When his Dad and new step-Mom first approached him with the idea that they use their honeymoon money so that he could transfer to Dalton Academy, Kurt told them they were crazy. He told them that he could handle his bullies, and the torment and loneliness that public school in Ohio offered him. He didn’t need the safe halls of Dalton, with their zero-tolerance bullying policy, tough academics and neat uniforms. He tried to convince them that he didn’t need to be surrounded by beautiful boys that were accepting and even willing to be his friend. Kurt told them all of this, and of course, being parents, they saw right through his words to his trembling hands and his blue-green eyes filled with fear and sadness. No decent parent would take an extravagant honeymoon over their son’s safety, they had insisted.
 
He had been to Dalton Academy once before, when the boys from McKinley suggested that he go and spy on their Glee club so they could get an idea of their competition for sectionals. Originally, Kurt had had no intention of actually spying, that really wasn’t his style and he had no idea what the New Directions would gain from it anyways. But out of curiosity, he had typed the name into Google that night, and found himself unable to deny the appeal of a school that prided themselves on their policy towards bullying.
 
Before he knew it, Kurt had been walking the halls of Dalton, attempting to blend in with a hastily put together replica of the private school’s uniform, and asking a pretty blonde boy why the school was in such a fuss. The boy, Jeff, had shown him the way to where the Glee club was giving an ‘impromptu’ performance for the rest of the school.
 
He’d stood to the side as an incredibly handsome and confident man had led the Warblers through ‘Teenage Dream’ by Katy Perry, a cappella. He had been surprised by how well it worked, but the gorgeous lead singer had that swagger about him that meant he could pull off anything. At the end of the number he had winked directly at Kurt, causing him to blush to the tips of his ears.
 
Afterwards, Jeff and his boyfriend Nick had taken Kurt out for coffee. Apparently it had been pretty obvious to them that Kurt wasn’t there as a new student, but as a curious ‘spy’ from another school. This had been when Kurt learnt that some of the students there, like Jeff, had transferred because of bullies at their previous schools, and that Dalton really was somewhere in which every body was treated the same, no matter what their race, religion, or sexuality. It sounded like heaven if Kurt was completely honest.
 
Which was why, when his Dad saw straight through his attempted rejection of the opportunity to transfer, he didn’t push it. Kurt knew what a safe haven Dalton could be, so he packed up his locker, said a hurried and heartbreaking goodbye to his friends in the Glee Club, and walked away from William McKinley High School.
 
---
 
Kurt was pleased to see Jeff waiting for him outside of his English class on his first day at Dalton, just as he or Nick had been at all of his other classes. He hadn’t really kept in touch with the pair, but had sent Jeff a message soon after his transfer had been made final and as a result had made some really helpful friends, right from the start. 
 
“Guess what I organized?” Jeff was pretty much bouncing on his toes as they walked down the hall, making their way through the crowds of boys excited that the school day was over.
 
“What?” Kurt smiled shyly, still getting used to the new environment and his new friends.
 
“The council have agreed to let you sit in on today’s Warbler’s meeting,” he explained. “And then when you are ready, in a week or so, you can have a proper audition for a spot in the club, although I’m sure you’ll get in just fine.”
 
Which is how Kurt found himself seated on a surprisingly, comfortable leather sofa, trying to avoid making eye contact with the gorgeous lead soloist that was sitting across from him. He was trying desperately hard to pay attention to what the council members, Wes, David and Thad were saying about their song choice for Sectionals, but that was proving difficult because the boy with curly gelled hair, and dazzling hazel eyes, wouldn’t stop smirking at him. It was unnerving and confusing and seriously weird. The attention made his skin burn and he wanted to shrink into the leather underneath him; he wasn’t used to this kind of attention and he had no idea what to do with himself.
 
Fortunately, because Kurt wasn’t yet an official Warbler, he wasn’t required to say anything in the meeting, and didn’t have to use his distracted brain to form sentences or anything. He merely tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible and focus all his attention on what was being said, and not the handsome and still nameless boy that was making him so uncomfortable.
 
“It seems the general consensus is that we want to put ‘Hey Soul Sister’ on the setlist,” the council member that Kurt thought was named David was saying, and the boys around him nodded. “So let’s put it to a vote and then we can get practicing.”
 
“All those in favor of preparing ‘Hey Soul Sister’ to perform at Sectionals,” Wes proceeded to ask, raising his gavel at the ready. “Raise your hand.”
 
Kurt was taken aback by how formal the meeting was. His first impression of the Warblers had been a fast paced and exciting ‘impromptu’ performance but here they were, straight backed and raising their hands in a quiet vote about song choice. It was definitely different from New Directions and would take a lot of getting used to, but Kurt was excited nonetheless. These boys were talented and it was exciting to get to see them in action.
 
As the group began to rehearse, Kurt sat back, trying to spend an even amount of time watching each Warbler as they practiced the song, but he couldn’t help but notice the way the soloist was eyeing him. He admitted to himself that he found this nameless boy extremely attractive, but he had no tact, if the way he kept winking and grinning at him was any indication. Kurt wasn’t looking to find a boyfriend at this point in time, he had been through too much that year and he needed to settle into Dalton and get used to the rigorous academics. Not to mention the fact that he didn’t need to develop another unrequited crush. He refused to allow himself to become smitten with the cocky boy in front of him, who definitely wasn’t his type.
 
With this decision in mind, Kurt shook all thoughts of the dazzling smile and smooth voice from his mind. He was officially off Kurt’s radar for the rest of the rehearsal.
 
Or at least, Kurt desperately told himself that he was.

When the rehearsal was over, Kurt waited for Jeff and Nick to pack up their things and, standing by the door he attempted to avoid eye contact with the people around him.
 
“Hey,” a soft, but confident voice spoke, drawing Kurt’s attention away from the floor. “Do I know you from somewhere?”
 
Kurt’s eyes went wide when he found himself face-to-face with the handsome soloist. “I don’t think so,” Kurt cursed the timidness in his voice and quickly steeled himself.
 
The other boy smiled, wide and cheesy and completely sure of himself. “You came to spy on us that time,” he said. “I remember because you couldn’t keep your eyes off me.”

Attempting to play it cool and innocent, Kurt tried to mask his shock, he couldn’t quite believe that he had been noticed and remembered by anyone but Jeff and Nick that day. “I’m sorry,” Kurt said politely. “But, who are you?”
 
“Oh I see,” he tucked a hand into the pocket of his slacks and tilted his head down, looking up at Kurt through his lashes. “Playing hard to get are we?”
 
Kurt struggled to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor. He had only a vague idea what was being implied, but could in no way believe his own thoughts on the matter; this situation was too foreign to him.
 
“Well,” the other boy said when Kurt still hadn’t replied. “I don’t play games. So when you’re ready to give it up, come to my dorm. I’m in 28C.”
 
He actually winked again, and Kurt was beginning to think the boy might have something wrong with his eye. The mysteriously cocky boy was gone before Kurt could come up with something witty to say, a fact that he found himself particularly upset about; he always had something witty to say, and now some guy had stumped him.
 
“I see you met Blaine,” Nick had appeared in front of him all of a sudden.
 
“This isn’t the usual smitten Blaine face though,” Jeff pondered as the three left the room together, heading for the dorms to drop their bags off before dinner.
 
“A what face?”
 
“Most people walk away from their first encounter with Blaine with little pink hearts in their eyes and drool on their chin,” Nick explained with a smirk.
 
“But you,” Jeff took over, the pair speaking in that tag team nature that Kurt was slowly getting used to. “Your face is a mixture of repulsed, appalled and…intrigued. If that combination is possible.”
 
“I’m still confused.”

They had reached Kurt’s dorm, stopping outside the door to finish their conversation.
 
“His name is Blaine Anderson,” Jeff answered, but didn’t offer any more information, making this Blaine person more elusive than ever.
 
“But what is so special about him?”

Nick leant casually against the nearby wall. “He’s basically your average spoilt, stuck up, rich brat that sleeps with whoever he pleases and gets whatever he wants. And when I say he sleeps with whoever he pleases, I mean he is a massive slut and everyone has had a go.”
 
“Everyone?” Kurt raised an eyebrow in disbelief, completely missing the way Jeff had gone quiet and was looking at his toes.
 
Nick cast a glance at this boyfriend, slipping his hand into Jeff’s in a comforting gesture.
 
“Jeff?” Kurt asked when his brain finally put two and two together. “Really?”
 
“I had just transferred okay,” the blonde was clearly embarrassed to admit this, but his boyfriend was smirking at him; clearly this was something that Jeff was teased about regularly. “I was shy and he’s hot! We can all admit that he’s hot. And he showed interest in me.”
 
Kurt couldn’t help but laugh at his new friends, as Nick sniggered a little himself, before pulling a blushing Jeff to his side to kiss his cheek.
 
“Seriously though,” Nick said. “Blaine is harmless really, he is just very sure of himself, and very, very rich.”
 
Not entirely convinced, Kurt reached for the door handle to his room, his mind spinning with all the new information of the day. “I’m just going to get changed for dinner, I’ll see you down there?”
 
He waved good-bye to his friends and slipped inside his room, thankful to see that his roommate, Trent (another Warbler) was currently absent. The day had been a whirlwind of meeting new people and trying to settle in to new classes, not to mention being hit on by the school slut. Kurt wanted to forget all about Blaine, as he sank into his desk chair, loosening his tie absentmindedly, but there was just something about the boy that was proving this to be a difficult task.