Chapter 2 – Sigh No More

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

Kurt sighed and slammed down on the snooze button before rubbing his eyes, then smiled instantly.

Today was Kurt's first day at High School.

He was excited and really nervous. All his life he'd been bullied for the way he dressed and his lisp. He'd had it for as long as he could remember. His eye sight was never really good so he had to wear big, black rimmed glasses. It was either that or contacts, and quite frankly, they scared the hell out of Kurt. Who'd want to place something right directly into your eye voluntarily?

He pleaded his glasses on and rushed down stairs to join his father for breakfast.

"Morning, Daddy." He kissed his Burst head then grabbed some toast.

"Mornin', baby. Excited for today?" Burt said smiling proudly.

"Uh huh! It's gonna be so good! Although, I am a wittle nervous though." Kurt said softly.

"I'm sure it will go great." Burt reassured.

"Thanks Daddy! I'm gonna go change now, 'Kay." Kurt headed up to his room and opened his walk in closet.

Rows and rows of clothes were placed everywhere. Bow ties, suspenders, jeans, jackets, scarves and everything in between, including some kilts that he wore on occasion.

"Hmm." Kurt stroked his chin as he wondered what to wear.

Finally, after 10 minutes, he decided to go with a pink short sleeved shirt which would be tucked into his blue skinny jeans that hugged him in all the right places with yellow suspenders and a white bow tie, knotted tightly around his neck.

He looked in the mirror and then started doing his hair. 15 minutes later, Kurt came downstairs and showed off his outfit to his dad.

"How do I look, Daddy?" Kurt did a little twirl and wait for Burt's response.

"You look so handsome, kiddo. Everyone's gonna be so jealous of you." Burt hugged his son tightly and kissed his temple.

"Thanks Daddy!" Kurt giggled.

"Alright, I think it's time to get you to school, aye?" Burt let go of Kurt and grabbed his keys, Kurt following behind him.

The car ride to school was quiet and comfortable but Kurt's nerves were getting the best of him.

All too soon, they were there.

"Well, here we are. William McKinley High School." Burt said with tears in his eyes.

"Yeah." Kurt muttered softly, grabbing Burt's hand and squeezing gently.

"Want me to come in with you?" Burt asked.

"No thanks, Daddy." Kurt replied with tears rolling down his cheeks.

"You sure?" Burt wiped the tears away and looked into his sons eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Burt nodded and kissed his forehead before leaning away.

"Bye, Daddy. Wuv you." Kurt left the car and waved to his dad as he drove away.

"Love you too." Burt said then honked the car horn and drove off into the distance while Kurt stood there with tears in his eyes.

Kurt sniffed and started walking towards the main building when something blocked his path, or should I say someone.

"Watch where you're going." A voice grumbled.

"S-Sowwy." Kurt yelped, closing his eyes tightly.

"No problem, cutie." The voice said as a hand reached down and stroked his cheek softly.

"W-Wha..." Kurt opened his eyes and gasped at the person in front of him.

His was a little taller than Kurt and looked a little older too, with dark curly hair and tanned skin. His face was sharp and smooth. His nose has two little rings along with his eyebrows and lips that were smirking down at him. He was dressed in the iconic 'badboy' outfit, complete with the leather jacket and ruined jeans. The most captivating part about him was his eyes. They were neither brown nor gold. Almost a mix of both with flecks of green and amber.

It was now Kurt's new favorite colour.

They were also staring right into Kurt's.

"Like whatcha see, baby?" The boy smirked,

Kurt turned red. No one apart from his parents ever called him that. It felt strange and nice at the same time.

"I-I-I-"Kurt felt the boy's hands run down his spine and into his back pockets.

"Hmm, so soft. Firm. Perfect." He muttered as he squeezed Kurt gently.

Kurt yelped once more and started sweating and panting softly.

"Hands! Hands are on my – Does he know where his hands are? He must do..." Kurt wondered in his head, at least he though had happened.

"I sure do know where they are, babe." The other person chuckled as Kurt turned even more red.

"Class – I need to – class." Kurt said lamely.

"Then let's go, babe." The boy pulled Kurt's timetable out from Kurt's pocket and started reading. "Hmm, looks like you've got English with Mr. Wheeler. Good luck with that, he's a complete dick."

Kurt just stared at him, tilting his head a bit to the side.

The boy just chuckled and led Kurt to his class. Kurt was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even notice that he was standing outside his classroom.

"... See ya later, babe." The curly head boy started to walk off but Kurt was quick to stop him.

"W-Wait! What's – What's your n-name?" Kurt shyly asked.

"Blaine. Blaine Anderson." Blaine said, smiling at Kurt's shyness.

"O-Okay... t-thank you." Kurt muttered and turned to the classroom.

"Hey, no, wait. I told you my name, it's only fair if you tell me yours." Blaine said, crowding Kurt's personal space.

"K-Kurt." Kurt said looking into his eyes.

"Hmm, Kurt," Blaine said, popping the 'T' at the end of Kurt's name. "Very cute, just like you."

Kurt just squealed in response.

"Better head off then." Blaine kissed Kurt's nose and readjusted his glasses before walking off.

Once again, Kurt just squealed.

The rest of the day went by pretty well, a few slurs here and there but nothing too bad, but no sight of Blaine. Kurt didn't know exactly why, but he felt really sad that the curly haired boy wasn't around.

It was fourth period when Kurt was walking down the hall towards his locker when something cold splashed into his face.

It hurt like hell.

"Enjoy the rest of your day, loser!" Someone shouted.

Kurt felt like crying, and that what he did. He stood there covered in something wet and sticky crying like a three year old, not even noticing that his glasses were on the floor.

"Fuck, let me help you." Kurt heard a voice. It sounded familiar.

"B-Bwaine?" Kurt whimpered.

"Yeah, it's me. Now let's get you cleaned up, yeah?"

Kurt nodded and let Blaine lead him somewhere, his eyes burning.

"W-Where are w-we gowing?"

"Just wait, baby."

"It hurts." Kurt whined.

"I know baby, I know." Blaine soothed.

Soon they were in the boy's bathroom that was further away from the others and the no one used.

They were completely alone.

"Bwaine, pwease, make it stop burning!" Kurt screamed.

"Shh, Shh, just hold on, just a little longer." Blaine grabbed a paper towel and wet it then placed in over Kurt's eyes. He gently wiped Kurt's face clear and quickly dried him off.

"Wh-What was that?" Kurt asked, eyes still closed.

"A slushie, they're fucking bitch."

"A-Aren't they a d-dwink?" Kurt wondered aloud.

"Yeah, but the asshole jocks here like to throw them in people's faces for fun." Blaine sighed.

"H-Have you been..." Kurt trailed off.

"Slushied?" Blaine finished for him.

Kurt nodded.

"Well, I haven't been slushied but that's because people know not to mess with me." Blaine aid darkly. "And soon, they'll know not to mess with you too."

"I-I'm fine, Bwaine, pwomise." Kurt tries to smile but couldn't.

"Can you open your eyes for me, sweetie?" Blaine asked, his hands on Kurt's cheeks.

Kurt tried to open them but it stung too much and his eyes started to water then forced them shut again.

"I-I'm sowwy." Kurt hung his head.

"No, no, no, baby, it's fine." Blaine rubbed Kurt's back softly.

"I-It just hurts so much." Kurt whimpered.

"Shh, Shh, Shh," Blaine placed Kurt in his arms and rocked him gently while Kurt started to sob.

A few moments later, Kurt managed to pull himself together.

"Th-Thank you, Bwaine." Kurt said after a deep breath.

"It's fine. Now, class is about to begin, do you wanna go?"

Kurt thought for a moment. If he didn't turn up they would most likely call his dad and that won't be fun, but on the other hand, he could barely see. He doesn't even have his –

"Gwasses." Kurt whispered.

"Sorry?"

"M-My gwasses. T-They must've dwopped off when I g-got..." Kurt drifted off and started to cry all over again.

"Shh, Shh, don't worry, I got then right here," Blaine took the glasses from his pocket and placed them on top of Kurt's nose, where they belonged. "There we go."

Kurt sniffed and opened his eyes. They were bloodshot red from the crying and the slushie, but they were still the beautiful blue that Blaine remembered from the first time he saw them, except now they were more green flecks than before. That made them even more perfect.

"Better?"

Kurt nodded and rested his head on Blaine's shoulder then sighing.

"Let's get you to class, yeah?" Kurt nodded once more as Blaine once again, led Kurt to his next class.

They walked together in silence. Everyone was already in class. As they walked, they moved past a notice board. Kurt looked all of the flyers but one caught his eye. It was a blue one.

Glee Club, not try outs, just sign up. Practice after school from 3:30 to 5, Monday, Wednesday and Friday's. Meet in the choir room. – Mr. Schuester.

Kurt looked at it.

It was Monday.

Kurt looked over at the pen that was placed off to the side. He'd never sung before, only with his mother. He didn't know if he was any good or bad.

Blaine looked over to see that Kurt had stopped following him and was staring at the blue sheet of paper pinned to the board. He could practically see Kurt's mental debate inside his head.

"Watcha thinkin' 'bout over there?" Blaine moved closer to Kurt.

Kurt jumped at his voice and quickly answered.

"I-I wanna join b-but I dunno if – if I'm good... enough." Kurt twisted his hands together and looked down.

Blaine chuckled. "It's so unfair that someone can be as cute as you are now."

Kurt looked up and blushed.

"Do you think I should do it?" He asked Blaine shyly.

"I think," He grabbed Kurt's hands and looked into his eyes. "I think, we should both join, whadya say?"

Kurt looked into his warm, honey coloured eyes and smiled.

"I think that's a gweat idea."

"God, you're lisp is so fucking adorable, y'know that?" Kurt blushed, once again.

"So..."

"So..." Blaine grabbed the pen that was off to the side and signed his name then handed it to Kurt. "Your turn."

Shakily, Kurt grabbed the pen and wrote his name under Blaine's.

"Hummel? Just when I thought you couldn't get any cuter, you do this." Blaine said, peering over Kurt's shoulder.

"Wet's get to cwass." Kurt said moving his glasses around to a more comfortable place.

"Sure thing, babe." Blaine winked and grabbed Kurt's hand, heading down the hall and towards Kurt's class.

For the rest of the day, Blaine never lets Kurt out of his sight. When class is over, Blaine was there to lead Kurt to the next one. At the end of the day, Blaine and Kurt made their way over to the choir room and went to take a seat at the back of the room.

"Oh my sweet lord, Kurt?" Kurt looked over to his right and saw his old friend.

"Mercedes!" Kurt jumped out of his chair and hugged her tightly.

"How are you, still fabulous as ever?" Mercedes said, gesturing to Kurt's clothes.

"I'm good, but what about you?"

Quickly, the pair dissolved into a deep conversation while Blaine stared in amazement. He was amazed because of the fact that Kurt had not once stuttered like he did with him, although he still spoke with is absolutely adorable lisp. Blaine could listen to Kurt talk for years and still be fascinated by the amount of passion he used when he spoke about something.

Everyone was chatting and was so into their own conversations, or thoughts in Blaine's case, that they didn't even realize the teacher walking through the door.

"Hello cla-Ahh! Hot, hot, hot! I really need to stop drinking hot things..." A man's voice muttered from the doorway.

Kurt stopped talking and looked over towards the voice.

'Oh. My. God.'

"Oh. My. God." Kurt whispered.

"Anyway, hello! Now I know you're all probably wondering why I'm here instead of Mr. Schuester, and the answer to that is compacted, so I'll be your teacher until Mr. Schue gets back... if he gets back." The teacher muttered the last part then turned around to write on the board.

"Moving on. Okay, well, anyway, my name is –"

"- Mr. Perry." Both Mercedes and Kurt interrupted, although Kurt said it with his lisp.

"Exactly." Mr. Perry said, turning around slowly to face Kurt and Mercedes. "Hello."

"I thought you were in New Zealand or something." Mercedes said, her eyes as wide as the moon as she stared at her ex teacher.

"I was. Now I'm here." Mr. Perry readjusted his glasses as he spoke.

An awkward silence settled into the room.

"Well this is awkward." Someone muttered.

"Awkward? This? Awkward? Who's awkward? It's uh, it's a funny word awkward, isn't it? There's something awkward about the word awkward, isn't there...? Clutch!" Mr. Perry rambled, quoting Miranda Hart.

"What?" Someone from the back else questioned.

"Sorry, I panicked. And I've been spent too many late nights watching 'Miranda' re-runs." Mr. Perry admitted sheepishly.

Kurt still couldn't believe who was standing right in front of him. This was the man that kept him strong. This was the man that helped him, time after time. This was the man that made him realize he was gay. This was the man that Kurt had the biggest crush on.

He looked the exact same as when he last saw the teacher with just a touch of gray hairs around his temples and a light 5 o'clock shadow surrounding his mouth. His eyes were still as green and as warm as ever with small wrinkles around the corner of the lids.

"Oh-Kay, let's get on with the lesson. Now Mr. Schue told me that if there were any new members they would need to come to the front and sing. As this is Glee Club. So, uh, any newbies?"

Kurt, Blaine and a blonde haired kid all stepped forward.

"Great!" Mr. Perry clapped his hands. "Let's get on with it. Who'd like to go first?"

The blonde kid smiled and raised his hand.

"Cool, so, name, song and... yeah." Mr. Perry finished.

"Ahh, okay. Well, my names Sam Evans and I'll be singing 'In My Life' by The Beatles."

"Good choice, best wishes."

After the song had finished and Sam had sat back down, Kurt's fears grew even more.

'There's no way I can beat that... I'm going to fail. So, so, hard.'

"Very nice, Sam. Next?"

Kurt and Blaine looked at each other.

"I'll go." Blaine said. "My name's Blaine Anderson and –"

"More like Mr. McHottie Hot Pants." A girl from the corner said.

"What?" Blaine looked at the girl and then back at Kurt and back at her, smiling widely.

"Santana Lopez, better remember it, 'cause you'll be screaming it later." Santana said, moving closer to him.

Blaine just laughed. "Isn't that supposed to be my line?" He ran a hand up Santana's left arm, missing Kurt's heartbroken face. Mr. Perry however, didn't.

"Okay! Santana, is it? Anyway, please sit down, Blaine, get on with it." The teacher said, practically ripping the two away from one another.

"Well," Santana said, now facing Mr. Perry. "You're pretty hot yourself. How 'bout you, me, Breadsticks –"

"- Sit!" Mr. Perry ordered.

Santana grumbled and went to sit next a blond in a cheerleaders outfit and started whispering in her ear, making them both giggle.

Blaine smirked. "As you know, I'm Blaine Anderson and I'll be singing 'When I Get You Alone' by Robin Thicke." He winked at Santana as the music started.

Blaine's performance went off without a hitch. His voice was gold and everyone seemed to be getting into it and it was kind of obvious that he was singing it to Santana.

"You can keep your toys in the draw tonight, alright." He sang, winking at Santana as they danced together.

When it was over, Santana was basically in Blaine's lap as everyone applauded him.

"Very, good, Blaine." Mr. Perry said, his voice tight and sharp. "Last but not least..." He looked at Kurt with a small comforting smile.

"H-Hello. I'm Kurt Hummel and I'll be singing 'I Have Nothing' by Whitney Houston."

"Lovely choice Kurt, good luck." Mr. Perry smile reassuringly.

Kurt's performance was flawless. He hit every note perfectly and sang it with so much emotion. He put his heart and soul into that performance and everyone in the room could see and feel that.

It was the single most beautiful thing Blaine had ever heard.

At the end, Kurt had managed to get a standing ovation.

"Brilliant work Kurt!" Mr. Perry praised.

Kurt beamed at the teacher and Blaine felt a small twinge in his chest and he didn't know why.

The class chatted and all go to know each other for a while until a girl, Rachel, asked an important question.

"Mr. Perry, you just said that all new members must give their name and sing, yes?"

Mr. Perry was taken aback by the question but nodded nonetheless.

"Well, with that logic, it means that you have to sing." Rachel finished.

"Okay then." Mr. Perry walked over to grab a guitar that was sitting off in the distance. "Let's get musical!"

"Wait, wait, wait. You have to say your name and what song you're singing!" Mercedes protested, pouting a little.

"Fine, fine. Ahh, my name is Marcus Perry and I'll be singing 'Home' by Phillip Phillips."

"Never heard of it." Puck said.

"Not surprised." Mr. Perry muttered before playing the guitar.

Mr. Perry played the guitar and danced around while singing, occasionally stopping to look at Kurt as he sang certain lyrics.

"Just know you're not you're not alone." He sang directly to Kurt, then carried on with the whole song.

At the end, he too managed to earn himself a standing ovation.

"Woah! That was H-O-W-T! You sure know how to use those fingers." Santana purred, fanning her face.

Suddenly, she turned to Blaine. "Sorry curly, but the man over here just won me over. Unless..." She trailed off and ran a hand through his hair.

"Unless?" Blaine muttered while everyone stared at them with shock

"Unless you can prove yourself." Santana whispered.

"Well then." Blaine was two centimeters away when they were interrupted.

"Okay!" Bellowed Mr. Perry. "I think it's time to do some actual work." Mr. Perry grabbed Blaine's collar and sat him in the empty chair across the room. The one right next to Kurt.

Blaine smirked as head was being seated and immediately wrapped his arm around Kurt. Kurt was quick to move away. Blaine's smiled dropped.

"What's wrong, babe?" He whispered.

"Just weave me awone." Kurt whimpered, tears threatening to leak.

Blaine opened his mouth to respond but was beaten by Mr. Perry.

"Okay, so now that all the performances are out of the way, I'd like to get on to this week's lesson." He turned to face the whiteboard and started writing...

"Courage?" Finn asked with a confused look on his face.

"Yes, courage." Mr. Perry said with a radiant smile.

"Why?" Puck wondered.

"Because, Noah, courage is the most powerful thing on this earth. No matter where or who you are, if you have courage, you have the power to triumph over all the enemies or obstacles that stand in your path to freedom. Does that help?" Mr. Perry explained.

"Yup." Puck nodded and gave him an over the top thumbs up.

"Good, good. Any other questions?" No hands were raised. "Okay, well, what you guys need to do is find your favorite courage quote and then find a song that represents that quote in the best way possible. Easy?"

The class nodded.

"Great, now..." The rest of the time flew by and soon, they were all walking out the door.

Kurt said a quick goodbye to the teacher and rushed out, Blaine following close behind.

"Hey wait!" Blaine shouted, jogging up to Kurt.

"What?" Kurt replied sharply not even turning around.

"Whadya mean 'what'? C'mon I know the best bar, it is so –"

"- Just weave me awone!" Kurt shrieked, walking even faster but Blaine quickly grabbed his arm, preventing him from moving any further.

"Woah, woah, woah, what'd I do?" Blaine questioned.

"Wet go of me!" Kurt thrashed around try to get out if Blaine's grip.

"Not until you tell me what's wrong." Blaine said raising his voice.

"Fine! You wanna know what's wrong? What's wrong is that I thought somewon might actually be interwested in me and w-want to talk to me a-and found me attwactive and – and – and then you go off to somewon else and didn't even notice h-how upset I was! I-It was wike you – you don't even care about me!" Kurt shouted, tears streaming down his red face and chest heaving.

Blaine stood there for a moment before laughing.

"You really thought I cared about you? I just wanted that sweet ass of yours, honey. Nothing more. A warm body, if you wanna think of it that way."

"W-Wait, what?" Kurt squeaked.

"You heard me. Like I'd wanna do anything but fuck that pretty, pert ass of yours. Get real." Blaine spat on the floor next to Kurt and walked off.

Kurt stayed in the same spot for almost 10 minutes. Tears rolling down his cheeks and a weight lay heavy in his chest. Soon, he realized he had no way to get back home. Everyone had already left and he had text his dad to say that he was staying late and was getting a lift home. But he wasn't. No one else was around unless... He quickly checked his phone only to find it dead.

Now he truly had no way of getting home.

Kurt looked around the school parking lot and found only one car left. A purple BMW.

He decided to wait for the person to come out of the school and ask for a ride. Normally, he'd be way too terrified to ask a stranger for anything but now, he was desperate. He walked over to the BMW and sat down, waiting.

15 minutes later, a figure emerged from the school doors and headed towards Kurt.

"... But it was not your fault but mine, and it was your heart on the line. I really fu-Ahh-messed it up this time. Deny my dear. Deny my – Kurt?"

Mr. Perry. Of course it had to be him.

"H-Hi." Kurt said softly, looking at his lap.

"Hey, ahh, what are you doing here?" He asked , adjusting his glasses.

"C-Can I have a wide home, pwease?" Kurt asked, looking up at the teacher with his big, blue eyes and adjusting his own glasses.

"Ahh, yeah, yeah, of course you can. C'mon, let get you inside, it looks like it's about to rain soon.

And he was right, the clouds were now an inky black opposed to the snow white colour they normally are.

Kurt picked himself off the floor and into Mr. Perry's car. Mr. Perry silently followed his move.

"So, uhh, you – you still living at the same place?" Mr. Perry asked as he turned on the car engine.

"Yeah." Kurt answered, looking out the window.

"Cool, cool... mind if we listen to music?"

Kurt shook his head and Mr. Perry turned up the stereo volume and the lyrics of Mumford & Sons 'Winter Winds' filled the silence.

"As the winter winds littler London with lonely hearts, oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms. Was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night. For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt..."

"Sorry," Mr. Perry apologized. "My friend, Finlay, told me about Mumford & Sons and now, I can't stop listening."

"I-It's fine." Kurt mumbled, looking at the teacher. "T-They actually sound quite nice. Mumford & Sons, wight?"

"Yep." Kurt hummed and looked back out the window.

The rest of the ride was silent, apart from the soft tunes of Marcus Mumford voice along with the rest of the band flowing through the car.

Soon they drove down a familiar road and was quickly at Kurt's house. Kurt looked over at the driveway and saw that his dad wasn't home yet. Kurt sighed.

"Ya' right, over there?" Mr. Perry asked in a comforting manner.

"Y-yeah, yeah," Kurt unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

Kurt looked back at the older man once more before nodding and getting out, waving goodbye as the car drove out of site.

Kurt rushed inside and ran straight into his room to grab some sweatpants then to his father's room. There he undressed himself and re-dressed himself in the pair of pants he grabbed from his room and one of Burt's old flannel t-shirts that was way too big for him. He moved over to the bed, sniffing the shirt and presenting his father was there holding him. Pretending that he never met Blaine. Pretending that life wasn't as difficult as it really was.

A few moments later, Kurt fell asleep on top of the covers with tear tracks on his blotchy red face. A few more moments later. Burt found his son lying on his bed, looking smaller and younger than ever. Quickly and quietly, he took off his shoes and slid down next to Kurt. He carefully wrapped his arms around Kurt's middle and held him close, brushing away stray hairs that had fallen over Kurt's red rimmed eyes. His kissed his sons forehead and slipped into an uneasy sleep, knowing that someone or something had hurt his little boy.