It was difficult transitioning from always being on someone else's schedule to being on his own.  While in service, he always knew when to work, when to sleep, even when to do his schoolwork even if he had a little more control over that at the warehouse.  After a couple months out of service though, he had it figured out.  He made his own schedule so he felt like he still had a purpose, though now the purpose was his own and that felt insanely wonderful.

In the morning, he got up, snuck around the small one bedroom apartment his dad had rented for them both, and made breakfast for them both.  It had been a long time since he had cooked for himself, the last time being with the aid of his mom, but after a few fire-alarms, he had it figured out.  The smell of food always managed to wake up his dad who always insisted that Kurt didn't have to make them breakfast, which Kurt insistently shut down as they both ate.

Kurt would shower then, keeping it short since he didn't want to increase the water bill more than necessary, and get dressed in an ensemble created from pieces of clothing he would buy from the second-hand store he worked at after school.

School.

Clearly he had the right idea about making sure he understood the material and work involved when he had been doing modules because he transitioned into his classes with no problem.  He had no issues with the work, and was, in fact, ahead in some courses.  Academically he was fine, and intended to keep it that way so he could earn scholarships at the end of high school.  He was not taking out any loans to pay for college.  

Socially though, things were different.  He wasn't used to the needless drama, the immaturity, and the pettiness that regular kids existed in.  In a lot of ways, Kurt didn't have the patience to put up with a lot of his classmates, who seemed more interested in what was going on between classes than in class.  He got along well with his teachers, always thanking them for their lessons, which he noticed no one else did and certainly made his teachers blink in surprise, and ate his lunch by himself, working on homework as he did to ensure he was on top of things as he'd ever been.

Kurt never let it out that he'd been a Dent.  It wasn't that he was ashamed of what he'd had to do to help his family out, it was just he didn't really talk to anyone else and there was no point in telling anyone.  

Work was a little bit better.  It was what he was used to after all.  He stocked shelves, sorted through donations, and helped cash customers through.  His boss regularly told him how much she appreciated his work ethic.  One of the benefits of the job was the clothing too.  Kurt and his dad couldn't afford new stuff on his dad's wages and his own wages, but Kurt was allowed dibs on five donated items per week, which helped them fill their closets in no time.  It was a big store, and very busy, making Kurt wonder just how many people were in his shoes with limited funds to support the simplest act of being able to cover yourself up.

His dad had been working as a mechanic for the past eight years, same boss, no promotions or demotions.  His boss had been so impressed that he paid for promotion increases on his dad's account, and when it came up that his dad had less than a year to go in service, he had made him an offer.  His boss would pay out the rest of his debt so he could be with his son sooner, if Burt stayed on and worked for his for at least the next five years.  

Burt had eagerly accepted, and that's why Kurt had been able to reunite with his dad so much sooner.

It was weird.  Going from being eight and having a dad that towered over you and that represented half of your entire world, to being sixteen and having a dad that was the same height as you and who almost seemed like a stranger in the clothing of memories.  Burt always seemed a little sad when he looked at Kurt, and apologized for what had happened almost constantly.

“I don't blame you or fault you for it dad.  It was mom.  I understand.”

Burt just shook his head, “It was bad all around… they shouldn't have punished you for it though.”

“It's okay dad.  We're together again.”

“But…. we've missed out on so much together.  It wasn't right.”

Kurt smiled sweetly to his dad, so much less a giant now than he had been in Kurt's memories and so much more an equal now, “We'll make it up dad.  It's all good.”

They shared their stories.  Kurt's a little more interesting than his dad's endless days at the mechanic store.  Kurt told his dad all about Blaine, and expressed his worry over how Blaine was.

“It's good you found someone to relate to son… but you know we can't go back to where Dent's are.  They keep Dent's and “regulars” separated… they like Dents out of sight and out of mind.”

Kurt nodded.  He had realized that now that he was out in the real world.  He knew there were Dent's working at the post office - just not serving customers at the front.  He knew his dad's boss employed Dent's, but they'd never work the counter or the area where customers could check out their work - always in the back garage.  Kurt wouldn't be allowed to go back to the warehouse to check on Blaine, no matter how much he begged or pleaded.

Would he ever see him again?

It was a few months into his freedom when a blast from his past did appear.

“Santana?!”

“Kurt?!”

They nearly ran into one another in the hall of the school, both looking at one another wide eyed and in shock for a moment before they ducked into a gap between the lockers.

“How long have you been here?!”
“Today's my first day… what about you?”
“Four months.  You just get out?”
“Yeah, you?”
“Yeah.”
“This is weird.”
“Very.”

As it turned out, they shared about half of their classes, and Kurt tried not to flinch when Santana decided to sit by him for those classes.  It was odd, having someone from that part of his life invading this part.  He didn't fault her for it, on the contrary, now he hoped he'd have someone he could relate to outside of the walls of his service.

“So where did you end up?” He asked of her as they were released from their last class of the day.

“Fast-tracked.”  She said, a little too quietly, and Kurt registered that he needed to not ask anymore.

“I ended up at a warehouse doing freight after Anderson factory.”

“Oh god… Anderson factory.  I heard that place got shut down.”

Kurt nodded as he looked ahead, “Yeah.  Blaine ended up with me at the warehouse actually.”

She made a small snicker, “Served him right.  Little brat.”

“He wasn't a bad kid Santana…”

“He was abusive…”

“That stopped after that first summer there Santana.”

“Whatever.”

Santana quickly became a close friend.  He introduced her to his dad, and she introduced him to her grandmother that had taken custody of her since her parents were still in service.  They ate lunch together, did their homework together, and complained about the idiocy of regular kids together.

“It's like they have no idea how good they have things…”  Kurt mused aloud.

“They don't.” Santana said, watching some girls across the cafeteria snapping at one another for checking out someone's boyfriend.

Kurt sighed, looking down at his salad.  He loved fresh salad.  All the prepackaged stuff at the warehouse had vegetables that had been overly processed and dried or mashed and so Kurt had quickly become addicted to fresh salads and vegetables.  He wondered if Blaine was eating properly.

He wondered a lot about Blaine, even now, and it was frustrating to know that was all he could do.

The warehouse they had been working at turned out to be several hours away from Lima, where his dad had been working and they had an apartment at.  A couple times they drove by the old house, looking at it sadly before driving to the cemetery where they now took care of Kurt's mom's gravesite the way it should have been taken care of for the past eight years.  The trip to the city with the warehouse was never made though.  Kurt thought about it on occasion - driving there, sneaking in, and checking in on Blaine, but he never had the guts he needed to do it.   He didn't want to get in trouble, screw up his new free life with his dad.  

He just had to hope that one day, he'd see Blaine again.  Or at least not forget about him.

Courage.