaine who looked like he was either going to cry or punch something. He wanted to tell him, he truly did, but for the same reason he didn't out Karofsky, he couldn't say anything about Sam. It just wasn't his place.

So he reached out and put a hand on each of Blaine's cheeks, forcing him to be eyes to eye with Kurt, and also stop his rambling for just an instant. "I love you. Only you. You need to trust me."

Blaine stared into Kurt's eyes for a moment, just looking. After a moment he pulled away and, without a word to Kurt, stormed down the hall, leaving Kurt feeling empty and abandoned, unsure if Blaine just needed a moment to process, or still didn't believe Kurt that nothing had happened.

Kurt pulled himself together though. There was nothing he should be ashamed of, so he wasn't going to act like there was, going to his locker to get his books where he was then accousted by Rachel who accused him of cheating on Blaine with Sam as well. Had the world gone mad?

He rebuffed her accusations, and insisted they focus on getting ready for nationals instead of focusing on petty rumors. He didn't have the energy to fight this battle on two fronts. If only Sam was more comfortable telling people about his situation.

But he wasn't going to suggest it to him. Sam had to know that it was arousing suspicion that now Kurt had been seen at the hotel, when Quinn had just been seen there. Clearly Sam was having a difficult enough time already.

Blaine wasn't in French class, which made things worse. He was obviously doing his best to avoid Kurt so he didn't have to deal with the gossip. It made Kurt both sad, for fear of losing Blaine over a rumor, and angry that Blaine wasn't able to trust him. Relationships needed to be built on trust.

Thankfully, at lunch, Kurt was informed that Blaine had only missed French because he was busy consoling Brittany who had just been called stupid by Artie for being manipulated by Santana. Apparently Brittany and Santana had been sleeping together and Santana had told Brittany it wasn't cheating because the plumbing is different. Even though Blaine was clearly sensitive about cheating and cheaters, he was still there to support and help Brittany, which gave Kurt hope about their relationship.

Glee club was cancelled that day as Mr. Schuester was meeting with April Rhodes, who Kurt still didn't like after she had been the reason he was drunk in school last year and vomited over Ms. Pilsbury's shoes, and Kurt thought he might see Blaine, but he couldn't track him down at all, so he tried to text him.

Please talk to me. -K

I just need some time. -B

Okay. I love you. -K

I love you too too. -B

Well, that was something he could hold onto at least.

Kurt had hoped the next day would be better. He thought that Blaine might have cooled down and had some time to think logically about things. He had even had the ridiculous idea that Blaine would be completely back to his normal self.

So it hurt when Blaine wasn't there in the morning to meet Kurt at his locker, or that he gave Kurt the cold shoulder in French, and that he wouldn't respond to any of Kurt's desperate texts asking Blaine to just talk to him. It felt like someone was digging Kurt's heart out with a spoon, bit by bit.

Glee club didn't help. Artie questioned Sam's whereabouts, saying that since Quinn and Kurt were there, he couldn't be doing the dirty.

"Shut the fuck up about my boyfriend Wheels. I'm not below beating up a crippled kid." Blaine snapped at Artie, effectively shutting him up. Even though Blaine had decided to sit by Brittany today, who was giving him a gentle pat on the back to calm him down, Kurt was relieved that Blaine still cared enough to threaten someone on Kurt's behalf - though he did feel a little bad for Artie who kept looking back nervously after that outburst.

Apparently now Finn and Rachel had been seen together as well, which had Quinn staring venomously at Finn throughout the lesson, and then declaring that Finn couldn't sing with Rachel anymore. Considering he lived with the guy, Kurt realized that Finn wasn't exactly open with his social life around Kurt. It hurt him to think that even though they were now brothers, he still didn't know anything more about Finn than he had before.

Everyone left glee club that day with fumes coming off their heads. It seemed like everyone was mad at someone, all because of the stupid school newspaper. Kurt himself was alternating between hurt and mad himself, though mostly mad at the paper.

"Blaine... Come on. This isn't healthy!" He said as he grabbed Blaine's hand after practice, before Blaine could leave.

Blaine looked at Kurt and could see the reflection of pain in Blaine's own eyes. As the other students files out around them, Blaine admitted, "I do trust you... I just don't trust myself. I don't want to be the guy who is blind to being used... My mother always made excuses for my dad when he cheated, saying she trusted him even though it was clear to the rest of the world that he was taking advantage of her. I don't want to be like my mother."

God. For all Blaine's show of aggression and violence in the school, he really was just a hurt kid on the inside. Kurt wrapped his arms around Blaine and rested his head on Blaine's shoulder. "I'm not your dad... And I don't want to be like your dad anymore than you want to be like your mother. I am not cheating on you with Sam or anyone else for that matter. I need you to trust me. I can't share his secrets, but you need to believe me when I say that there was a legitimate reason I was there."

Blaine was tense when Kurt first embraced him, but as Kurt spoke, he could feel Blaine melting into his arms until Blaine's head was rested on his shoulder and his own arms encircled Kurt's waist. The pair of them just hugged each other for a couple of silent, but needed minutes, savoring the closeness of the other.

"I love you." Kurt said to break the silence.

Blaine hummed softly, and laid a sweet kiss to Kurt's neck. "I love you too."

"We're okay?"

"Yes."

A small whimper escaped Kurt. He was so relieved. So much of the past two days had been spent stressed that his relationship was over and he didn't think his heart could stand it.

As it turned out, the rumors and gossip had a limited shelf life. Quinn flipped out on Rachel the next glee club meeting as Quinn felt Rachel had been singing Go Your Own Way to Finn, prompting Rachel to snap back and then everyone started snapping at each other, though most of the aggression was directed towards Sam who several people felt was the reason everything was so bad between the club members.

Sam snapped in that moment, and Kurt geared up as Sam told everyone that Quinn was helping him babysit his younger siblings and Kurt had brought him clothing because his dad had lost his job and now the whole family was living in a hotel room because they had lost the house. Guilty looks were exchanged in the room, and Blaine looked at Kurt with apology in his eyes. Kurt set a hand on Blaine's thigh to let him know it was alright.

After Sam had stormed off, Quinn let everyone know that Sam had to pawn off his guitar, along with most of his other possessions to help his family. Immediately people pulled out their wallets, insisting that they get it back for him.

"I'm so sorry I ever doubted you..." Blaine whispered to Kurt as the rest of the club tried to brainstorm ways to help Sam this his family.

Kurt gave Blaine's thought another squeeze. "Make out with me tonight and we'll call it even."

They were okay.