"Kurt, stop fidgeting, it's going to be fine."

Kurt wanted to believe him, his voice even sounded confident enough but his father's leg kept constantly twitching, a sign of his nerves and it was setting him on edge.

"I will if you will," Kurt countered with a playful edge to his tone. Burt caught his eye and they both smiled.

"Alright, so maybe I'm a little nervous too," he hummed with a smile. "But I'm heading to a place filled with a bunch of people that want to take my son away from me."

"They're not taking me away, Dad, technically, we're coming to them." Burt gave a throaty chuckle and shifted in his airplane seat, (first class, paid for by Professor Xavier). They fell into an easy silence. Kurt tried to bury himself in the inflight magazine while his father squinted at the tiny TV in front of him but he couldn't focus.

"How did you know about me? How did you know I was...Having trouble?"

"We have eyes and ears everywhere, Kurt," the professor had told him. "Mutants who we have crossed paths with, some passing through our halls as students, others looking for a moment’s peace from the outside world. Ohio is not without mutants, many are just not revealing themselves as such. Your school is not a stranger to them."

Kurt's eyes had widened and Professor Xavier had smiled a kind and knowing smile.

"A cheerleading coach with the ability to manipulate the emotions of those around her alerted us to you. I believe she likes to inflict fear on those around her to get her way." This time, Kurt's mouth had dropped.

"Coach Sylvester?" he exclaimed in shock and the professor nodded.

It felt weird to think that there had been more mutants in his school. Part of him suspected it, much like he suspected he wasn't the only gay kid, just the only one who was out, (and look how right he had turned out to be about that!). But Coach Sylvester? He supposed it made sense. Every time she was near she seemed to wash an icy cold fear over them. Kurt had just thought that was because she was a dementor disguised in an unflattering, red polyester tracksuit.

They touched down and were ushered out into the terminal, into a slim, long dark car and Kurt was giddy with the excitement of New York. He wouldn't be in the city, he'd be out in Westchester but it was still only a car ride away. He rested his head against the window of the backseat where he and his father were, watching as the high rise buildings slowly melted away into to suburbs. Everything was so different from Ohio, the air seemed lighter here.

“So, what exactly is your school?” Kurt asked. They were sitting now, Kurt beside his father on the long couch, Professor Xavier in front of them separated from them by the coffee table and Dr Grey on the arm chair just to the left.

“Anonymity is a mutant’s first defence against the world’s hostility, Kurt,” the professor had explained. He was so understanding in answering all of their questions, patient and never frustrated. It gave Kurt a sense of security he hadn’t felt since before this whole ordeal. “To the public, we are merely a school for gifted youngsters. The students are mostly runaways – frightened, alone, some with gifts so extreme that they have become a danger to themselves and those around them. We protect them; teach them to control their power. Jean was one of my first students.”

Both Kurt and his father’s eyes widened as they glanced at her. “You’re a mutant?” Burt asked. She nodded with a soft smile.

“Yes, both the Professor and I are mutants,” she explained. “We both teach at the school. Kurt will have the opportunity to learn with us and if he so wishes, re-join the world an educated young man, or he could stay on to teach others as many have done.”

Kurt straightened in his seat, his eyes darting through the window, searching for… something.

“Kurt, you okay, kiddo?” his father asked. Kurt looked at him and nodded once.

“Yeah, it just feels… odd,” he mused, glancing back out the window. “It’s different, there’s an energy of sorts here. It’s like static in the air, or something. I think we’re close.”

He was right and soon they found themselves outside the large estate house that was Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. The building was old and Kurt could only stare open mouthed at the architecture. They were ushered inside to see Professor Xavier again. Students moved through the hallway and Kurt watched them, laughing and joking. A girl sneezed and her entire hand stretched down to the floor. Kurt watched her shake her hand until it’s of normal size as though it’s a regular occurrence while her friends called her from down the hall to hurry up.

And then she was gone. And no one said anything.

Kurt knew this was where he was meant to be.

He sat with his father and the professor while they talked technicalities. Kurt tried to pay attention but he couldn’t stop staring out the window. Every so often, someone would walk by. Some would be so normal that Kurt wondered if they even were mutant but then they would do something like spit out a three metre length tongue or turn purple.

Kurt turned back to his father and Professor Xavier. The professor, just like he had been back in Lima, was a picture of calm, despite the tirade of questions Kurt had no doubt his father was throwing at him. They had been here for over an hour and he could see his father was running out of questions. He smiled and wondered if he was just delaying the evitable goodbye.

Burt took a deep breath and stared Xavier straight in the eye. “What if he’s homesick?” he asked and Kurt suppressed a groan. “Or what if I, you know… What if I want to see him?”

“You are more than welcome, Mr Hummel, to come visit your son any time you so wish,” he replied with that same kind smile. Kurt grinned at his father’s raised eyebrows.

“Really? Just like that?”

“I would have to ask you to sign the visitors slip, but yes, just like that. Contrary to popular belief, Mr Hummel, but we mutants are not all as totally averse to humans as they perceive us to be.”

“Okay, good. I just wanted to make sure,” Burt said, sitting back in his chair. He gave Professor Xavier a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

He nodded in acknowledgement while Kurt said to his father in an amused voice, “finished?” Burt looked at him out of the side of his eye and sighed.

“I guess so,” he mused, still studying his son. “You really like it here, don’t you?” Kurt couldn’t stop his head bobbing up and down enthusiastically, his smile so big it hurt his cheeks. “Well, then, I guess my decision is made. I don’t think I could keep you from it if I tried.”

Kurt sprung across to his father’s chair, wrapping his arms around him and chanting, “Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!” Burt chuckled, hugging his son back.

It was a while before Kurt could really say goodbye and even then he only did so because he knew his father would miss his flight. He hugged him tight, breathing him in. He had one of his father’s plaid shirts hidden in one of his bags in case he felt homesick but he knew it wouldn’t be the same.

Burt held him at arm’s length and cleared his through. “Now, Kurt, I want you to listen to me,” he said in a gruff voice and god, Kurt hoped it wasn’t because he was trying to not cry because if he did it would only set Kurt off and he would be like a water fountain. “Just because you’re here, just because they’re gonna accept you as a mutant, does not mean they have the right to give you crap about anything else, okay? Nothing! And if they do, call me, and I will be up here faster than you can say Hummel’s Tires and Lube, got it?”

“I got it, Dad. I promise. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, kid.”

Professor Xavier politely waited until Kurt was ready after his father left before coming back. Kurt wondered as he followed the wheelchair down the hall how he knew the right time and then realised he didn’t actually know what his new principal’s power was.

Can I ask him? Is it okay to ask another mutant what they can do? Or is that, like, a pickup line? Instead of ‘hey, what’s your sign?’ do you say ‘hey, what’s your power?’

The professor chuckled beside him. “It’s alright, Kurt, many mutants don’t mind being asked what they can do,” he told him. Kurt stared wide eyed at him. He opened his mouth to ask but the professor tapped the side of his head. “Telepathy,” he told Kurt. “I can read minds. And I also have the ability to control them, though it is not something I do often.”

Kurt felt his cheeks go bright red. “Oh, god! I’m sorry! Really I am! I didn’t-“

“It’s alright, Kurt,” Xavier repeated with another chuckle. “Like I said, it’s like an icebreaker for conversations, much like asking what their favourite Katy Perry song may be for humans.”

Kurt smiled tentatively, cheeks still a little warm. The professor brought him through the hallways stopping at a door.

“This school is a sanctuary for many, Kurt, and you must not feel you have to hide any part of you here. Should you ever feel the need, my door is always open. Never feel that there is something you should have to hide.”

Kurt nodded. “Thank you, professor. Not many people are as open as you.”

“Would you like to join your first class, Kurt?” he asked, nodding to a door. Kurt took a deep breath and nodded. Gently, Xavier reached forward and opened the door, leading Kurt into the classroom.

Kurt was surprised at the amount of students. He had known there were a few but he hadn’t expected this. Almost twenty faces turned to look at them as they walked in. Kurt felt himself shrink back a little at the attention.

“Kurt, I would like you to meet Storm, she will be your English teacher,” Professor Xavier explained, motioning to a woman at the top of the class with snow white, shoulder length hair. “And these are some of your classmates. Everyone, I would like you to meet Kurt Hummel, our newest student to be joining us.”

Kurt’s eyes skimmed the faces as they all mumbled back a hello. He saw the girl who had sneezed and elasticated her hand on one side of the room and just a few feet away was the purple boy he had spied earlier. Some were peering curiously at him, others were already turning away.

“Blaine Anderson?” Xavier said suddenly, causing Kurt to jump. A boy in just a little in front of them in the back row started.

“Y-yes, professor?” he said in a quiet voice, turning beet red. Kurt’s eyes fell on him and he wonders how he skipped over him when he was scanning the class because he was stunning. He was tanned with dark hair that was curling slightly despite the amount of gel he was wearing. His eyes were a soft shade of hazel and wide after being called out.

“Would you be so as to see to it that Kurt settles in?” he told Blaine. Kurt looked at him and saw something in his expression, like he knew something no one else did.

“Y-yes, professor,” Blaine replied, giving a curt nod. The professor smiled and turned to leave, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Enjoy your class Kurt.”

When he left, Kurt looked back to Blaine. Blaine shifted awkwardly but motioned to the empty seat beside him. Kurt sat down as Storm resumed class again and Blaine shot him a soft, warming smile and Kurt felt suddenly so much more at ease.

Yes, he thought he was to like it here.

~~~

“So, it’s Kurt, right?”

They were finished English and already people were filing past them. Each of them smiled warmly at Kurt as they passed. It was an unusual thing, to be accepted without question and it unnerved him a little but at the sound of Blaine’s voice all his worries seem to melt from his head, (and that was even weirder). Kurt nodded as he picked up his bag and Blaine smiled.

“Well, hello, Kurt, I’m Blaine Anderson,” he said in a bright voice, offering out his hand. Kurt took it with a little laugh at Blaine’s cheerfulness. “Welcome to Mutant High!”

“It’s nice to meet you, Blaine,” Kurt said and he couldn’t help but absorb his enthusiasm. “And it’s very good to be here.”

“So, Kurt, it’s about time for lunch now, you hungry?” Blaine asked, leading them out of the classroom. It hit Kurt just how starving he was, everything had been so overwhelming he hadn’t even thought about food. He nodded energetically and Blaine chuckled. “Okay, well follow me. So, uh, what is it you can do?”

Kurt thought about just telling him but he couldn’t help remembering all the people he saw earlier openingly showing off their skills. Other than his dad – and Karofsky, though Kurt would much rather not think about it – no one had actually seen his ability. His pride got the better of him and he held out a hand. A tiny flame erupted from his palm, red gold and flickering. He rolled it expertly over his fingers and then tossed it into the air where he let it disappear into the air.

Blaine let out a long whistle. “Impressive,” he said, nodding at the spot where the flame had been. Kurt preened at the praise.

“Thank you,” he said with a smile. “So what can you do?”

“It’s actually a little similar to yours, only my materials are different,” Blaine told him. He held out his hand like Kurt did. Something shimmered in the middle of his palm and then spread out until his entire hand is covered in water, like a glove. Blaine turned it so his palm was facing down and he bounced his hand to allow a drop to fall, still attached by a string of water. He let it fall until just above the ground and pulled it back up again. Blaine repeated it, like he was playing with a yoyo. He shook his hand out after a moment and the water fell away into nothing. “See?”

“Wow, impressive,” Kurt said as they reached a set of double doors. Blaine pushed them open to reveal a cafeteria of sorts.

A line of food covered one wall and the rest of the large room was taken up by big rectangular tables. It wouldn’t be that different from a regular school except everywhere Kurt looked he saw mutants. The purple boy walked past and waved and Blaine returned it with a “Hey, Jeff.” A short girl with cat ears was walking with her tray balanced on her furry tail. There were kids of all ages here. He spotted a girl who looked about nine skipping past, leading a very muscled man who looked like he should have left school a few years ago just by his sheer size.

“Crazy, isn’t it?” Blaine said and Kurt realised that his mouth was hanging open. He snaps it shut as he followed Blaine to the food.

“There are so many,” he said, accepting the tray Blaine handed to him. “It’s so… so amazing!”

Kurt let Blaine lead him through the food, pointing out the reasons for some of them. (“The raw meat is for Leon, he’s part lion, I think. The flower petals are for Polly, she can make pretty much any flower grow from her fingers. The shoes are for Bobby to chew on, he’s very doggy like.”) He follows him down to a table with five other boys there.

“Everyone, this is Kurt,” Blaine announced as they sat down and they all gave their greetings. He introduced everyone. Wes, a super genius who could remember almost everything he had every read or seen; David could duplicate any inanimate object with a touch; Jeff, the purple guy, could imitate any noise with perfect precision; Nick had the ability to turn invisible and; Trent could create small illusions and manipulate dreams.

Kurt loved talking to them, to their stories of Mutant High and even some of those from before they arrived, (like Trent’s trick on a bully who outed him as being a mutant by pretending there was an apple that he wanted to eat but every time it reached his lips would end up right back on the table).

“So where are you staying?” Wes asked as they cleared their trays. “Have you got a room yet?”

“Oh, um…” Professor Xavier had told him to stay wherever he liked but right now he wasn’t sure where exactly that was. “I don’t know yet.”

“Well, Wes, David, Trent and Jeff all share a room but why don’t you stay with me and Blaine?” Nick said with a smile. “We got a spare bed, you might as well. Right, Blaine?”

“Yeah! That’d be great!” Blaine said, grinning like an excited puppy. Kurt didn’t think he’d ever be able to say no to that face. Sitting at lunch it was always Blaine’s stories he had loved the most. He loved his animated face when he talked, loved how musical his voice sounded.

“Sure, I’d love to,” he said, mirroring Blaine’s smile.

“Great!” Nick said, thumping him on the back. “There’s another guy, Andy, but he doesn’t talk much so it’s not so bad. And then…”

Kurt wasn’t even listening as they made their way down the hallway to their afternoon classes. He and Blaine were walking side by side, bumping shoulders every so often. Blaine would whisper little things to Kurt, filling him in on the workings of the school as they walked and Kurt couldn’t help but smile.

He was definatly going to like it here.