"Ouch!" David moaned, rubbing the back of his head where Wes had found the need to smack him. He shot him a look, his eyes narrowing. "There were like, ten other people laughing at you, too, Wes." he mumbled.

"You were the closest. And really, David, I would think you would know better by now." Wes snapped with an arched brow, turning to Kurt, who was watching the interaction with wide eyes.

"We actually met earlier, Blaine. Wesley was the one who showed him and his family to his room." David said, grinning while he dodged the next swipe to his head. He took a few steps away from the short Asian, doing a mental victory dance. Thank goodness he wasn't in a Warbler meeting. He doubted he could dodge Wes's gavel that easily there.

Kurt heard the laughter, but what he heard wasn't the goodhearted laugh that friends share between each other that filled the room currently. When Wes had raised his hand to smack David, Kurt had froze, his eyes glazing over as memories swirled to the front of his mind.

'Move it, fag!' a person with a red and white jersey shouted angrily. Suddenly, a large hand connected to the back of Kurt's head, sending him face first into a row of red lockers on the left side of the hall. A loud, resounding crash bounced off the walls when his face smashed against the cold metal.

He sunk to his knees, holding his throbbing head between his hands as his vision blurred. Laughter filled the air as he stumbled to stand back up again, the rest of the jersey-clad boys kicking the dropped shoulder bag and sketch book across the hall as they walked by, causing papers and sketches to fly wildly through the air.

A few looks of pity were sent in his direction as other students passed, but no one offered to help steady him as he leaned against the lockers or gathered the papers that had started to flitter to the other side of the hall.

"Kurt!"

Kurt jumped, looking around wildly to find a classroom to duck into when he found worried hazel eyes looking into his own. Realization slowly dawned on him then that he wasn't at McKinley, but at Dalton, where the zero-tolerance rule was in effect, and where no one would ever wear a white and red jersey. He felt his hands trembling from where he gripped the arms of the chair he was sitting in and looked away from the warm gaze, a blush crawling up his neck to lightly dust his cheeks.

"Are you alright? You were kind of staring off into space." Blaine asked, moving back a bit now that he had gotten Kurt's attention. It was a little alarming to see the boy so still and unmoving. If he hadn't known better, he would of said the boy wasn't even breathing.

"You must be pretty tired to space out like that." Blaine said, noticing the blush that had settled on Kurt's cheeks. He couldn't help wonder what the rest of Kurt's hidden skin looked like flushed the same delicate pink. He shook his head slightly, ridding his head of the inappropriate thoughts. He reached out to pat the boy's hand to comfort him, finally noticing the shaking.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly. "Your hands are shaking like crazy!" he whispered, picking up Kurt's right hand and holding it between his larger ones.

Kurt snatched his hand from the warm hands encasing his own and shook his head, thinking rapidly as he did.

"I'm just cold." he bit out through clenched teeth.

"Oh, it does get cold in here sometimes." Blaine said, nodding in understanding, a bit disappointed that Kurt pulled his hand away.

" I prefer to be called Wes, by the way, if you haven't already gathered that." Wes interrupted as he grabbed Blaine by his elbow, pulling the boy back a bit to let Kurt breathe. The boy looked breathless and paler than he was when he had met him earlier. Perhaps he was just missing home. Most of the freshman he had helped over the years looked a bit like Kurt did during their first few weeks at Dalton.

David had also walked up, wanting a closer look at the boy. He had to admit the boy was something to look at, and if he wasn't aware that he was straight and wasn't dating the most amazing girl to walk the planet, he would have a go at the boy himself.

"I prefer to be called King of the Twinkies." David mocked, trying to replicate Wes's tone of voice, which caused several boys in the room to go into stitches. He ignored Wes's famous glare, knowing he would regret the comment later, but found he really didn't care when he saw Kurt smiling despite the bad joke.

"Twinkies?" Kurt asked softly, looking up at David from his seat. He had never heard that expression before, and he had to admit, the sight of David wearing a large Twinkie costume with a crown and scepter seemed pretty amusing.

"Yeah, I mean who wouldn't want to be with all that creamy goodness?" David asked, grinning as the boy smiled a bit brighter.

"Sooooo many jokes just came to mind, David!" Jeff called out in a sing-song voice from a sofa a bit further into the room. Nick was sitting next to him, curled into his side.

Blaine had a hard time holding back his own snort as he pulled up a chair to sit next to Kurt's, crossing his legs to where his ankle rested against his knee. Wes and David quickly followed suit, sitting in a sort of circle around the newest addition to Dalton.

Soon the other boys that were sitting in the room were chatting amongst their own groups, some even leaving the room all together to find friends from the other dorm buildings or set out for the weekend away. This, of course, caused Kurt's anxiety levels to drop since he was no longer the center of attention.

"The only thing you will ever be King of, David, is idiocy." Wes remarked, regarding his friend with an amused expression.

"Or procrastination." Blaine chimed in, grinning at David.

"I expected such scathing remarks from Wes, Blaine, but now you have turned on me too?" David asked through a slight whine, causing Blaine to chuckle softly and Wes to shake his head.

Jeff was bouncing with excitement, and it was only Nick's hand on his wrist that actually kept him grounded. He resisted the urge to whine. It was really, really hard not to pull away and run to Kurt and smother the adorable boy.

Thad knew something was off with Kurt. He just knew it. The way he jumped at loud noises and the way he looked over his shoulder every few minutes wasn't normal. He glanced to the other students for a moment, trying to see if someone else noticed. Wes and David seemed intent on studying him and trying to create a casual conversation, so hopefully they got the off vibe that was currently rolling across his shoulders. Blaine didn't seem to notice anything, with that goofy grin plastered on his face. What was with the way he was acting? He had just met Kurt!

Thad huffed and opened the book he had brought with him, curling up in the arm chair to continue reading from the paragraph he left off on. Why should he care if Blaine was all goo-goo eyed at the new kid? He would lose interest in a few weeks anyway, since there didn't seem to be anything special other than the quirky personality he was portraying.

David sniffed loudly before looking back to Kurt who seemed to be a little more at ease around them. He grinned, a gleam in his light brown eyes.

"You won't follow them into their evil ways and betray me right, Kurt?" he asked, sticking his lip out a bit and widening his eyes to add to the affect.

Kurt was surprised when David started talking to him as if he was on equal footing with the prefect. Wait, was he really asking his opinion on something? No one his age had ever cared about what he thought before. He looked into David's face seeing wide brown eyes and jutting lip, his heart melting a bit. What would it hurt? It seemed like David really wanted to know.

"I…I think you would be the best Twinkie King that ever existed, David." he said quietly, a small smile tugging at his lips when David gave him a full out grin. He felt his cheeks warm and reached up to quickly scrub at them, trying to wipe them free of the embarrassing pink hue.

"That's it!" Jeff cried out from the sofa as he stood up quickly, almost causing Nick to topple to the floor, and startling Kurt who nearly jumped out of his skin.

"He's too cute! I can't take it any more, I just gotta get him once!" he shouted, starting to run toward Kurt. The innocent boy sat staring wide eyed at the advancing blond.

"Jeff, don't!" Nick called out, trying to catch the boy's arm but missed, grabbing thin air instead.

Kurt finally snapped out of his daze and stood up quickly, the chair falling backwards and hitting the tiled floor with a loud clack.

"NO!" he screamed out in panic, turning and running for the entrance hall, his mind going at a hundred miles a second. He should have known! Nothing ever went right. People would always hate him! Why had he let himself think that maybe things would be different here?

"Kurt? Stop, Kurt!" Blaine shouted, running after the panicked boy.

Kurt ran as fast as he could up the stairs, tripping a few times when the top of his shoe scrapped the side of a step. He made the mistake of looking back when he heard his name called, causing him to loose balance and fall over himself.

Luckily, if you would count this morbid twist luck, he had enough practice falling up the steps of McKinley's staircases that he was able to catch himself with his hands on the steps below him before he broke his neck.

He paused there, trying to catch his breath, jumping when he heard shoes stomping across the tile. He rolled back on his feet and began to run up the rest of the stairs, ignoring how desperate Blaine's voice sounded when he called out to him.

"Stop Kurt!" Blaine called out breathlessly as he watched the taller boy spring back on his feet from his spot on the stairs. He ran faster when the boy bolted up the remaining stairs and down the hall to where his room was.

'GET HIM!'

Kurt gasped as a familiar voice shouted over his pounding heartbeat. No…he wasn't here. Kurt was safe here…Dalton! Karofsky wasn't at Dalton!

'Hurry! Get him before he slinks away again!'

Kurt had to stop a few doors away from him own room to catch his breath, not hearing Blaine run up behind him over his panting.

Blaine skidded to a stop just behind the boy, also taking in a few lung refreshing gasps before speaking again.

"Please just stop, come on…" Blaine begged, watching as Kurt twirled around in panic.

"Ku-"

"Just leave me alone Blaine!" Kurt snapped, backing up towards his door and plunging his hand into his pocket to pull out his key card.

"It was just Jeff being stupid, Kurt! He didn-"

"Just go away Blaine, and tell your friends I don't want anything to do with them!" Kurt cried out, choking back a sob before shoving his card into the door handle, flinging the door open and slamming it behind him, the lock clicking before Blaine could get to the handle.

"Kurt!" Blaine called out again, banging on the door loudly. He pressed his ear onto the white wood, listening for any signs of distress, but he got nothing but eerie silence from the other side.

By now, most of the doors on the senior floor were cracked and people were peeking at the scene, some even being as bold as to stick their head completely out to openly gawk.

"What are you all looking at?" Blaine snapped, not getting the satisfaction he wanted from the doors that slammed quickly when the onlookers were caught.

He backed up and looked down at the carpet. He had just heard Kurt's voice clearly for the first time, and the beautiful counter tenor had told him to leave. He felt his heart clench painfully at the realization and looked up at the door again before glaring determinedly. He turned on his heel and stomped down the hallway toward the staircase. After all, he had a blond to fry.

Kurt whimpered as he paced back and forth beside his bed. His head was swirling and he felt sick in the pit of his stomach. He jumped at the pounding on his door but ignored it in favor of grabbing a pillow and running into the bathroom. He slowly crawled into the large tub, hugging the pillow and pulling his knees to his chest. He finally let out a strangled sob into his pillow, a little scream coming from the back of his throat that was diminished from the amount of fluff his head was buried in. Another memory slammed across his mind when Jeff's words repeated in his head.

Kurt ran. He ran as fast as his long legs could carry him. He should of known being dropped off in front of the school was an ill omen. He should of gotten his dad to drop him off in the back so he could sneak through the cafeteria entrance like he normally did.

He heard the shouting in his ears, praying that if the god that other people believed in so much would show himself one way and save him once, just once! He would go to church every Sunday, read a chapter of the bible every night before bed, and make this praying thing a normal ritual.

Kurt cried out when large arms wrapped around him, flinging him over a hard shoulder. "Please! Don't! Just, Please!" He begged, kicking his legs and pounding his small fists into Puckerman's back.

The teen just laughed, carrying the struggling body towards the dumpster. "I don't know why you make this harder on yourself." He said, grinning as his buddies pumped their fists in the air when they saw Kurt flung over his shoulder.

He stepped closer to the dumpster before flinging him in and slamming the lid shut, grinning when Karofsky laughed, hopping on top and sitting on the lid as Kurt began to beg. Puck hopped up next to him, banging on the lid below him as a few other football players hopped on as well to make sure Kurt couldn't get out.

Kurt sobbed, banging and clawing at the lid above him. Something wet and cold was seeping through his shirt as he laid across trash bags. There was only a small space between him and the lid, it growing smaller when the lid dipped under the boys' combined weight.

'Please let me out!' He screamed, kicking and punching the lid. He couldn't stand closed off spaces and he could hardly breathe as it was.

Kurt rocked back and forth slightly in the bathtub, hugging the pillow tighter to his chest. Tears dripped down his flushed cheeks and he sniffled softly.

Kurt's finger tips burned horribly as he clawed at the lid of the dumpster. Did something get on his fingers that stung? He couldn't tell in the dark. He had lost his voice sometime ago so now he was just desperately kicking and clawing at the lid.

'Is this where all of you have been?' Finn asked, watching the guys bump fists as a loud kick came from the dumpster. His brow rose and he glanced up at Karofsky.

'Who do you have in there now?' he asked stiffly. He really hated it when the rest of the guys did this, especially to that poor Kurt kid.

'The princess himself!' Puck called out, grinning triumphantly as a strangled cry was heard from inside the dumpster.

'Dude! How long has he been in there?' Finn demanded, stepping forward.

'Why, Hudson, wanna save your boyfriend?' Karofsky taunted, a few sniggers and 'ooooh's were heard from the other football players.

'Man, this isn't funny! Let him out!' Finn said, walking closer.

'Or what, Hudson?' Karofsky sneered threateningly , squaring his shoulders in an attempt to imitate the taller boy.

'I'll tell coach, and he'll kick you off the team for a few games!' he said, glancing towards the dumpster pointedly.

Karofsky just snorted and slipped off the top of the dumpster. 'Whatever, Hudson.' He practically growled, shoving past him with the rest of the football players in tow.

Finn hurried to the dumpster, throwing the lid back. He winced in sympathy when he saw the bloody fingertips. He held out an arm and the shorter male took it weakly, letting Finn pull him off his back and to the ground.

Kurt looked down at his hands, his nose wrinkling in disgust as he felt whatever had gotten all over his back trickle down his legs. He turned toward Finn, watching him closely.

"Thank you." he said, his voice hoarse from all the yelling he had done earlier.

'Whatever, dude, just don't tell anyone else that I helped you out.' Finn said gruffly before walking off back to the football field.

Finn was the only who had ever saved him from the football players. It was kind of funny since he was one himself. Maybe that glee club that he had joined made him do an act of kindness a day or something. Whatever it was, Kurt never forgot.

Kurt sniffled again, scrubbing his face in an effort to dry his cheeks. His luck had been gracious to him again, by making the only boy he had ever had an interest in his stepbrother within the next six months.

He leaned his head back weakly, staring up at the ceiling, which was, of course, white. He sighed before shakily getting up and walking out of the bathroom. He walked across his room and curled up under the blankets, not even bothering to change. He hid his face in a dry pillow before finally passing out from pure exhaustion. Emotions, it seemed, were a bitch.