Waking up is awful. I hate the sunlight, the grogginess, the morning breath, and the freshness of it all. Once I’m awake, I can feel everything as if it were a new sensation, like I was being born again. That also meant that my bruises felt new to me every morning. Every morning I would re-live the pain of Karofsky’s teeth sinking into my skin. Then, my mind would rewind and replay the events leading up to that and after that. I’d go to the bathroom to shower to get my mind off of it, but then once I looked in the fogged up mirror, the memories resurfaced. If only I could make myself forget, then maybe, just maybe I could finally be okay with people being so close to me. I don’t want them to stay away. I don’t like being alone. I like having friends, but it’s difficult to make new friends when you don’t want them touching you or asking you too many questions.

I got dressed in my uniform. The grey slacks, tie, and blazer were all so new to me. I mean don’t get me wrong. I love dressing up, and looking absolutely flawless, but I felt like I was wearing a suit for a job interview or a funeral or something way more important than school. I sighed staring at myself in the mirror that hung on the back of my door. I looked so tired, but at least my hair was perfect today. A cup of coffee would definitely wake me up. Even though it was only 6:30am, I still wanted to go to the cafeteria to see if they had coffee and if they were even open this early. I loved how Jeff called the cafeteria heaven for fatties. He says it should be complete with our own personal “fat Jesus,” but I doubt the school would allow something so strange. I kind of agree with him though. It was huge. It had a salad bar, a fruit bar, a pizzeria, a substation, a Mexican station, a Chinese station, an ice cream machine, a desert bar, and a grill where you asked for anything that could be grilled and they’d grill it on the spot right in front of you. It was ridiculous, and the best part is that you only swipe your I.D. card once and go back for as many seconds as you could hold. It was like the world’s largest buffet. It’s a wonder why everyone’s not fat.

I opened my door and my nose was instantly filled with the smell of coffee, glorious coffee, medium roast. I followed the smell like a lost puppy, and it led me into the kitchen. There he was, Blaine dressed in a Dalton hoodie and plaid pajamas, making the best smelling coffee ever.

“Morning,” I said.

He yawned, opening his mouth extremely wide. “Morning, Kurt,” he said, embarrassed. “Sorry about that. It’s just so early.” He yawned again.

I giggled at his effort to contain his yawn. His arms stretched out wide this time. He pulled one arm up to his face trying to cover his mouth. “It’s alright. You look cute when you yawn, full force like that.” I didn’t say that out loud. I couldn’t have. No, I didn’t. The stare on Blaine’s face said otherwise. He turned his head around eyes wide in shock, cheeks completely red.

“I, um, thanks,” he said. I looked away from him trying to avoid his eyes, and we stood in silence for a moment.

“So,” he finally said, “you’re an addict.”

“Excuse me?” I said confused.

“A coffee addict,” he laughed. “You have to have a cup every morning or your day will be awful right?”

“Oh,” I said, “well then, yes, I am. How did you know?”

“You mean besides from the way you were staring at the coffee pot when you walked in?” he asked smiling.

“Good point,” I said. “I need coffee more than food or money or air.”

He laughed. “Well, you’re welcomed to have a cup.”

“Thanks,” I said as I walked over and started pouring myself a cup.

“Speaking of food,” Blaine said, “Wes usually comes down around this time and cooks us all breakfast if you want to join.”

“But the cafeteria is open for breakfast,” I said. “Why not just go there?”

“Nobody really wants to walk across campus to the cafeteria for breakfast, especially since the school building is closer to the dorms than the cafeteria,” Blaine explained.

“That makes sense, actually,” I agreed, turning to face him. I noticed his hair wasn’t gelled down like it normally was. It was so free and curly. I liked the way some of the dark brown curls fell on his forehead a little longer than the rest of his hair. He noticed me staring and immediately threw his hood on over his head.

“Oh my gosh,” he said, turning his back towards me. “I completely forgot I hadn’t gelled my hair down yet or gotten dressed. I feel ridiculous now, standing next you. You’re already dressed in your uniform and everything, and I’m just a mess.”

I smiled at how flustered he was. I reached out and pulled the hood off of his head. He turned around quickly to face me with a confused look on his face. “It’s fine, Blaine,” I said. “It’s really early, so of course you’re not dressed. As for your hair, I actually kind of like it better this way, rather than gelled down.”

He looked down at his coffee mug blushing again. “Um, thanks, Kurt. No one’s ever told me that before.” He slowly looked up at me right into my eyes. I immediately blushed and turned my head. His eyes really were gorgeous. And that look he had was to die for.

Wes busted into the kitchen with a bring smile on his face. “It’s cookin’ time!” he shouted. He was already dressed for school and wearing a different apron over his clothing. This time it was a navy blue color. It didn’t have lace or anything, but there was a white bunny with a pink bow in its ear sewn onto the front of the apron. I have got to find out where this boy gets these aprons.

“I wasn’t interrupting anything,” Wes asked walking over to the cabinets. “Huh? Was I? Were you two about to… ya know? Were you? Were you? Were you?!”

“Oh my gosh,” Blaine whispered completely embarrassed. “NO! No, Wes we weren’t about to do anything.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I wish we were about to do something. Wait, no I don’t. I can’t. I don’t have time for that. I just need to get out of high school without any drama, and hopefully, nothing will happen to me again.

Nick came in fully dressed with a briefcase like bag mumbling, “Morning.” He headed straight for the coffee pot. He either wasn’t a morning person or just didn’t get any sleep at all. He looked very neat, just tired. He waved at us without even looking as he walked out of the door.

“Don’t mind him,” Jeff said, coming into the kitchen yawning. “He’s just got a lot on his plate right now.”

“Oh,” I said, concerned. “Is school really that difficult here?”

“Oh, no, Kurt,” Jeff answered. “You misunderstood me. It’s not the curriculum here that has him stressed, even though it is difficult. It’s college stuff. Even though he and I are juniors, Nick has so many colleges after him. He constantly has meetings with them because of perfect grades.”

“Yeah,” Wes said, “he literally has Ivy Leagues fighting over him.”

“Yup,” Jeff said, “Once he picks one, he can’t change his mind on them because that would show him as rude and not able to make a commitment. And he would have to maintain his perfect grades and perfect everything all the way through senior year to show consistency. It’s awful. He’s afraid to make any mistakes.”

David had walked in while I was listening to Jeff and patted Jeff on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about him. He’s fine. Nick works well under pressure, and his grades will continue to be perfect because he’s a super genius.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Jeff said.

“Wow,” I said, finally. “I had no idea he was under so much stress.” I hope it doesn’t get to him. Was the flashback he had in the dressing room the other day causing him stress as well? Or maybe it was because he was stressed that he had the flashback. I’m not sure. Jeff seems so worried about him. I know I told Nick that I would keep his secret, but I’m worried about him, too. Maybe I should let Jeff know about what happened.

I felt a hand grab my shoulder. It was Blaine looking at me with troubled eyes. “Hey, don’t worry about it. David’s right; Nick’s a super genius, so he will be fine. He really does work well under pressure.”

“Oh, yeah,” Jeff said looking at me while grabbing a chair. “I’m just worrying too much. We’ve been besties for years, so I always look out for him. You guys are right though. He’ll be fine.”

I was still a little worried, but they say it’s normal for him to be this way. I’ll take their word for it. I looked over at Wes who was happily flipping pancakes by flicking the pan up, watching the pancake flip over in the air and land perfectly in the center of the skillet. “You must really love cooking, Wes,” I said smiling at him.

He continued working on breakfast and answered, “Yeah, I do! It’s so much fun and takes my mind off of all this school work.” He made a face in disgust at the thought of school.

I laughed. “Well, you know, if you just went to a culinary arts school, cooking would be your school work.”

He suddenly stopped flicking the pan and placed it down on the stove, gripping it tightly. “Oh, no,” he said, “I could never be a chef. I’ve already turned in my early admission application to Yale. I’m going there to study English, and then going to law school.” David, who was standing next to him, ruffled his hair a bit and whispered something to him.

“Oh,” I said, confused. He clearly loved cooking so, why not just be a chef? I was going to ask, but he looked upset so, I didn’t pry. Plus, I was interrupted by David anyway.

“Hey, new kid,” he said, turning to face me. “What’s your schedule looking like this year?”

“Yeah,” Jeff said. “I wanna see!! You transferred in the middle of a semester so, your classes must be awful.”

I pulled out my schedule from my jacket pocket. I opened it up to read it, but Jeff came out of nowhere and swiped it from hands. He ran back over to the table where David and Wes had gathered to look at my schedule. I felt a sting on my index finger, and noticed it was bleeding. Jeff must have given me a paper cut. Blaine noticed it too because he grasped my right hand, licked the blood off of my finger, and kissed it while looking up at me. “There, all better,” he said with a smile.

I would have thought that was completely disgusting to lick my blood away like that, but it was Blaine, and it was completely amazing. Sure enough, I didn’t feel a thing anymore. Blaine is going to make settling into this place unnoticed very difficult. I just don’t want to draw too much attention to myself here. I’m sure dating Blaine would do just the opposite of that, plus he’s probably just being a good friend. I’ve never had a good friend so, I might just be misreading his friendliness into something more. Blaine was just being nice.

“Hey, Blaine,” Jeff called from the table. “I think Kurt has a class or two with you maybe lunch even!”

Blaine rushed over to the table full of excitement. “Holy crap! You’re right! From lunch onward, we pretty much have the same schedule, Kurt.”

I walked over to the table to see what the fuss was about. “Oh, cool, so which class after lunch don’t we have together?”

“Art,” he said sadly. “You have Art while I have Biology II, and we don’t have any morning classes together.” He put on the cutest sad face I’d ever seen.

“Don’t worry about it, Blaine,” I said. “We have lunch, history, algebra, and chemistry.”

“Yeah, Blaine,” Jeff said. “Stop hoggin’ up all the Kurt time. I only get to see him at lunch if I don’t have art work that needs to be finished.”

“Kurt,” Wes asked, slowly, “why are you in my advanced French class?”

“Oh,” I said, looking away shyly, “that’s because I requested a higher level French class. I’m fluent in French. They made me take a test and have a conversation in French with the teacher, and she said she was okay with having me in there.”

“Wow,” Blaine said surprised, “that’s pretty amazing.”

“Not really,” I said, blushing.

“Okay, enough with all of that gushy stuff,” Jeff said. “Why do you have Advanced English with Nick? You must have a pretty high ACT score in English for that.”

“I just like to read,” I said honestly. “I took the ACT for practice and I guess my score in English was pretty high. I requested to be in the regular English class for sophomores, but they moved me into that class after they saw it in my records. They told me it would be better.”

“Weird,” Blaine said, “Nick’s a junior super genius and you’re in his class. That’s crazy.”

“No, Blaine,” Jeff said. “it’s not. Nick’s English class is one of the English classes you can take your Junior year. Nick is actually going a normal pace in his English classes.”

“Ohhhh,” everyone said. I, however, let out a sigh of relief. From what I heard today, there was no way I would keep up in a class with Nick.

“Aww,” David said, “I’m the only one without a Kurt class.”

I laughed. “A Kurt class?” I asked. “Well, you are a senior so, I didn’t expect to have one with you.”

“But you got one with Wes!” David whined.

“That was just chance,” I said. “Don’t worry, we will eat dinner together.”

He smiled at that. I looked down at my watch. “Well, it’s 7:30, so I’m going to head over to the academic building and try to find my class.” I grabbed my schedule and bag and headed out of the door, but stopped. I looked at them and they all just sat down at the table while Wes gave them their pancakes. “Why aren’t you all worried about getting to class on time? You’re not even dressed.”

“Theater is my 8 o’clock, and it’s cancelled today,” Blaine said taking a sip from his coffee.

“Seniors get two whole free periods!!!” Wes shouted almost dropping the plate of pancakes.

David grabbed the plate from him and set it safely on the table. “Yeah, Wes and I chose to not have an 8 o’clock or a 3 o’clock.”

“I’m a junior so, I only get one free period, and I chose 8am so I could sleep in,” Jeff answered. “But that was before I knew that Nick would have an 8 o’clock and wake me up anyway.”

Thad slowly came into the kitchen wearing only green pajama bottoms and just stood in the doorway. His eyes were barely open, and he looked so angry. “Would you all, please, shut the hell up? Some people are sleeping, just F.Y.I.” Then, he just turned around and left. A few seconds later we heard a door slammed.

All the boys just laughed. “Yeah, Thad, being a senior decided to opt out of having an 8 and 9 o’clock,” Blaine said. “Don’t mind him, Kurt. He just really likes his sleep.”

“Oooh,” I said, “well I guess I’ll see you all later.” I headed out of the door for good this time.

“Hey!” Jeff shouted after me. “Since you and Nick have an 8 o’clock together, you should coax him into walking there with you some mornings.”

“Good idea,” I said smiling at Jeff. “Thanks.” I doubt Nick would be okay with that though. He seems like a loner or something. But I guess that’s what people thought about me at my old school. He probably just likes to keep to himself. Nick has already seen what I’m hiding, sort of, and I kind of know one of his secrets too. I feel like I should get to know him more, but I don’t want him to pry about how I got my bruise. I don’t know. Maybe, he won’t ask. At least Nick will keep my thoughts away from Blaine and his gorgeous eyes and hair and smile. I lifted my finger up and stared at it. Great, he’s all I can think about now.

I walked up the stairs of the academic building to my English class. The classroom was rather large for the little amount of students there. Instead of desks, there were square tables. There was enough room for two or three students to sit at each table. I saw Nick sitting alone at a table in the very front so I sat next to him. He looked at me confused, so I explained to him how I was in his class since I’m a year younger.

“Oh, cool,” Nick said surprised. “Maybe you could help me out in this class.”

“Whatever,” I said while pulling out my book. “You and I both know that you don’t need mine or anyone else’s help in any class.”

“Ah,” Nick said smiling, “you’ve been talking to the boys about me, but, Kurt, there’s a reason I take it slow in English.”

I looked at him completely confused, and he just smiled at me. The teacher walked in quickly slamming her rather large briefcase onto her desk. She eyed me through her black rimmed glasses. “You must be the new student, Kurt Hummel, right?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “How did you know?”

She turned back to her desk, unloading her briefcase. “Well, that is because most students don’t sit next to Mr. Duval.” Her eyes turned to Nick who just looked outside the window.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“Because when their grades suddenly sky-rocket, I assume that they’ve cheated off of him,” she said calmly. “So, to avoid a trip to the principal’s office, students avoid the seat next to him. I suggest you do the same.”

“Oh, well, that’s silly. I’m content where I am. I consider Nick a friend, and would never do that to him. I would rather fail than cheat on a friend. It’d haunt me until the day I died,” I told her.

“I admire your morality, Mr. Hummel,” She said carefully. “We will see if you stay true to what you’ve said after today’s pop quiz.”

I just smiled at her taking out a notebook and pen as she started teaching. I noticed Nick staring at me with a questioning look on his face. I don’t blame him. I’m surprised myself that I would say that to her, but really? It was a bit ridiculous that I shouldn’t sit next to Nick because I would be tempted to cheat off of him. That’s strange. I’m not a cheater and I’m slightly offended by her offer to change seats.

The teacher handed out the pop quiz at the end of lecture. It was on Pride and Prejudice. Who hadn’t read Jane Austen’s complete works at this school? Was this supposed to be an easy A? The questions were even less difficult than I thought. She asked simple questions about the plot line and asked a short answer about Aristocratic Marriage. I answered them all a bit too quickly for her liking, but I didn’t care. I even got done before Nick, which made me worry. I grabbed my things and decided to wait outside the classroom for him.

“Kurt!” Wes yelled as he hugged me from behind. He squeezed me so tightly that it hurt.

“Wes,” I hissed, “please let go.”

“Say the magic words,” Wes said into my back. Oh my gosh, this is ridiculous. If I wasn’t still covered in bruises then, this would be adorable and comforting after that class.

“Wes, let go of him. He’s probably not in the mood for your …well you-ness,” Nick said.

Wes let go of me and apologized. He turned back to Nick and said, “Wow, you of all people are at a loss for words.”

“Oh hush,” Nick said irritated. “I just didn’t get enough sleep.”

“Oh that explains why Kurt finished his quiz before you, Nicholas,” Wes teased. “Looks like somebody has got some fierce competition.”

“Wes, why are you here?” Nick asked.

“Because even though I’m mad at you for skipping breakfast, we always walk to the Language hall together,” Wes said. “Kurt’s coming , too!”

“What class do you have, Nick?” I asked as we headed towards the Language classrooms. Wes stood in the middle of us grasping our arms and began to skip.

I laughed and Nick let out an annoyed sigh. “German II,” he said. “What about you?”

“He’s got French III with me!” Wes yelled, answering for me. I just smiled at him. He looked so happy. “It’s going to be amazing, Kurt! You can sit next to me. We can do the partner exercises together. We can share notes when one of us isn’t paying attention and everything. It’s going to be so much fun!”

“Wes,” Nick said, stopping and unlatching his arm from Wes’s. “You don’t have to shout. Kurt and I are not outside nor are we far away from you. We are standing right next to you inside of an academic building where in some classrooms breathing is not permitted.”

“Don’t ruin his fun, Nick,” I said looking at Wes who looked completely hurt by Nick’s comments.

“Sorry, Wes,” Nick said. He looked really sorry and also very tired. “So, how did you end up in advanced French, Kurt?”

“He’s smarter than you, that’s how!” Wes said. “Come on, Kurt, let’s go grab our seats.” Wes grabbed my arm.

“Wait, Wes,” Nick said. “Look I’m really sorry. I’m just grumpy because of the lack of sleep. But to be fair you are extra energetic and loud today, any particular reason?”

“Oh, David let me have coffee today,” Wes said, looking away.

“Ah,” Nick said. “Just so you know, Kurt, when Wes says ‘coffee,’ he means a cup of cream and sugar with a hint of coffee in it. Wes on sugar is awful.”

“Oh,” I said looking at Wes who was still looking away. Well, today was going to be fun.

“Let’s go, Kurt,” Wes said quickly. “Bye, Nick. See you at lunch!!!”

Wes shouted the last bit as though Nick was walking away, but Nick was clearly still standing next to us. Nick walked away and caught up with Jeff. Jeff probably came out of the classroom because he heard Wes’s shouting. Apparently, Nick and Jeff had German II together. Jeff waved at us from down the hall. Wes practically jumped up and down waving when he noticed Jeff. I think I’m starting to envy Wes’s happiness. How is it that he could smile all the time? Even when Nick sort of scolded him for yelling, I could tell he wasn’t really upset. Maybe some of that would rub off on me.

Wes and I walked into the classroom and grabbed two seats near the front. This class was wonderful. Compared to Mckinley’s advanced French, it was heaven. I got Wes for a short partnering conversation. He was so full of energy, and happy. At some points he was talking so fast that I had to ask him to slow down, in French, of course. I loved how, here at Dalton, everything you said had to be in French even if you had to go to the bathroom. I’m beginning to like this place.

When class ended, Wes and Nick headed to meet David for Calculus and Jeff said he had to head to the art room to finish up a project before class started. So, I was left by myself to go to lunch. Jeff saw how sad I looked and patted my back a little too hard reminding me that Blaine had lunch with me. Although I cringed at the pain from my back, I smiled at the thought of having lunch with Blaine.

I headed to the cafeteria and there he was, sitting outside the cafeteria doors waiting on me. He looked flawless. His curls gelled back making his honey-colored eyes stand out even more. He looked up at me and smiled a smile that made me freeze in my tracks.

Blaine’s POV

Kurt was finally here. I bolted out of my previous class just so I wouldn’t miss him. I’m sure he would have waited for me. I wasn’t 100% sure if he was one of those people that just goes in and gets their food and starts eating without you, or if he was one of those people that goes in to save a table by putting their stuff down before getting their food, of if he was one of those people that goes in gets the table and then waits for you to get there and then you go get your food together. So, I decided to wait for him outside the doors.

He just stood there for a moment looking absolutely adorable. I walked over to him, not knowing what to say so I blurted out in a sigh, “Kurt.” I’m an idiot.

He just smiled at me and said, “Blaine.” I loved his smile. I think he noticed that was staring at him so he finally turned toward the doors and said, “So lunch…”

“Oh, right,” I said. “Food.” I grabbed his hand and walked quickly into the cafeteria, dragging us both over to the sub shop. “I think I’m going to eat an entire sub today. I’m starving. What about you?”

“Um, I…” Kurt stuttered. I looked over at him, and he was looking down at our hands. I was still holding his hand tightly. I let go of it immediately, completely embarrassed.

“I’m sorry about that, Kurt,” I said. “I didn’t mean to…It just happened.” I didn’t know what to say. Was I supposed to say, ‘I’m sorry, Kurt, but I just didn’t want to let go of your hand because it fit so perfectly in mine’? No, I wasn’t because that was completely cheesy and weird.

“It’s fine,” he said. “I think I’m going to get a salad though.”

“Oh okay, I’ll meet you over there at that round table,” I told him pointing to the table under the window a few feet from us.

“Alright,” he said as he walked away.

I got a turkey sub and headed to the table. I watched Kurt examine the salad a few times before he finally decided to grab a plate. Why doesn’t he have a boyfriend? It’s a wonder. He must have had plenty of boyfriends though. He’s probably way more experienced than me too since I’ve never had a boyfriend. Sure, I’ve been on a few dates, but none of them led to a relationship or anything. It’s probably my fault since I’m awful at romance to begin with. I might be out of Kurt’s league. Hell, I might not even be his type. He’ll probably be too busy for a boyfriend anyway. I shook my head. First, I needed to get to know him better, then, I could worry about that stuff.

Kurt headed towards the table staring at me with his stunning blue eyes. It was so sexy. This is getting ridiculous. Kurt is my friend and he thinks of me as a friend, nothing more.

“Hey,” he said as he sat down. “Sorry I took so long.”

“It’s okay. We’ve got a good hour to eat so, I’m in no rush,” I told him.

We began eating silently, avoiding each other’s eyes. “So, um, we have history next, together,” he said slowly.

“Yup,” I said. Gosh, this is so awkward. I have no idea what to talk to about. I can’t stop thinking about his eyes or his hair or him. What if I blurt out something awful?

“I hate history,” he said stabbing his salad. “It’s so boring. I could barely stay awake in my old history class.”

“I’m sure I’ll find a way to keep you awake,” I said looking at Kurt who smiled. Crap. There it is: the something awful. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just have trouble staying awake too, and maybe we could text or pass notes or something. Not that I do those things during class, but I wouldn’t mind it with you…so…”

Kurt laughed. “Blaine, it’s fine. I know what you meant.”

“Right,” I said. Kurt took a big bite of his salad and got ranch on the sides of his mouth. I laughed. “Kurt, you’ve got some dressing on the corners of your mouth.”

He used his tongue to lick the entire perimeter of his mouth making sure he got all of it. This was going to be the longest day of my life.

When we got done with lunch, we headed over to history. Kurt and I grabbed two seats next to each other near the back of the classroom. The teacher decided that today would be the perfect day to show a documentary on Abraham Lincoln’s Presidency. I don’t know about Kurt, but I was definitely going to have trouble staying awake.

The movie got about fifteen minutes in and I could barely keep my eyes open. I felt my phone buzz.

Havin trouble stayin awake sleepy head ? –Kurt

I looked over to my left at Kurt who sat with his legs crossed looking over at me sticking his tongue out. Could he be anymore adorable?

A lil bit lol thanks for keeping me up ;) – Blaine

No problem you should pay attention though because he said there would be a quiz at the end of class –Kurt

Shit you’re right I’ll try –Blaine

Well you’re gonna have to stay awake without my help from now on because I can’t fail the first history quiz I ever take at Dalton that would look terrible! –Kurt

Good point sry I’ll try my best to stay awake –B

You better ;) – Kurt

I looked over at Kurt who put his phone away and started watching the documentary again. He was concentrating so hard, bouncing his leg over his knee. He even took notes. The teacher turned the lights on after a few moments and passed out the quiz. When I got my quiz, I realized that all I had done the entire class period was watch Kurt. I hadn’t paid any attention to the film at all. Shit.

Algebra was next. On the way to class Kurt kept a good distance from me, but I didn’t think too much of it. I was too wrapped up in how I was going to focus in this next class. But I love math, and nothing could distract me from that. What can I say? I’m a nerd when it comes to math, science, and music.

Class went by smoothly until she called Kurt up to the board to solve an equation. Kurt took the chalk and folded his arms thinking very hard about what to write. Even his thinking face was cute. This is awful. Kurt can never be called to the board ever again because I’d fail this class too. I’d be thinking about how cute he is and how whenever he looked at me his eyes warmed my heart. What am I going to do? I mean I couldn’t just avoid Kurt, and I didn’t want to. I actually wanted to spend lots of time with Kurt but hopefully outside of school. This was going to be a difficult job. A hand shook me from my thoughts. I looked around and the entire classroom was empty.

“Earth to Blaine!” Kurt shouted.

“Huh?” I asked.

“Class is over. You have to go to Biology now…” Kurt said slowly.

“Right, sorry,” I said. Great. Kurt probably thinks I’m mental or something. That’s definitely giving me some points in the possible boyfriend material category. I opened the door for Kurt and lead us to the art hall.

“Blaine, don’t you have Biology next?” Kurt asked.

“Yeah,” I said, “but I wanted to walk you to Art.”

“Oh,” he said shocked. “Um, thanks. That’s really nice of you, Blaine.” He thinks I’m nice. I’m glad.

Biology was a bore. Without Kurt in this class, I had to take notes and, well, pay attention. I had another freaking quiz , too! On this one, I’m pretty sure I did quite well. I needed something to focus on so, I wouldn’t think of Kurt, so I focused on the biology teacher. A lot of the guys think that the Sophomore biology teacher was really hot so it was hard for them to concentrate. I, however, never had that problem. My grades are amazing in here. She even congratulates me on how well I’m doing sometimes. Her bending down and accidentally brushing her breasts over my shoulder to help me in lab exposing her cleavage doesn’t distract me at all. I’m so glad I’m gay. Those straight guys really don’t stand a chance in here when she does that.

I got done with my quiz early so I decided to walk over to the art hall and see if Kurt was almost done too. Kurt didn’t really seem like the type to be into art. Of course, Jeff was the only other artist I knew and his drawings were a bit disturbing. His sketch books were full of stills from class, scenes from books, people fighting, girls he had seen in passing, and lots of naked women. I’m sure that Kurt drew more interesting things than that.

Kurt came out of the class surprised to see me. “Blaine,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“Escorting Kurt Hummel to his next class, of course,” I replied.

He smiled. “Thanks, but you don’t have to do this. It would be a pain for you to walk all the way from the science hall to the art hall and then back to the science hall.”

“I don’t mind,” I said to him. “Plus, it’s your first day here, and it should be memorable.”

“Thanks , Blaine,” he said.

“So, what made you take an art class?” I asked as we began walking to Chemistry.

“Oh, um, I like drawing clothing designs and such,” he said looking down while clutching his sketchbook. “I draw designs for suits, dresses, casual wear, and things of that nature in great detail. It’s what I want to do for a career.”

“Wow,” I said, “that’s really cool. One day you’ll have to let me see what kinds of things you see people wearing in the future.”

He smiled. “Okay, I will.”

Chemistry wasn’t as distracting as my other “Kurt classes.” We all had to sit in alphabetical order so that the teacher had an easier time taking attendance. He explained that this way he didn’t have to waste precious time calling roll. Since Kurt was new and his last name began with an ‘H’ and not a ‘Z,’ half of the class had to shift over a seat for him. The teacher explained that although today we wasted 10 minutes with the movement, we all saved many more minutes by making the shift. Since my name began with an ‘A,’ I just watched the other students move seats while Kurt stood awkwardly at the back of the classroom. After listening to the teacher rant, I hope Kurt realized that the students’ glares and groans were directed at the anal teacher and not him. The lesson, today, consisted of the teacher bombarding Kurt with random questions about his knowledge of chemistry. He would start a sentence about gas laws or something, and then, immediately ask Kurt if he had covered that at his previous school. Of course, Kurt answered him with a polite ‘No, sir’ after every question, but it started to piss me off. He really didn’t have to treat Kurt so rudely on his first day here. When class ended, I walked abruptly out of the classroom.

“Hey,” Kurt said to me as he came out. “Why’d you rush out like that? I thought you had left me. Are you really in that big of a rush to get to dinner?”

“Oh, no,” I told him. “I wouldn’t leave you. It’s just that guy was such a jerk to you.”

To my surprise, Kurt just laughed. “Not really. I’ve had to endure much worse than that, whatever that was. Is he always this anal?”

I smiled. “Yes, yes he is. Everything must be perfectly neat.”

“This is going to an interesting class,” he said as we headed to the caf.

“Yeah,” I said, “make sure you staple your homework at the top left hand corner or you will be deducted points.”

“Are you serious?” he asked.

“Unfortunately, yes I am,” I said shaking my head.

There was a guy jogging towards us who looked like he was about to be late for his next class. He rammed right into Kurt’s shoulder knocking him down. Kurt looked so shaken up. The guy reached his hand down to help Kurt, but Kurt didn’t even notice it. Kurt just sat there staring into space.

“Hey,” I said to the guy, “just go ahead to class and watch where you’re going next time.”

“Okay,” the guy said. “Tell your friend I’m really sorry, and I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

“I will,” I told him as he ran off.

I kneeled down beside Kurt. “Kurt, are you okay?”

He had tears in his eyes. I reached my hand up to his cheek to wipe away a tear. As my hand got closer, he immediately swatted it away yelling, “Stop!” He looked up realizing that he had yelled. “I’m sorry, Blaine. I didn’t mean to do that. I’m fine, I just…I have to go.” He got up and dusted himself off quickly and sprinted in the opposite direction of the cafeteria.

Where was he going? Was he really okay? Why did he just run away like that? What just happened? Kurt left me in the floor with all of those questions unanswered and full of worry.

“Hey, Blaine,” I heard Jeff say. “What are you doing on the floor? And why did Kurt just run away from you? Did you say something to hurt his feelings?”

He reached down to help me up. As I stood, I was still in deep in thought when Nick said, “What happened exactly?”

“I don’t know,” I answered. “We were talking about Chemistry, and then, this random guy bumped into him knocking him clean over. He just kind of freaked out after that saying he needed to go. He looked so upset. Maybe I should try to find him.”

“Yeah, maybe you should,” Jeff agreed.

I started off in the other direction after Kurt when suddenly Nick grabbed my shoulder. “No, just come to dinner with us. He probably wants to be alone right now.”

I gave Nick a worried look. “But what if he’s not okay? What if he needs to talk to someone about it? What if—”

“Blaine,” Nick said, “Kurt knows where to find us if he needs to talk. Plus, he has all of our numbers. You can go check on him after dinner.”

“You mean after Warbler practice,” Jeff interjected. “Wes will murder you if you’re late.”

“I can’t wait that long,” I whined.

“Blaine, leave Kurt be,” Nick said dragging me to dinner. “You haven’t eaten since 11am, so I know you’re hungry.”

Nick opened the doors to the cafeteria and the smell of spaghetti and meatballs flooded my nostrils. My stomach growled instantly. “Fine,” I gave in, “but after practice I am heading straight to Kurt’s room.”

“Wow, Blaine,” David said from behind me. “You two are moving kind of fast if you can’t stand to be away from him for two hours.”

I blushed. “Aw,” Wes said, “Blainey’s got a crush on Kurt. Look at how red he is!”

“Yeah,” Thad said, “Blainey’s fallin’ hard for his Kurt fellow. It’s a shame, too, because Kurt is way too cute for you in my opinion.”

“No one asked you, Thad!” I shouted wondering how long they had been listening to Jeff, Nick, and I. “I do not have a crush on Kurt! Something happened today so he’s skipping dinner, and I’m worried about him. So, I’m going to bring him some food and talk to him about it.”

Thad laughed. “Oh yeah, I’m sure Kurt will feel all better after he’s had Blaine’s burnt spaghetti.”

“Or his burnt Mac ‘n’ Cheese,” Wes said.

“Or his burnt ramen noodles,” Jeff said.

“Or his lovely burnt grilled cheese sandwiches,” David said.

“Shut up!” I yelled. “I was going to bring him a box back from the cafeteria, you jerks.”

“Oh,” Nick said, “well that’s probably best for him. You don’t want him getting sick.”

They all laughed. “I need new friends,” I said.

“You love us,” Jeff said.

“Whatever,” I said.

We started eating. Well, they started eating. I was stabbing my spaghetti thinking about what was wrong with Kurt. I hope he just went back to his room, and wasn’t lost somewhere or in the library or something. Why did Nick think he needed to be left alone at time like this anyway? I wouldn’t want to be. But, Kurt is more similar to Nick that whole being alone aspect. He seems to keep his distance from everyone. Why? We weren’t going hurt him or anything? Had someone hurt him before? I’m over reacting. I just needed dinner and Warbler practice to go extremely fast today, so I could find Kurt.

Wes’s phone starting playing “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha. “Okay, everybody!” he shouted. “Time for Warbler practice!”

“Wes,” Jeff said, “it’s only 4:20pm. Practice starts at 5pm. Why do we have to go so early?”

“I have to be there first because I am head of the council, and I require that the other council members, Thad and David, to be there earlier than the other members as well,” Wes answered proudly.

“Okay, but why do Nick, Blaine, and I have to come early too?” Jeff asked.

“Because,” Wes said, “we’re all already eating dinner together, and we are all headed to the same place after dinner so we might as well walk together. It’d be so weird just to leave you all here. Plus, don’t you like walking with me? I’m fun. I hum and skip. David says it’s cute.”

“Yes well, we aren’t David,” Nick said.

“Don’t be mean to Wes, Nick,” Jeff said ruffling Nick’s hair.

“Sorry, Wes,” Nick said.

“It’s fine,” Wes said. “Let’s go!”

Much to only Wes’s delight, we headed to the music practice room for practice. Wes entertained us by skipping most of the way and humming whatever random tune popped into his head. I’m pretty positive that one of the songs was “Barbie Girl” by Aqua.

As we approached the double doors, we heard music. Someone was playing the grand piano beautifully, and they had begun to sing as well.