Blaine Anderson was about to start his senior year of high school. And he couldn't be less excited.

He'd gone to private schools all his life, and had spent his first three years of high school at Dalton Academy in Westerville. His parents were filthy rich, but he'd never been spoiled. Aside from the private schools, he had been raised the same way most middle-class families raised their children.

He was a straight A student. He loved Math and Science, and he was the lead soloist for Dalton's Glee Club, The Warbler's.

But the Summer before his senior year, everything changed.

His father had lost nearly all of their money, and they were, for lack of a better word, broke.

He and his family had had to move out of their, rather large, home in Westerville, Ohio, and relocate to Lima, Ohio. Blaine's father had found a new job there, and it was a cheaper area to live in than their previous neighborhood in Westerville.

Blaine's father's ability to pay for Blaine to go to private school had obviously flown out the window, and tomorrow, he would be walking through the doors of William McKinley High School.

He hated this. He missed his friends at Dalton. He would miss being the lead soloist for the Warbler's. And most of all, he didn't want to be the new kid. He'd never been the new kid. He'd kept the same friends from Kindergarten, all the way through his junior year. He wasn't ready for that all to change. What if the kids at McKinley didn't like him? He was sort of a nerd, after all. He knew that. Just because no one at his private school had ever told him so didn't mean it wasn't true. He wore glasses, he had curly, unruly hair, which he kept gelled down at Dalton, but only because he had to. He much preferred to leave his hair natural. He loved school. Math and Science especially. But he also loved to read. And he was in Glee Club. At Dalton, the kids in Glee Club were popular. But he'd heard stories about his new school, and he wasn't sure how excited he was to possibly join their Glee Club. If they even had room for him, that was. And on top of all that, he was gay. There had been an anti-bullying policy at Dalton, which kept him safe. But out there, in the public school world, he was worried.

Yes. He was certain of it. His senior year was going to be the worst year of his life.

Kurt Hummel was about to start his senior year of high school. And he couldn't be more excited.

He was one of the stars of the Cheerios. He had the entire school, aside from the Glee Club, grovelling at his feet. And, despite being gay, he was one of the most popular kids in school.

Kurt had joined the Cheerios his freshman year of high school. Starting at the bottom, and slowly climbing to the top. He was now one of their top members, and everyone in the school feared him.

He had come out the middle of his sophomore year, afraid that it would get him kicked off the squad, and hated by everyone. He knew how it was for gay kids in Lima. But by that point, he was already too big of an asset to the squad. No way Ms. Sylvester was kicking him off. And, despite his age, and his slight figure, most everyone else on the Cheerios feared him, and didn't dare complain.

Kurt was safe. No one would dare pick on a Cheerio. It was just something you didn't do at that school. Football players and Cheerios were off-limits. Take Brittany, Santana, and Quinn for example. They had joined the Glee Club, but they were still at the top of the food chain. Same with some of the guys from the football team. If you were on the Cheerios, you were top dog, and that was that.

Kurt liked being top dog.

Blaine walked through the front doors of McKinley High. Everyone was bustling around, saying hi to old friends they hadn't seen over the Summer, and getting books from their lockers.

Blaine felt out of place.

He walked to the front office, getting his class schedule and locker number, and heading off to find his locker.

He found his locker and opened it up. It was boring, and it sort of smelled. He'd definitely need to decorate. And maybe clean it out...

He was on his way to his first class when he noticed a sign on the notice board that said

"New Directions:

Seeking members. Stop by the choir room at 4:00pm if you'd like to audition."

That must be their Glee Club, Blaine thought to himself.

Might as well give it a shot.

He managed to make it to all of his classes without tripping and falling, getting lost, or really getting noticed by many students. He took that as a victory.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the school day, and Blaine headed off to find the choir room.

He hadn't prepared a song, but he knew enough that he figured he could get in. He had been the lead soloist for The Warblers after all.

He entered the choir room, and saw a small-ish group of students sitting there. They all looked up upon his entrance, a few of them giving him a small wave, and eying him curiously.

"Hello!" The teacher said, brightly. "I'm Mr. Schuester. Are you here to join Glee Club?"

"Um, yeah." Blaine replied. "Yeah, I am. My name's Blaine. Blaine Anderson."

"Do you have a song you'd care to sing for us?"

Blaine just nodded, and began to sing.

And that was how Blaine ended up in the New Directions.

Blaine had been at McKinley for a week, now, and he had become good friends with everyone in the Glee Club. Especially Mike Chang, and consequentially, his girlfriend, Tina Cohen-Chang.

He and Tina were at their lockers on Monday, the second week of school. His locker was right next to Tina's, to his excitement. They were chattering away about what songs they were hoping to sing at sectionals this year. Tina was convinced she wouldn't get a solo, because Rachel Berry always got the solos for competitions, but Blaine tried to argue with her. He enjoyed Rachel's singing, and he enjoyed hanging out with her, even if she could be a bit overbearing. But he just had a thing for Tina's voice. It put him in a happy place.

He looked down the hall and saw someone walking by. Someone he hadn't seen yet, in his week at McKinley. He was dressed in a Cheerios uniform that was doing great things for his body, and his light brown hair looked impeccable. Blaine had never seen anyone like him.

"Who's that?" Blaine breathed out.

Tina turned, following Blaine lines of sight. "Oh, no. No no no. No you don't, Mr."

"No I don't what?" Blaine asked, confused.

"I see the way you're looking at him. Don't you go getting ideas about Kurt Hummel. He is NOT your type. Trust me on this one."

"You hardly know me. How do you know if he's my type?"

"Just...Blaine, he's not like us. He's on the Cheerios."

"I can see that. But What about Santana? And Quinn? And Brittany? They're all on the Cheerios, and they're in Glee Club. Why can't we all just be friends?"

"It doesn't work like that here, Blaine. The Cheerios and football players are allowed to hang out with the Glee geeks, but the Glee Clubbers can't just go up to the Cheerios. That's just not how it's done. And besides, Kurt's different. He's not like Brit and the rest of the girls in Glee. He's more like the rest of the Cheerios. Sometimes worse. He's mean, and nasty, and I don't want you to get hurt."

Blaine sighed. "Fine, Tina. Fine. I won't talk to him."

"Good boy. Let's get to class." Tina said, patting him on the back.

Blaine realized, later that day, that he shared a lot of his classes with Kurt. How had he never noticed him before?

He was breathtaking. He had bright blue eyes that crinkled at the corners, and his skin was flawless.

He knew he had promised Tina he wouldn't talk to him, but it was getting difficult, and it hadn't even been a day yet.

He bit his lip, looking down at his book, and trying not to let himself get distracted by Kurt.

Nearly every time Kurt looked up in class that day, there was some new kid staring at him. The only time it didn't happen was when that kid wasn't in his class.

God, he wished he had more classes without that kid in them.

It's not that he was unattractive. Kurt could find a few qualities to him that were somewhat appealing. But he just wasn't Kurt's type.

He had curly hair and glasses. Not to mention that he was about as tall as a hobbit baby. Some people might find that cute, but not Kurt. And wasn't this kid in Glee? Kurt didn't want to be seen with some nerd staring at him. They'd get ideas. He had a reputation to uphold.

Kurt sighed, looking back down at his school book, and trying to pretend that New Kid wasn't staring at him.

It went on like that for a week.

It was tedious.

It was Monday of their third week of school, and Kurt was tired of this four-eyed dork always drooling over him. It was disgusting, really.

He decided he needed to talk to him about it.

When their first class of the day let out, he stood up, and walked over to New Kid's desk, standing in front of it, and looking down at him.

"Um...Hi." New Kid said. "I'm Blaine, I..."

"I don't really care what your fucking name is. Stop staring at me, you four-eyed pervert." Kurt snapped.

"I....I'm sorry, what?" Blaine asked, shocked.

"You heard me. You've been staring at me for the past week, and, to be honest, it's really weirding me out. If you think I'm hot, thanks, I'm flattered. But stop looking. This ass isn't yours, and it never will be. I can do so much better than you. So stop looking, and find someone your own size and status." Kurt turned on his heel and walked away.

Blaine sighed, banging his head on his desk. Okay then. Tina had been right.