"What are you talking about?" Wes asked, flipping through the black book in front of him, quickly scanning the pages for an opening for Kurt to audition.

"Are you serious?" Nick snapped, shaking his head with a frustrated sigh. "You are practically forcing him to do this!"

"He could of said no, now correct me if I'm wrong but I didn't hear him object." Wes said, tilting his chin up slightly as he continued to flip through the thin pages.

"Of course he's not going to say no! You have no idea-" Nick stopped himself quickly, looking away to take a calming breath when Wes shot him a curious look.

"No idea about what?" Wes asked, grabbing a pen from the side of his desk. He quickly scrawled out Kurt's name in his blocky hand writing before closing the book and dropping the pen it's original place.

Nick rubbed his hand across his face as he thought. "You didn't even give him a chance to say what he wanted!" he said, crossing his arms. "Are you forgetting why he was here in the first place?"

Wes sighed before nodding his head, bending in his chair to pull a draw open on the right side of the desk. He pulled out another black book, this one being much larger and thinner than the one he had been writing in before. After flipping to the back he ran his finger down the page until he had come across the one that had Pavarotti's name beside it. "Randal Mauve, he's a sophomore right?" Wes asked before pulling his buzzing phone from his pocket.

"Yes." Nick answered quietly, glancing to the door when a hesitant knock sounded through the room. "Kurt." Nick said, surprised the junior hadn't ran off yet. He smiled when he saw Pavarotti tweeting in his cage as Kurt held it carefully in his long fingered hand.

"I need to tell Wes about Pavarotti." Kurt said quietly, walking a little further into the small room. He sat the cage upon another table that was pushed against the wall and opened his mouth to speak again but the senior quickly spoke up.

"Nick has already told me and unfortunately that means we'll have to hold a meeting to assess the situation." Wes said with a sigh, quickly typing out a new message on his phone before looking up to Kurt. "Which means our practice for today will be pushed to the side." He frowned when a nervous expression crossed the junior's face.

"I didn't mean to ruin anything but they just left him out there and I didn't see how anyone could do that an-" Kurt rushed out quickly, stopping when Wes cleared his throat.

"Kurt, it's fine." Wes assured Kurt, holding up a hand when the other opened his mouth once again. "It's a small inconvenience but the way the newest Warbler is treating Pavarotti takes precedence."

Kurt smiled slightly, glancing over his shoulder when said bird gave a soft chirp. He turned his gaze back to Wes once more, taking a small breath before he voiced his next question. "Who will take care of him until then?" he asked in a soft voice, grateful when Nick walked up to stand beside him.

Wes glanced at the birdcage then to Kurt, something clicking together in his mind as he smiled. "I will make sure he has enough things to see him through today in the warbler practice room. Who he will go to next will depend on what I and the other senior council members decide."

Kurt's brow furrowed slightly before he nodded. "He isn't going back to the same person right?" Kurt asked hopefully, hands gripping the strap of his messenger bag tightly. Surely they wouldn't let the poor little bird go back to such a careless owner, right?

Wes cheered inwardly knowing he had Kurt's audition in the bag. "It all depends since the council could decide to give the person responsible another chance." he said, resisting the urge to grin at the worried look upon Kurt's pale face. "Or we may give him to another member who can take care of him, but there is always a chance that a new person will audition and become a Warbler." Wes ignored the glare Nick was sending his way, the shorter junior obviously catching on to him. "Then he would of course go to him as the newest member which is tradition." he finished, leaning back in his chair as he watched Kurt glance back towards Pavarotti again.

Nick watched Kurt as the taller junior seemed to think through his next choice of action. He shot another glare in Wes's direction but the older Warbler only shrugged in return. When Kurt turned around to face Wes with a determined look Nick only stifled a sigh. Somehow he had known the soft spoken, kind hearted boy would end up in Wes's hands after they had caught him singing earlier. Though the fact that Kurt was willing to sacrifice his own comfort for such a small creature sent a small smile to his lips. Yet again he asked himself how on earth anyone could of ever done anything to hurt Kurt.

"When can I audition?" Kurt asked, blinking when Wes held up what looked like a small planner.

"I have you penned in for Thursday already." Wes said, not bothering to hide the grin on his face now. "Four O'clock on the dot." he added before placing his book back down.

Kurt nodded quietly, looking at Nick when the shorter boy groaned softly. He sent the other a questioning look but only got a shrug of the shoulders and an easy smile back. "What song?" he asked, looking back at Wes when Nick's attention was taken by Pavarotti tweeting in the background again.

"You choose your own, though keep in mind that it has to be school appropriate." Wes said, his grin turning into a gentle smile when Kurt yet again adopted a nervous expression. "Kurt, I've heard you sing." he began, standing from his chair and walking around the desk to place a hand upon the junior's shoulder. "You could sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and still win the other boys over, I promise." he had noticed the way Kurt flinched when he had lifted his hand but chose to ignore it, along with how tense the other felt beneath his hand. "Whatever you pick will be amazing."

Kurt nodded and quickly stepped away from Wes, letting the hand fall from his shoulder before turning to face Nick. "Thanks for coming with me." he said with a grateful smile.

Nick smiled back and nodded. "No problem." he said, watching as Kurt walked up to the small cage where Pavarotti still tweeted. With his back to him he couldn't really tell what Kurt was doing but if he could he would place his bet on a smile. Eventually the taller junior left the room, giving Nick the chance he had wanted ever since Wes had written Kurt's name down in his planner. "How could you do that?"

"What?" Wes asked innocently, grabbing his own bag after checking that Pavarotti was properly fed and watered. He walked out from the small room, Nick following right after.

"You know what!" Nick snapped, getting agitated which really wasn't something that he wanted. He had already gotten in trouble once that day because of his temper and he didn't want a repeat. "How could you use Pavarotti against him like that?"

"We need him, Nick." Wes said simply, walking out of the large wooden doors and into the hallway.

Nick continued to follow the older Warbler, not willing to let him go that easily. "It doesn't matter, you shouldn't of done that!" he said, quickly stepping in front of Wes to prevent him from walking further down the hall. "He hates large crowds of people, you know that!"

Wes stared at Nick for a moment before answering. "Then the Warblers will be a good way for him to get over his fears." he said simply with a shrug of his shoulders, surprised when Nick only seemed to get angrier.

"No! Don't you get it?" Nick said, stomping his foot on the ground impatiently. "It's not fair to just prod him in any direction you want, he's been down that direction too many times!"

Wes froze for a moment before he looked back into Nick's face. "What?" he asked, watching the other mumble and glare in return.

"At his old school, don't tell me you forgot?" Nick asked in an agitated tone, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked up at Wes.

"No, but he only had to deal with a few bullies." Wes said quietly, fear building when Nick snorted in return.

"You don't know anything!" Nick shouted, roughly pushing past Wes with his shoulder. He whirled around when he felt the other's hand grip his elbow, ready to tell Wes where he could shove his attitude when the look on the older boy's face caught him off guard.

"What do you know that I don't?" Wes asked in a low voice, his grip tightening around Nick's arm. Did Nick know? Surely he couldn't…

Nick managed to pull his arm free, giving another glare before he spoke up again. "More than you ever will." he whispered, backing away from Wes. "I don't know when you turned into a manipulative and controlling dick, and I really don't care." he began, cutting Wes off when the other began to talk again. "You know that was wrong." he said coldly before turning on his heel as the bell rang for their next period.

Wes opened his mouth to shout something back but nothing left his throat. Did Nick know what he and David did? Would that mean that Jeff also knew as well? Why hadn't he told anyone? He sighed, shaking his head as he began the trek to his own class. Maybe Nick knew and maybe he didn't, he wasn't about to get anything from the junior though. Nick was pissed and he knew from past experiences that he had some serious groveling and dodging of certain blonds to do before the other talked to him again.

When David had finally managed to point out Kurt's past he had been in shock and had even avoided said junior for a few days. He hadn't believed it at first but of course he had come to the realization that it was true, no matter how horrible it was. He had then watched himself more carefully around Kurt, making sure to keep space between them and his hands to himself. He and David had decided to not tell the others, mainly for the simple reason of Blaine.

How could they tell Blaine that the boy he was currently falling for that there was a chance Kurt didn't want it. No, they had decided to let Kurt be and see where everything went. Who were they to tell another person's secret anyway? The past month Kurt had seemed to open up more around them, even adding witty comments at times that had them laughing and joking around. It was also very obvious that the junior felt something for Blaine, though what it was he and David didn't know.

Apparently now he and David needed to talk things through. If Nick and possibly even Jeff knew, then they needed to find out. He doubted Blaine knew anything, which was slightly humorous then sad considering his own father had been the lawyer Kurt had used. If more people knew, perhaps it would be for the best. Maybe it would help Kurt and Blaine out in the long run.

Then again, it just might cause Kurt to break even more. Could they win either way?

Nick was still on edge by the end of the day, every little thing setting him off. He hadn't had a chance to catch Kurt again in hall because the other junior seemed to be able to phase through walls with the speed he was able to navigate through the crowd of people.

Wes had sent out what he presumed was a massive text message to the Warblers about the change of plans that afternoon. It had taken a lot of control not to throw the phone at the wall when he got it. He was now pacing around his and Jeff's dorm room, trying to ignore the annoying buzzing his phone was making where it sat on his night stand. It was probably just Jeff again. He had been ignoring and avoiding the blond all day, knowing one of his classmates must of tipped him off.

When his phone started buzzing for the tenth time in a row he walked towards the bed, sitting down on the edge before picking it up. He ended the call when he noticed Jeff was the one trying to reach him, looking through his inbox when he noticed fifteen new messages.

His phone started to buzz with a new call again, causing Nick to leave his inbox half checked. He threw the phone to the end of the bed before leaning over to rest his elbows on his knees, holding his head in his hands. He knew he should at least text Jeff back and tell him he was alright but at the same time he also knew if he picked up the phone to talk to him all the wrong words would fall out or he would end up yelling. Again.

He didn't look up when he heard the lock click from their door, ignoring the loud sigh of relief his boyfriend gave when he noticed him on the bed. He didn't acknowledge the other when the bed dipped beside him and shied away from the blonds touch. What could he say? He had made a fool out of himself and now Jeff knew because someone else had had more courage than himself to tell him.

"Baby, what happened?" Jeff whispered, ignoring the way Nick leaned away from him. It wasn't like he hadn't dealt with this many times before but he would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised. Nick hadn't lost his temper like this for at least a year and a half now and he had to wonder if what Donavan told him was the full story. It just wasn't like his boyfriend to get so upset by a stubborn teacher the way he did.

When Nick continued to ignore him he slowly wrapped his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders, pressing a soft kiss against the top of his head. "I was really worried when you didn't answer me." he continued, a little surprised when Nick pushed him away to stand up. He watched the other pace for a few minutes, taking in the clenched fists and soft muttering carefully. Slowly he stood as well and tried to catch Nick's arm, only to be shoved away again.

"Stop." Nick snapped, reaching up to rub at his pounding head. He looked away from Jeff's neutral expression and turned around to where his back faced him.

"Why are you shutting me out?" Jeff asked calmly, walking up to stand behind Nick. He kept his hands to himself as he watched his boyfriends small frame shake slightly. "Did anyone give you crap about loosing your cool or something?" he asked, getting even more confused when a harsh left Nick.

"Can't you just drop it and let me work through it?" Nick asked, turning around to look up at Jeff. "Let me handle this by myself." he said, narrowing his eyes when Jeff shook his head.

"No." Jeff said simply, reaching down to take Nick's hands in his. "Tell me what's wrong so I can help." Jeff pleaded softly, squeezing the warm hands he held. "Please."

Nick pulled his hands away from Jeff's, shooting the blond a glare. "I don't want your help!"

"Too bad." Jeff said simply, reaching out to take Nick's hands again only to have his own slapped away.

"Just leave me alone!" Nick shouted, turning from Jeff again to walking a few stpes away to place a bit of distance between them.

"Never." Jeff said calmly, clasping his hands in front of him as he looked over Nick. It had been a while since he had been pushed away and he had almost forgotten the feeling of helplessness and dread it had caused in the past, but now he felt it churning in his stomach once again. "Nick, I just want to help you."

"I'm not the one who needs help, Jeff!" Nick shouted, reaching out with a trembling hand to grab the lamp off the nightstand. "I'm not the one!" he repeated in another shout before throwing the heavy weighted object in his hand against the wall, the sound of glass shattering and the dull thump of the lamp's metal frame hitting the floor leaving him a strange mixture of satisfaction and guilt.

Jeff ignored the broken lamp easily, it wasn't like Nick hadn't thrown worse in the past. Instead he focused on his boyfriend, grabbing his thin arm again when the other began to bend down to pick up the broken pieces. "Then who needs help, Nick?" he asked softly, the broken look on Nick's face when he finally turned towards him caused his heart to ache. "Tell me."

Nick felt his bottom lip tremble before hot tears began rolling down his face. "K-Kurt." he stuttered out, finally giving in and burying his wet face in Jeff's broad chest to let out a strangled sob. He felt comfort when Jeff's arms automatically wrapped around him, gently holding him close.

"Kurt?" Jeff whispered, pressing a few kissed to the top of Nick's head as he rubbed the other's lower back gently. "What about him, did someone hurt him?" he asked, noticing how tense Nick became after his question. He concentrated on the shorter Warbler's lower back with a bit more force, relieved when his effort was rewarded by Nick relaxing slightly.

"It's Wes." Nick whispered, knowing he had been so close to spilling everything about Kurt just then. He knew he would have to tell Jeff at some point in time, but he just couldn't right now. So instead he told Jeff about Kurt and Pavarotti, almost loosing his temper again when he started to explain what Wes had done.

"That Jerk." Jeff huffed after listening, slowly leading Nick to the bed before pulling him down to lay beside him. He didn't care about blazers being wrinkled or the fact that their shoes were currently scraping across the comforter as they intertwined their legs. All he cared about was Nick, trying to give his boyfriend the comfort and understanding he needed. He was relieved when Nick curled into him, allowing him to wrap his arms around him without pulling away. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out." he whispered, glancing at the clock on his nightstand.

They had twenty minutes until they had to go to Warbler meeting, meaning he had fifteen minutes to hold his boyfriend until they would have to walk into a meeting that could possibly go wrong and cause this whole mess to go out of control again. So within those fifteen minutes, Jeff whispered softly and pressed kisses along Nick's jaw as he reassured him that everything was going to be okay. He wasn't going to let anyone hurt Nick or Kurt, even it was one of his best friends.

As Nick laid with Jeff, feeling his tears being wiped away by gentle hands he realized yet again how much the other boy meant to him. Sometimes Jeff seemed like the only person in the world that would understand everything he went through. He was the one who held him when he broke down the way he was now, or when he had nightmares about his father. He had been the one to see through the bad attitude and poor habits three years ago and had slowly but surely pulled him from the dark place he had been in for so long. The stubborn blond had never gave up on him and had certainly never let him have a chance to give up on himself. He had pondered why so many times before but had never figured the other out.

In moments like these he also realized how much he loved Jeff, something of which made him think back to Kurt. Would the other junior ever have someone to pull him out of the dark like a beacon of light? Would he ever have someone to hold him and tell him everything would be okay? Would Blaine be able to do that, or would he just run away from Kurt and his problems. Nick swallowed thickly before pulling away slightly to look into Jeff's light brown eyes. "I love you." he whispered before pressing a soft kiss to the blond lips, smiling against them when the blond pressed back.

"I love you, too." Jeff whispered back, reaching up to push Nick's dark colored hair from his green eyes.

"Always?" Nick asked, reaching up to run his fingers through Jeff's soft blond hair, tugging at a few locks when his boyfriend smiled at him once again.

"Always."

Kurt had been surprised when he had gotten the text about the Warbler meeting. He didn't think they would of included him in their decision process, but he had went and told his story. The sophomore in question had given him an angry look throughout the whole thing, making him slightly nervous. Jeff had seemed to notice though and after a look from the blond the other quickly diverted his gaze.

The senior council members had left a few minutes ago to discuss, leaving Kurt in a room full of Warblers who were either staring at him or the other boy who had caused the whole mess. A few of the other sophomores seemed to be encouraging their friend through whispers and nasty glances in his direction, making him grateful that he was currently sitting between Nick and Jeff at the moment.

"Don't worry Kurt, there's no way he'll get off so easy." Jeff reassured Kurt, making the other smile with his own goofy grin

"Yeah, more than likely he'll be suspended for a few days." Nick said, reaching out slowly to pat Kurt's knee gently.

Kurt nodded, glancing over to where Pavarotti and his cage rested on the little table beside the much longer and wider one the senior council had just been using. Was that really all that would happen? Would Pavarotti be placed back in the other boy's careless hands?

Kurt had been mentally fretting over his audition. He shouldn't have agreed so easily, he knew that. He just couldn't help the sick twisting in his stomach when he thought about the little bird going back to the same person. If he was handed down to the newest member by tradition then that would mean he himself would get the little bird if he did make it into the Warblers. Honestly he really didn't know why he cared about the bird so much. Perhaps it was because the other boy didn't, or maybe the fragile creature reminded him of his days at McKinley. He knew that the bird wasn't being shoved into lockers or thrown into dumpsters or any of the other things that he went through, but the bird was going through something like he had.

No one seemed to care. The boy's friend had given the bird an annoyed look in the courtyard as well as if the bird was nothing but dirt, like he wasn't a living breathing creature locked up in a cage where he had to depend on other people to take care of him. Clearly they weren't caring for him, so was the bird suffering? Was it underfed or sick? How long had the bird been alone? Did anyone ever talk to him?

Pavarotti had cheerfully tweeted back to him earlier when they had been sitting on the piano bench together. Had he been the only person to talk to him since the other boy had taken him? If so, he knew painfully well how lonely that could be. Couldn't animals die from being lonely like that?

Those thoughts had swirled around in his head throughout all his classes for the rest of the day, distracting him from listening and causing him to forget that it was Mercedes' day to make her usual call. He had ended up telling the girl about his audition and strangely enough she had offered her help. How could Kurt refuse when she did? He didn't know anything about auditioning and she had promised to bring someone who would be able to show him how and help him pick a song. Of course she had made him promise not to tell David she was coming to Westerville the next day because then the boy would want to spend time with her when she needed to be helping Kurt.

He was still staring blankly at Pavarotti whenever Wes's gavel banged loudly throughout the room, causing him to jump and Jeff and Nick to place a hand on his shoulder to clam him. He shrugged them off before looking up into Wes's face hopefully, Blaine was standing to the side of the table, a dark look set on his normally cheerful face. What was wrong?

"We have come to a decision, Randal will you please step up?" David said, turning a few pages over that were resting in front of him. He began to scribble something across the sheet of paper he had found before looking up. "You will be suspended from Warbler activities for the next three days." David began, getting cut off by the boy in question when he opened his mouth to speak again.

"It's just a stupid bird!" Randal called out as he glared at David, his friends standing up to support him with a few shouts.

Kurt couldn't believe what the other boy was saying. He had left the poor bird out in the cold where it could of died or something close to it. His hands clenched into fists where they rested in his lap as he listened to Randal continue.

"Are you really going to suspend me over something so pointless as that?" Randal asked, smirking when his small group of friends made noises of agreement.

Pointless? Stupid? Kurt didn't want to hear it! The bird was much more than that, especially if the Warblers used him as their mascot, why couldn't he see that?

"It's just a stupid fag."

Karofsky's voice rang in his ears then and it was the last straw. He stood up quickly, surprising Nick and Jeff who had been glaring at the underclassman the whole time.

"Kurt!" Nick whispered, trying to grab the taller junior's hand. Jeff also tried but Kurt was quick, especially when he wanted to be.

"He's not stupid!" Kurt said hotly as he walked up to the younger boy, facing him with straight shoulders and a lifted chin. "He's not pointless either since he's clearly more intelligent than you are."

"Excuse me?" Randal shouted, stepping closer into Kurt's personal bubble.

"Kurt-" Wes began but was cut off by said junior speaking up yet again.

"You heard me. A smart person would just take the suspension gracefully and not make a huge fuss about it!" Kurt said, stepping back when the other took another step closer.

"You have a big mouth, but you're nothing but a little girl!" Randal snapped, lifting his arms to give Kurt a rough shove backwards which in turn caused a flurry of movement around the room.

Kurt stumbled back on his feet but managed to keep standing, slight fear pooling in his belly as the other started in on him again, but someone got to Randal before he could come much closer and surprisingly it wasn't Nick or Jeff who had been making their way towards him, but Blaine.

Blaine cut Randal off, using his own hands to shove Randal back, the force strong enough to send the younger boy to his butt on the floor. He ignored the surprised look on the sophomore's face, glancing over his shoulder to Kurt. "Are you alright?" he smiled when Kurt nodded slightly, his bright blue eyes wide.

Randal stood up again, anger flashing behind his eyes as he looked at Blaine. "Getting your boyfriend to fight your battles for you, Hummel?" he said, not expecting a blond blur to come out of no where to punch him in the chest, hard.

"You fucking asshole!" Jeff shouted, going in for another punch even as Blaine and Nick grabbed him. Randal had coughed for a moment but was now standing straight, ready for action as well. The rest of the boys in the room were either getting up to help hold the two apart or standing to the side eyeing the whole thing warily.

"JEFF, RANDAL, I WILL HAVE ORDER!" Wes yelled over the commotion in the room, standing up and banging his gavel to get the room's attention which thankfully seemed to work.

"Compose yourselves gentlemen!" Thad called out, watching as Randal and Jeff finally stopped sending death glares to move away from each other.

Kurt looked up at Jeff nervously as the blond, Blaine, and Nick looked over him worriedly. "I-I'm fine." he said softly, not letting them touch him. He really couldn't believe the three of them had stood up and defended him so quickly. Was this what it meant to have people care about you? His attention was brought back to the present when he heard the bird that this whole thing was about twittering loudly and flying around in his cage.

"We can't do anything to Kurt for his actions because he doesn't belong to the Warblers as of yet." Wes said, watching as said junior walked up to Pavarotti, the bird quieting and calming once Kurt pulled the cloth over the cage. "However, I call a vote for Jeff Sterling and Nick Duval to be suspended for three days as well."

"What?" Jeff called out, giving Wes a disbelieving look along with Blaine.

"That's all that asshole gets for punching me?" Randal called out quickly, glaring at Blaine next. "What about Blaine?"

"Blaine only shoved you." David said quickly, ignoring the disgruntled look the sophomore gave him. "All in favor?" he called out, all but Blaine raising their hand in agreement.

"Nick didn't do anything!" Jeff spoke up, glaring right at Wes. "You're going to punish him and not Blaine?"

"I agree with Wes." Blaine finally said, looking at his two best friends with a confused look. He didn't know what was going on but he really didn't like it.

Wes banged his gavel down once again, causing silence to fill the room. "Our vote is final." he said before shuffling a few papers. "Randal Mauve, Jeff Sterling, and Nick Duval are here by suspended for three days." he continued looking up to catch Kurt's worried gaze. He felt bad with what he was about to say but he couldn't stand to see himself loosing Kurt's talent. "All but one council member has voted in favor of giving Randal another chance in keeping Pavarotti. Once his suspension has lifted, he is free to take him into his care again."

Kurt blanched, noticing the smug look Randal sent his way. He stepped up to the long table, gaining the council members attention. "You can't be serious, Pavarotti will be dead within a week!" he said, not pulling his hand from the warm that had grabbed his because he knew exactly who it was and to be honest he really needed Blaine's warmth at the moment.

"Mr. Hummel, this is clearly none of your affair since you aren't even apart of the Warblers." Thad sniffed, gathering his things up as Wes and David glanced at each other.

"The only way Pavarotti will be removed from Randal's care will be if we find him in another situation like we have here, or a new member joins the Warblers." Wes explained, not paying attention to the twin glares sent his way by Jeff and Nick.

Kurt looked down once again, hearing chairs scrape against the floor and hushed whispers as people began to leave the room for the day. He felt Blaine's hand squeeze his, calming down before looking up at Wes once more. He couldn't believe all but one had voted on giving the bird back to Randal and he had a feeling the one who did oppose it was currently holding his hand.

"Ah, wait!" Wes called out, stopping the few Warblers that were walking out of the door. "We have an audition on Thursday, so be sure to be here to cast your vote. Trust me you won't want to miss it." he said before stepping from the table, leaving the room with the others.

Soon enough the only people left were Kurt and the three other Warblers who were silent. Kurt turned towards Nick and Jeff, an apology on his lips but Nick cut him off with a sudden hug. He tensed but didn't push his friend away, instead he leaned his head against the other's shoulder. "Nick I-"

"Don't you dare." Nick whispered, pulling away to smile at Kurt. "That was really brave, Kurt." he said, stepping back and leaning against Jeff when the blond put his arm around him.

"Yup." Jeff said, grinning when Kurt shot him a worried look. "What?"

"I'm so-" He was cut off by Nick's raised eyebrow. "I mean, I didn't mean to get you suspended too." he whispered sadly.

"Kurt, we knew the risk." Jeff said with a shrug. "We did it because he was going to do the same to you if no one stepped in, which by the way hobbit." Jeff began, a smirk crossing his lips as he looked at Blaine who was still staring at Kurt's face with a furrowed brow. "Who knew your short legs could move so fast."

Nick rolled his eyes, glad when an amused sound left Kurt at Jeff's joke. He glanced at Blaine, smiling again at the worried look the older Warbler still held. When Kurt glanced in his direction he gave a little smile which seemed to relax Blaine's shoulders. Perhaps Blaine and Kurt were good for each other after all.

"I…I got to go." Kurt said, giving Blaine a long look before glancing towards the covered bird cage. He left the room soon after, not bothering to look back.

Blaine sighed and ran his fingers through his gelled curls, wincing when his fingers got caught for a moment. "Nick, Jeff I'm sorry you both got suspended and I didn't." he said, looking to his friends who were watching him closely.

"It's okay, Wes has been being a major ass as of late." Jeff said, glancing to Nick, continuing when the shorter junior nodded. "Actually, we need to tell you something."

"Is this about Kurt?" Blaine asked immediately, taking a seat on the couch next to Jeff as the blond pulled Nick into his lap.

"Of course." Jeff said with a smile.

"Though I won't promise you won't want to fry Wes after what we tell you." Nick said, taking a claming breath before he began. He was well aware of the comforting hand rubbing against his back, wishing for all he was worth that Kurt might have Blaine doing the same for him one day.

Rachel Berry had been Mercedes' surprise guest which had almost sent Kurt running in the other direction. Instead the girl was actually pleasant and even helpful after Mercedes had convinced him to stay, causing him to rethink his original opinion of the girl. She was still Rachel though, just toned down enough to where she could actually sing with him instead of trying to take over like she did with everything else. When they had finished both girls had stared at him for the longest time, making him extremely nervous.

"Boy, why didn't you ever try out for New Directions?" Mercedes asked, still staring at her friend in awe.

"Does Finn know you can sing like this?" Rachel demanded, her dark brown eyes trained on Kurt's face as well.

"No, well I don't think so?" Kurt said, looking away as he felt his cheeks flush. "I've sang In the shower before but I don't think he ever heard me." he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Hold up." Mercedes said, walking closer to Kurt and tilting her head back so she could continue to look in his face. "I still don't understand why you never auditioned for New Directions?"

"I know you were scared of my obvious talent but New Directions could of made a place for you in a heart beat." Rachel said, smiling towards Kurt when the boy looked away.

Mercedes turned towards Rachel with a disapproving look. "Girl…" Mercedes warned, satisfied when the other girl opened her mouth only to shut it afterwards with a soft click. "I guess what we're asking is why you want to join the Warblers when you never had anything to do with New Directions?"

"I guess I'm just trying to start over…" Kurt trailed off for a moment, knowing it wasn't a complete lie at least. "On everything." he continued, happy when Mercedes quickly changed the subject when Rachel clearly wanted to expand on the last one. He sent her a grateful look before he and Rachel went through Don't Cry For Me Argentina once more.

After practicing the song for a few more hours Rachel finally relented and allowed them to leave Dalton's large auditorium where they had been practicing. They had then managed to sneak Mercedes around the school without David catching her.

Even though he had told Rachel he would use the song they had practiced over and over he still had his doubts. It just didn't feel right to him when he continued to practice it on his own. So with worried thoughts and a reluctant google search later he found himself in a pile of music, no closer to agreeing with a song when he only had the rest of the night to choose and practice.

That's where Blaine had found him, sitting in the mostly unused room their dorm building had, nervous and scared for his audition the next day. If the other boy hadn't found him that night, he would of never found the song he had been looking for.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked as he walked into the small study room, surprised to see Kurt hunched over a desk. "What are you doing in here all alone?"

Kurt looked up finally, licking his dry lips before answering. "I can't find the right song." he whispered, flipping another sheet of paper over before glancing to the screen of his laptop. "If I can't find the right song I might not be able to help Pavarotti and then I don't know what I would do because-"

"Whoa, Kurt calm down." Blaine said, slowly walking up to the panicked junior, gently pushing the laptop screen down. "You aren't going to find anything like that." he said, pulling up a chair beside Kurt and sitting down. "Do you have any idea what direction you want to go in?"

"No." Kurt said quickly, reaching up to rub at his face. "I don't even have a genre, all I know is that it has to be perfect because Pavarotti is on the line and I just can't let Randal have him Blaine. I can't." he mumbled, looking down to his lap as random lyrics continued to play through his jumbled mind. A warm hand suddenly grabbed his, causing the odd flutters to begin in his stomach before he looked up to meet Blaine's gaze.

"Kurt, you have to sing from the heart." Blaine whispered, reaching out to brush the end of his finger tips of his free hand against Kurt's chest. He smiled again when the other took a calming breath. "You have to go into this audition singing something that really shows how you feel, not what you think people want to hear." he said, rubbing his thumb across the top of Kurt's hand. "Just relax and listen to a few songs until one picks you."

"Is that what you did?" Kurt asked, smiling when the grip around his hand tightened slightly.

"Yes."

The door on the other side of the room opened, pulling Kurt from his thoughts of the last two days. When he saw Wes grinning at him happily, his nerves began to spike again. Hearing the excited voices on the other side of the door really didn't help him either. Maybe he couldn't do this after all. "Wes I really don't think I can do this…"

"You'll be great Kurt, besides do you really want Pavarotti to go back to that sophomore?"

"No…" Kurt answered, knowing he had to do this for Pavarotti after Wes had mentioned him.

"Come out when you're ready and we'll start your CD." Wes said before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

Kurt swallowed slowly, pacing across the floor yet again. What if he messed up or forgot the lyrics? What if he froze on the spot, not able to continue? What would happen to Pavarotti then? Knowing he couldn't mess up was only making his nerves worse. When his phone buzzed in his pocket he almost ignored it thinking it was either Rachel or Mercedes who had both been texting him a lot recently. Knowing it would eat up even a second of time caused him to reach in his pocket for it anyways, a smile lifting at the corner of his lips as he read the unexpected message.

The door to the room opened again, Wes's head poking in. "Coming?"

Kurt nodded, pushing his phone back in his pocket before taking a deep breath and walking out the room. Even with the bit of encouragment he had just received the room full of Warblers still seemed daunting, freezing him in his tracks just outside the door. They continued to stare at him with Blaine, Nick, and Jeff giving him encouraging smiles that really didn't help. Only the small twittering of Pavarotti in the silent room seemed to break through, letting him move into the center of the room where he nodded at Wes to begin the CD.

Kurt looked into Blaine's eyes as the song began to play throughout the room, deciding that if he only looked at the other boy throughout his performance he might be able to pull it off somehow.

Kurt took in another deep breath, actually closing his eyes and turning from Blaine as the small instrumental break began. He couldn't expect the other boy to stand in front of him during all the Warbler performances just so he could sing. No, he needed to do this by himself for Pavarotti's and his own sake.

He began to walk around the room, trying his best to ignore the looks Randal and his group of friends sent his way. Instead he focused on the easy smiles some of the older Warblers sent him, finding comfort in the fact that they weren't booing him out of the room yet.

Somehow he had managed to walk around all the boy's as he continued to sing, coming back to Blaine once more. The smile the shorter boy gave him when he looked at him gave him the extra push of confidence he needed which caused the trembling in his hands to stop and his chin to tilt up.

It felt as though Kurt's eyes were locked with Blaine's and he couldn't move as he continued to perform. Was Blaine really hearing the words of the song? He was after all the one who had told him to sing from his heart. Mentally he begged that the curly headed prefect would understand the meaning behind the words somewhat, never noticing the sad looks he was receiving from Nick, David, and Wes.

Finally Kurt managed to look away from Blaine again, his attention focusing on the little bird who was currently tweeting along with him. He couldn't forget what he was doing this for. He just had to make it into the Warblers.

Kurt closed his eyes as he listened to the rest of song play out, his hands clenching at his sides when he heard a few chairs scrape against the marble floor. Then suddenly they we're clapping. He opened his eyes to see everyone clapping and cheering for him, besides Randal who was practicallu sulking in the corner of the room while even his friends clapped with the rest of the Warblers.

"Kurt, that was amazing!" Jeff called out, punching the air excitedly as the others either clapped harder or whooped louder in agreement.

"It was beautiful." Blaine whispered when he walked close enough for Kurt to hear. He noticed the wide eyed, shocked look Kurt wore and gently pushed him to a couch to sit. He scowled when Nick took the only spot open next to Kurt, though he knew it wouldn't matter since he was about to be pulled to the front of the room with the rest of the council.

"Alright, alright!" Wes called out after a few minutes, banging his gavel down to quiet the room. "We have heard Kurt Hummel's voice today in his audition." he began, standing from his chair with a smirk on his face. "We shall begin the voting unless of course someone protests?" he said, scanning around the room, noticing Randal wasn't even stupid enough to cause a problem. "Good, good!" he said happily, raising his hand to the air. "All in favor of Kurt Hummel joining the Warblers raise your right hand."

Kurt couldn't believe that almost every hand shot into the air, the one exception being Randal of course. When Wes called for votes against him Randal didn't even raise his hand. He watched as Wes sat back down in his chair, lifting his gavel once again.

"It's decided, welcome to the Warblers Kurt." Wes said before yet again banging his gavel, more cheers and clapping broke sounding throughout the room.

'Congragulations, Kurt." Nick whispered to his friend, gently squeezing Kurt's knee to pull the other from the shock that he was obviously in.

Kurt smiled at Nick slightly before standing up and moving in front of the long table. "Pavarotti?" he asked hopefully, glancing towards the chirpping bird hopefully.

"Of course." David said before standing from his chair and walking towards the small table that held Pavarotti and his cage on top. He picked it up carefully before walking up to Kurt, slowly handing it to the junior. "As tradition you are now responsible for Pavarotti, the Warblers mascot." David said, smiling again when a bright smile covered Kurt's face. "It will be your job to care for him and make sure he's present at each meeting and practice."

Kurt nodded, still smiling down at his new feathered friend. He looked back up to Dave then to Wes. "Can I go now?" he asked hopefully, cheeks flushing when the rest of the senior council either laughed or chuckled.

"Of course, I'm sure Nick and Jeff would be glad to fill you in on everything you are expected to be as a Warbler." Wes said, noticing that Kurt left immediately with Pavarotti, not even waiting for his other two friends to follow. He Didn't miss how the other two shot him dark looks before disappearing out of the door behind Kurt. "Dismissed." he called out to the other Warblers who left happily as they chattered about their newest member.

Wes hadn't really noticed how fast the room empited as he gathered up his things, but when he turned around only to have Blaine facing him with no one else in the room his stomach dropped.

"We need to talk." Blaine said darkly, leavning no room for argument with the tone of voice he used.

Preview: "I'll miss you."

"Blaine, it's only a week." Jeff called out, laughing when the shorter boy sent him a dark look.

"Let poor Kurt enjoy his Thanksgiving in peace." Nick added as he walked past the other two.

Kurt smiled as he watched Blaine frown, reaching out to take the other's hand. "I'll miss you too."