About ten minutes after Kurt fell asleep in Blaine's arms, Blaine lifted him up carefully and placed him on his bed. Blaine lightly brushed Kurt's bangs out of his face, remembering his own breakdowns and how exhausted he always felt after. It became obvious to him that Kurt was bullied for being gay, but he got the feeling that there was so much more to it. He lingered by the doorway for a moment, making sure that Kurt really was asleep before quietly walking out. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he was bombarded by his friends.

"Is he ok?" Nick asked.

"Did you talk to him? What was all that?" David asked.

"Does he hate me? Did I offend him? I didn't mean to!" Trent said.

"Guys, one at time." Blaine told them.

"Sorry B, he just freaked us out." Nick told him.

"I know. He freaked me out too." Blaine said quietly.

"So, what's up?" David asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. I found him having a panic attack. I think he was looking for something to use to cut." Blaine said sadly.

"Awe no!" Trent replied.

"Yeah. I don't think you offended him or anything; I think you made him remember something and that's what set him off." Blaine told Trent.

"I didn't mean to, really!" Trent said sadly.

"Why'd you ask him anyway?" David asked Trent.

"I think he's cute and I was curious." Trent said shrugging.

"Really Trent? Really?" Nick said in disbelief.

"What?! I'm sorry but it's the truth." Trent said. "Don't act like you don't he's cute too!" he said to Blaine who was shaking his head at him.

I don't think he's cute. I think he's beautiful.

"That's beside the point Trent." Blaine said with a small smile. "Listen, I'm going to get back in there. He kind of cried himself to sleep in my arms and he's probably going to want to talk once he wakes up." Blaine told them.

"Alright. Try and bring him to Warbler practice tonight. I think it'll be really good for him."  David told him.

"Yeah I think so too." Blaine agreed. "I'll talk to you guys later." Blaine said goodbye to his friends and quietly walked back in the room.

"What do you want?" Kurt asked venomously. Karofsky ignored his question and kissed him hard. Kurt used all his force to push Karofsky off, only angering Karofsky in the process. 

"What the fuck is your problem Hummel! Am I not good enough for you? Do you think you're better than me?"

"I am better than you and no you are not good enough for me! You're vile and disgusting and I would never be with you!" Kurt said angrily.

"Oh that's where you're wrong Hummel! I'm the only one that will ever touch you because everyone thinks you're a disgusting homo! But I know better." Karofsky said seductively, pressing his lips against Kurt's once more.

Kurt tried pushing him off once more but Karofsky was too strong for him. When he felt Karofsky's hand make its way to his crotch, a whole new panic set in.

"No! Stop!" Kurt yelled into Karofsky's mouth.

"Shut it Hummel!" Karofsky said as he grabbed Kurt's ass.

"This can't be happening!" Kurt cried.

"It is happening! Deal with it. Enjoy it." Karofsky all but purred.

"No stop! Oh God! Please stop!"

"Stop! Please! Stop!"

Blaine was sitting at his desk doing homework when he heard Kurt yell out.

"Stop! Stop!" Kurt yelled again.

Blaine quickly walked over to Kurt's bed and sat on the edge.

"Kurt?" Blaine said quietly.

"No! Don't!" Kurt said again.

"Kurt, wake up. You're dreaming." Blaine said but Kurt continued to thrash on the bed. "Kurt, wake up!" Blaine said louder as he shook Kurt slightly.

Kurt's eyes opened suddenly and he quickly sat up gasping for air. He took his surroundings in only for a second before attempting to get up.

"Kurt stop." Blaine said, keeping him in the bed.

"Let go!" Kurt snapped. "I gotta...I need..."

"To cut?" Blaine asked knowingly. "I'm not letting you and no one else here will."

"But...I just..." Kurt tried to come up an excuse that would make Blaine let him so he could find something, anything. I need to do it. Why can't Blaine get that?

"But nothing Kurt." Blaine said firmly. "Sing."

"What? I don't sing!" Kurt snapped.

"Yes you do. Sing, distract yourself. I'll even sing with you." Blaine told him.

Kurt was shaking but began singing. It only took Blaine a few seconds to recognize the song and started to sing along.  Kurt soon forgot to be self-conscious, he forgot about his dream, and instead he just sang. By the end of the song, he had stopped shaking and was even smiling a little.

"Better?" Blaine asked softly.

"Much. Thank you." Kurt said quietly. "I'm sorry for being such a hassle."

"Hey no!" Blaine said quickly. "You are not a hassle Kurt. You're a new friend that I want to help. There's nothing to apologize for."

"I just...I don't know how to...to..."

"Handle everything? I didn't either at first." Blaine told him. "Want to know my secret?" Kurt nodded and was taken aback by Blaine's smile because, wow. "I sang. I joined the Warblers and I sang. I still have to sing every so often to keep myself level. It's an everyday battle Kurt, but it does get better."

"Do you think I should join?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Yes I do, but only when you're ready." Blaine told him. "It helped me tremendously. I stopped having nightmares and I started to feel like me again. It could be the same for you."

"You had nightmares?" Kurt asked him.

"I did. My roommate at the time used to have to drench me in water to wake me up because I was so deep in it." Blaine said half joking. "If you hadn't woken up I would've done it to you."

"I would've stolen all your hair products to prevent you from ruining your hair if you did that!" Kurt quipped.

"Hey! There's nothing wrong with my hair!" Blaine said defensively.

"Oh please. If a bird landed on your head it would get stuck!" Kurt said sassier than he meant to. He immediately looked down, waiting for the backlash from Blaine; he was surprised when Blaine laughed instead.

"You've been here a day and you're already doggin on my hair. You are going to be just fine here." Blaine assured him.

Kurt looked back up at him to see that Blaine was smiling. He looked for malice in Blaine's eyes, but found nothing except sincerity. Kurt hadn't realized that he was smiling back at Blaine, but Blaine did, only making him smile wider.

"Come on. Let's go get some lunch." Blaine said as he stood up.

"Lunch? What time is it?" Kurt asked.

"It's a little after 12. I'm sure you're hungry, come on." Blaine told him.

"I'm...not actually." Kurt lied. He was hungry but he never ate. He had barely eaten in months though; despite the hunger pains in his stomach.

"Yes you are, don't lie to me." Blaine said knowingly. How the hell does he always know?! "Come on." Blaine said again, holding his hand out to Kurt. Kurt sighed heavily but took Blaine's hand nonetheless and let him lead the way.

Kurt followed Blaine to the cafeteria in silence. It was odd for him to walk down a school hall without being harassed. He figured that most of the boys were home for the weekend and he doubted that come Monday morning, he wouldn't get bullied. Then again, Blaine and Trent were both gay and they seemed to be happy. Maybe this school really would be different. Maybe he wouldn't have to worry about getting shoved into lockers. He might actually be safe there, but he really doubted it. It would take a miracle for him not to get bullied and he didn't believe in miracles; he lost faith in them when his mother died.

When they got closer to the cafeteria, Blaine stopped him for a moment.

"Alright so I should warn you before we go in there." Blaine said smirking. "The Warblers are...interesting to say the least. They're all really good guys but they tend to talk before thinking. Some of them get over excited but I promise they mean you no harm."

"...ok." Kurt said quietly. What the hell does he mean by that?

"You'll be fine, trust me." Blaine said with a small laugh and turned around to walk in.

Trust him?

Kurt followed Blaine into the cafeteria, keeping his head down in the process. He had been so worried about making any kind of eye contact that he didn't notice the tall blond until he ran straight into him.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! Please don't hit me!" Kurt said quickly as he braced himself for whatever the blond had in mind.

"Why would I hit you?" the blond asked. Kurt looked up at him and saw pure confusion on his face.

"I...just...I'm sorry." Kurt said quietly.

"It's cool new kid. No worries." He replied with a shrug. "I'm Andrew, but you can call me Beatz."

"I'm Kurt." Kurt replied.

"Nice meeting you Kurt. Watch where you're going next time." Beatz teased and walked off.

Kurt looked around for a moment and saw Blaine at the lunch line so he hurried over to him. He got himself a plate of food and followed Blaine to the Warbler table. There he saw David, Wes, Trent, Nick, and Beatz talking excitedly. He took the seat next Blaine and began eating his lunch quietly. The Warblers were talking about the upcoming sectionals competition, catching Kurt's attention.

"Come on guys, our competition is a group of elderly and those public school kids. We so got this!" David said confidently.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Kurt said unintentionally.

"Wait, what?" David asked. Kurt looked up to see everyone at the table looking at him curiously.

"I said I wouldn't be so sure. I'm sure you guys will do fine against the elderly group but I wouldn't be so confident against the New Directions." Kurt said quietly.

"How do you know about the New Directions?" Blaine asked him.

"I uh...used to be one of them." Kurt said cautiously.

"No way?!" Wes said excitedly. "Do you know what they're singing?"

"No. They change the set list faster than they change sexual partners." Kurt told them, making them chuckle slightly.

"Wait, so if you were in the New Directions, does that mean you're a good singer?" Beatz asked him.

"No, not really." Kurt answered quietly.

"I beg to differ." Blaine said smiling.

"Yeah, me too. You're a wonderful singer Kurt." Wes said.

"Thanks." Kurt shrugged.

"So why shouldn't we be so confident against them?" David asked him.

"Well, they may be a mess sometimes, but they're really good." Kurt said truthfully.

"Guess we'll just have bring our A game then." Wes said firmly.

"That we will!" David agreed.

The Warblers fell back into conversation while Kurt sat there quietly. It wasn't until Trent said his name that he looked up from his food.

"Hey Kurt. I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I didn't mean to offend or anything." Trent said sadly.

"It's ok Trent. You didn't offend me." Kurt assured him.

"So you don't hate me?" Trent asked hopefully.

"No I don't hate you." Kurt said a small smile.

"Ok good." Trent said relieved.

Kurt didn't say anything for the rest of his lunch nor did any of the Warblers try talking to him. They knew that Kurt was trying to adjust and they didn't want to scare him off. After he finished eating, he excused himself from the table and went back to his room.

Just as Kurt entered the room, his phone started ringing. He checked the caller ID and saw that it was his dad.

"Hey Dad." Kurt answered as he sat on his bed.

"Hey kiddo. How was your first night?" Burt asked him.

"It was good." Kurt told him.

"Good. How are you feeling?" Burt asked.

"I'm ok." Kurt replied.

"Good, good. Oh hold on, Finn wants to talk to you." Burt told him. 

"Hey Kurt!"  Finn said excitedly.

"Hey Finn." Kurt replied with a faint smile.

"Hey so like, have you met any Warblers?" Finn asked quickly.

"Seriously Finn? That's what you wanted to talk to me about?" Kurt said irritably.

"What? I'm just curious." Finn told him.

Kurt sighed and rolled his eyes before answering. "Yes Finn I've met several Warblers. In fact, my roommate is a Warbler, and no I'm not spying for you."

"Dude I wasn't going to ask you spy!" Finn said quickly. "I mean yeah, Rachel wanted me to ask you to but I wouldn't do that!"

"Right." Kurt replied with another eye roll.

"So like, are you going to join?" Finn asked him just as Blaine returned to the room.

"I don't know, maybe." Kurt told him.

"But if you join, we'll be competing against each other." Finn said sadly.

"I know that Finn. I'm still not sure if I'm going to join but I think I want to." Kurt told him, daring a quick glance over to Blaine who was watching him curiously.

"I guess it'd be good if you joined bro. If it means that you start singing again I say go for it. Rachel won't be happy though." Finn said laughing.

"Yes well, Rachel can get over it. I'm going to go. Tell my dad I'll call him later."

"Alright. Later Kurt."

"Bye Finn."

A few minutes after he hung up with Finn, he got several texts from his old friends about the Warblers. Jeez, Finn. Did you have to text everyone so damn quickly? Most were words of encouragement that Kurt couldn't help but smile at. While he never actually quit the Glee club, he had stopped participating. That should've told his friends that something was wrong with him, but it hadn't. They just thought he was tired of fighting Rachel for solos.

"I think that's the most I've ever seen you smile." Blaine commented.

"What? Oh, right." Kurt said quietly. Kurt's smile fell however when he read the text from Rachel.

"What is it?" Blaine asked him.

Kurt cleared his throat before reading the text Rachel sent him. "Kurt while I totally understand your desire to sing again I don't think it's a good idea that you join the Warblers. It will make you my competition and as friends I really don't think that's healthy. I would love for you to come to Sectionals and support us though!"

"Who sent that?" Blaine asked in disbelief.

"Rachel Berry. She's the lead soloist for the New Directions and she's really good about making everything about herself." Kurt said irritably.

"She doesn't sound very nice." Blaine said frowning.

"She's Rachel." Kurt shrugged.

"So you're thinking about joining?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah, maybe. I might even do it just to piss Rachel off." Kurt said with a small laugh.

"I really think you should. Why don't you come to practice tonight, see what we're all about?" Blaine asked with a bright smile.

Seriously, how can someone have such an attractive smile? Shut up! Stop thinking that!

"Yeah, ok." Kurt said shyly.

"Great." Blaine said still smiling.

When Warbler practice came around, Kurt was both curious and nervous. He had no idea how they worked but he had the feeling that they were completely different from the New Directions. Blaine had already told Kurt about Wes and his gavel which made him nervous. He knew there was really no reason to be nervous but he couldn't help it. When he and Blaine arrived, Blaine was immediately taken away by David who was mid argument with Wes. He stood there awkwardly and flinched when someone placed there hand on his shoulder.

"Oh sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Beatz said behind him.

"It's ok." Kurt said quietly.

"Are you joining?" Beatz asked him curiously.

"I don't know, maybe. I just came to watch." Kurt told him.

"Well, if the council ever decides what we're singing than maybe you actually can." Beatz said loudly.

"Can it Beatz! We're trying to figure it out!" Thad yelled out.

"Figure it out faster!" Beatz yelled back. "Come on, you can sit over here if you like." He said to Kurt, gesturing to one of the couches.

Kurt nodded and made his way over to the couch. While he sat there, he met Jeff through Nick. He quickly figured out that Jeff was way too enthusiastic for his own good. He had even made a comment about Jeff's need to cut down on sugar making Nick and Beatz laugh loudly.

"But I love candy! It's sweet and delicious like me!" Jeff had told him.

As uncomfortable as he felt, Kurt couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. The energy of the boys was infectious and he was surprised that he liked it so much. When the council decided on a song to rehearse, Kurt sat quietly and waited for them to perform. He was shocked that they were an acapella group and even more shocked when he saw just how good they are. He knew Blaine could sing but he didn't realize just how good he really was nor did he know that he was the lead soloist. There was something almost magical about the way they performed. New Directions has some serious competition.  By the time their practice ended, Kurt had decided that he would join. He couldn't help but smile the entire time, even when Wes went gavel crazy, and he had realized just how much he wanted to be a part of something again. His momentary happiness came crashing down however when his phone vibrated with a new text.

I'll find you Hummel. You can't hide forever. - Karofsky