You can do this, Hummel, he told himself sternly. �You have�to do this, so you can get out of Lima, get away from all the idiots who make your life hell right now, and get out into the real world.

His self-administered pep talk was rudely interrupted, first by the sound of loud, thundering footsteps echoing from around the corner, becoming louder and louder, and then by a short, curly-haired, Blazered madman. � The guy rounded the corner, sprinting, and made it almost ten feet past Kurt before he skidded to a halt and spun around.

“Ah. �Ah. Ah, there you are. Okay. Right. Come with me, please, and quick,” the man said, in a friendly yet insistent voice.

“I’m sorry?” Kurt said. He wasn’t about to go anywhere with this man. �Well, boy. He was dressed in what looked like a school uniform - but this was a college, Kurt thought - and what was he doing running around, anyway?

“You just need to come with me, now, if you don’t mind, otherwise - well, better not to think about the otherwise,” the man said, walking back towards Kurt and standing directly in front of him. He was shifting his weight back and forth between his legs, as if nervous, and kept glancing at the corner from which he’d just emerged.

“Who are you and why should I do what you say?” Kurt said, raising one eyebrow and fixing this insane man with his hardest of stares.

The man sighed and reached into his blazer’s inner pocket, before pulling out some sort of ID. He flipped it open and held it in front of Kurt’s eyes.

“Senior Ambassador to Potential Freshmen?” Kurt read. �It didn’t sound�that outlandish, and this guy was in a uniform�so maybe - maybe he was legit? �Kurt, still uncertain, studied the man’s face. �It was quite nice, actually, he couldn’t help but notice. �The eyes most of all, all hazel and warm and, at this exact moment, both honest�and pleading.

“We really�don’t have much time,” the man said again, and reached out his hand to Kurt. �Despite himself, Kurt stood up and took it. �Before he knew what he was doing, he was being dragged down the corridor at breakneck speed.

“Where are we going,” he managed to wheeze out as they ran. “And why are we running?” �and why are we holding hands,�was the question he didn’t actually ask.

“You can’t run away without the running part,” the man said, as if that was the obvious answer.

“We’re running away?”�Kurt asked, “I thought we were - late for something.”

“No, not late for anything, except perhaps not getting disemboweled. �Did that make sense? I don’t think it did. I’m bad at thinking while running, which is terrible, as normally it’s when you’re running you need to think the most. Right, yes, we’re running away from - well, you know giraffes? Sort of like that, but not really at all. �Spots, though. But no necks. Not really giraffes. �But they are angry�and we really don’t want to be caught by them so, quickly,” the man said, in a series of words that individually made sense, but strung together in that order made Kurt question both that man’s sanity, and his own sanity, as he was the one who had decided to let himself be dragged off by this idiot.

“Wait, wait,” Kurt said, stopping in his tracks. �The man stopped as well, but looked aggitated. “I’m not going any further until you explain exactly�what’s going on.”

The man looked around for a second, before spying a door. �He grabbed the knob, pulled it open, and shoved Kurt inside, before following himself and slamming the door shut behind them.

It was, in fact, a tiny janitor’s closet. �A pitch-black one, in fact, until a few seconds later when the light clicked on and the man was standing there, obviously pleased at the fact the had found the light switch.

“What are you doing?” Kurt said, becoming more and more hysterical the more ridiculous this whole situation was getting.

“Hiding, obviously,” the man said, reaching again into his breast pocket but this time, instead of a piece of paper, he pulled out a funny instrument. �It was long and slender and had a strange claw-like thing on the top.

Kutr was very worried about where this whole thing was going.

“Listen, I have to get back to my interview, so - “ Kurt said, his hand reaching for the door knob.

“DON’T!” the man shouted, so loudly that Kurt jumped. “Er, I mean, don’t,” he said, switching to a whisper. �“It’s not safe. �Hold on, hold on.” And he flicked some sort of button and the weird contraption started glowing green, the top clicking open, and making a strange high-pitched buzzing noise. �This continued for a few seconds - Kurt staring dumbly at it, wondering what the hell�was going on, before the man snapped the device shut, and studied it intensely for almost a minute.

“Ah.” �He said, after a bit.

“Ah?” Kurt responded, internally wondering to himself why the hell he was still in this closet with a clearly insane man.

“Well.” �The man said, looking sheepish and suddenly not meeting Kurt’s eye.

“Well?”

“I was slightly, er, less than correct. �I was off by a factor of, say, a hundred percent. �I was wrong, I suppose, is another way to put it. �False alarm.”

“False alarm?”

“Yes, false alarm. �You know, when you’re alarmed. �Er, falsely.”

“That’s not what - what were we running from? WHO ARE YOU? WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING IN A BROOM CLOSET WITH A GUY I JUST MET WHO IS VERY OBVIOUSLY INSANE?”�Kurt’s voice became higher and higher with each word, and by the end even he�was wincing.

“Well, I thought we were running from what I thought�was one of the spotted monsters of Alronici although, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not sure why it would be here on Earth, and perhaps it was just a large Dalmatian. �But better safe than sorry!”

Kurt just stared at the man dumbly, wondering what his damage�was, ranting about monsters and being ‘on Earth’, like there was some other option.

“Besides now I’ve met you, and that’s nice, isn’t it? New friends?” The man looked at him hopefully, apparently missing the half-terrified half-bewildered look on Kurt’s face.

“Who are�you?” Kurt managed to get out.

“Ah! I thought you’d never ask! I’m the Doctor,” the man said, extending his hand, then realising he was still holding his bizarre instrument, and so extented the other one, resulting in an awkward handshake between his left hand and Kurt’s and what was Kurt doing, shaking this crazy man’s hand, why hadn’t he left�yet?

“The Doctor? That’s not�a name,” Kurt said.

“Yes it is,” the Doctor said. “Because it’s my name. All the better for me if it’s not anyone elses!”

“But...” Kurt said.

“And you?” �the man said.

“Kurt, Kurt Hummel,” Kurt said. And why don’t you just give the crazy man your home address while you’re at it, the one remaining sane part of his brain piped up.

“So, Kurt. �Want to come on an adventure?” �the Doctor said, rubbing his hands together.

“An adventure?” Kurt said incredulously. �“I - have my college interview in - “ he looked at his watch. �“Oh god, in five minutes. I have to go,” he said, reaching again fro the door knob.

“I could have you back for it. I could have you back five minutes ago,” the Doctor said, as if it wasn’t a completely daft thing to say.

“That’s insane,” Kurt said.

“I have a time machine,” the Doctor said. �“Well, it’s spaceship as well, I wouldn’t want to sell it short. �Space and time machine.”

“You’re�insane,” Kurt said, but somehow a tiny fraction of his mind was believing�it.

“Come on, it’s just down the hall. �I’ll show you my spaceship, and if you still don’t believe me, then you can go off to your college interview and live a boring human life on earth,” the Doctor said.

“Spaceship,” Kurt repeated, as the Doctor flung open the door, grabbed Kurt’s hand, and started running down the hall again. �They rounded one corner, then two, and suddenly Kurt was face to face with what looked like a giant blue telephone box.

Or rather, Police Box, according to the words printed on the front. �But that wasn’t really worrying him that that exact moment. It was more the fact that the box was in the middle of a corridor in the Administration building of a college.

“See? Spaceship!” the Doctor said, as he pulled a key out of his pocket. �He shoved it into the lock, turned it, and pushed the door open. �He grabbed Kurt’s hand for the third time that day, and pulled him inside.

Kurt couldn’t believe his eyes. �He had to be - hallucinating? �Perhaps he’d finally gone insane from all the stress of college admissions that he’d actually cracked. �Maybe he was still asleep, and he’d wake up any second and he would never have met this curly haired man who apparently lived inside a blue box that was much much�larger on the inside. In a very much impossible way.

“Larger on the inside, yes yes, I know,” the Doctor said, before Kurt could point it out. �“Impossible, no, about as impossible as travelling through time and space.”

“Yes,” Kurt said faintly.

“So, in or out,” the man said. “I quite want to show you the three moons of Alvadaar - we can get there as they all set at once - but if you have something else�on,” the Doctor said, trying to look disinterested, but in reality he was looking hopefully up at Kurt through his eyelashes. �“I’ll pack a picnic?”

“Oh, of course, a picnic, that’s the selling point in the offer to go and see another planet,” Kurt said, wondering how he could possibly make a joke�at at time like this. �But hell - if he was dreaming, or hallicinating, or - whatever - why not�make the most of it? �So many impossible things had happened today already - why not sign up to see a few more?

“So?” the Doctor said.

“You can get me back in time for my interview?” Kurt asked.

“I can get you back in time for the Roman Empire,” the Doctor said, grinning, knowing�that Kurt had already decided.

“Well, who can say no to that?” Kurt said. �“On one condition. �I’m not calling you ‘The Doctor’, it sounds pretentious and kind of dumb. A little hipster-ish, actually.”

“But it’s my name,” the Doctor whined. “Well, mostly.”

Kurt fixed him with a hard stare.

“Fine, fine,” the Doctor said. �“I’ll fly the ship, you think of a name. �Do make it a good one, though. Nothing boring�or plain,” he said with a tone of distain. �Kurt would have to agree. This man was anything but�boring or plain.

The Doctor ran over to �the - central console? Kurt supposed, realising he didn’t have words�for half the things he was looking at. �The Doctor seemed to know the whole place back to front, though, judging by the way he was flipping switches and pulling levels and oh, suddenly the ground was jerking under his feet, and Kurt grabbed the metal rail behind him to stop himself from falling over.

“We’re just dematerialising!” the Doctor shouted at him, helpfully. �“It’ll only be a little but until we get there! How’s the name-brainstorming going?”

“Still thinking!” Kurt shouted back. �Nothing boring or plain. Boring or plain. �The words echoed around in his head, as he gripped into the metal bar with all his might, trying not to get motion sick, trying not to freak out�about this whole ridiculous scenario.

“BLAINE!” he said, suddenly.

“What?” the Doctor shouted back.

“Blaine! Not boring or plain. Boring, plain, Blaine. �I like the name, it’s yours now,” Kurt said, confidently.

“Blaine,” the Doctor said, as if trying it out. �“Blaine, Blaine, Blaine. �Hi, I’m the Doctor Blaine.”

“Just Blaine,” Kurt said quickly.

“Hi, I’m Blaine,” he said. �“Yes, I like it, I think. Blaine.”

“I like it too,” Kurt said.

“Ah! Okay, righto, we just need to land and...” the room started to make a straight whooshing sound, and it was shaking again, and then - stillness. �“Here we are!” he announced brightly, stepping back from the controls and walking over to the door.

“We’re - here?” Kurt said, in disbelief.

“We certainly are. �Kurt, are you ready to see a whole different planet?” �Once again, his hand was extended, waiting patiently for Kurt’s.

“Yes. �Yes, I am,” Kurt said, taking Blaine’s hand, and taking his first step into another world.