Kurt Hummel browsed through his wardrobe thoughtfully. He paused as he brushed over a navy lapel suit, fitted with a simple black blazer, and pulled out a pair of straight-legged jeans to match. Finally, he searched through his drawers until he came across a dark blue bowtie.

Kurt Hummel looked glorious.

“Bud, are you ready?” his father, Burt Hummel, called from the hallway. “Finn’s ready to leave, and you offered to give him a lift to school, remember?”

“Give me a minute, dad,” Kurt called in response, fastening the bowtie around his neck with a smile. He had a really good feeling about this day.

“Kurt, hurry up!” Finn shouted. “Rachel’s going to kill me if I don’t make it to school on time, dude, you know what she’s like-“

“Finn Hudson,” Kurt chided, as he walked out of his room. “When have I ever been late? Kurt Hummel is only ever prompt.”

Finn grinned at his step-brother, and ruffled his hair. “Well then, dude, we need to go. Like… Now.”

Kurt rolled his eyes at his brother’s antics. “Okay, Finn.” He headed over to his father and pulled him in a quick hug, and gave a soft kiss on the cheek to Carole. “I’ll cook dinner later?”

“If you have something planned, be my guest,” Carole laughed. “Finn Hudson, you come here and give your mother a kiss before leaving.”

“But, mom.” Finn whined, though his heart wasn’t in it. With a broad grin, he bounced over to his mother and placed a kiss on her cheek, whilst extending a hand to Burt for him to high five. The elder man eagerly did so, with a gruff laugh. “Okay, now can we go?”

“I have never seen you so eager to get to school,” Carole muttered, flashing a smile at Kurt as she spoke to Finn. “Stay out of trouble, okay?”

“When have I ever been in trouble?”

“I think it’s best we don’t answer that,” Kurt whispered to Finn, patting his hand sympathetically.

“Hey!” Finn protested. “Honestly, you are the worst brother I could ever have asked for.”

“I know who’s not getting a lift this morning,” Kurt sang, as he skipped away from Finn.

Finn’s eyes widened. “Dude, I was totally joking. You’re the best brother in the world. I love you, man. Dude, please.”

“Calm down, Frankenteen,” Kurt smiled. “Of course I’ll give you a lift. Just remember that if you say that you hate me then I’ll just not help you. With anything. Even Rachel.”

“But – dude – you’re like, my… my scapegoat when it comes to Rachel.”

“Finn, I think you got the word ‘scapegoat’ confused with ‘advisor’. Who knows how you did that?”

“Well, uh, okay, but dude you can’t leave me to deal with Rachel on my own.” Finn winced.

“She’s your girlfriend, she’s your problem.”

“She’s your best friend, she’s your problem too.” Finn countered, glaring at the countertenor, who just smiled evilly.

“Come on, then.” Kurt said to Finn as he opened up the car door. “Let’s get to school.”

“Awesome.”
_________________________________________________________________

When they arrived at the school, Finn was the first one out of the car and off like a shot.

Kurt sighed, crossing his arms around himself for warmth and also in preparation for what was to come. Usually when Finn was with him, the bullies decided against hurting him.

Finn’s height was a great advantage of Kurt having the giant for a protective brother.

It seemed like today wasn’t going to be one of those days. Kurt could already see Azimio and Karofsky standing by the welcoming doors of McKinley High.

Welcoming – Kurt laughed glumly. Even his inner voice was becoming sarcastic.

“Hey, Fancy!” one of the jocks shouted as he made his way to the entrance. “What did we tell you ‘bout wearing those girly clothes?”

Kurt looked down at his bowtie, unclasping it from around his neck. Perhaps he could save it. It wasn’t much, but Kurt treasured it.

“Okay,” he sighed with resignation. “Throw me in.”

“We’d love too,” Azimio snarled. “Dave?”

“’m on it,” Karofsky replied, advancing towards Kurt purposefully, and lifting him up. Kurt’s hand grasped tightly onto the bowtie, his eyes closing with emotional pain that he could allow people to do this to him so easily.

“Ready, Hummel?” Karofsky grunted, heaving Kurt up even higher.

“No,” Kurt replied honestly, knowing that it wouldn’t change the outcome of what was to happen.

The jocks would throw him in the dumpster anyway.

He was used to it by now.

“One, two, three,” – and Kurt fell amongst the broken glass and rotting fruit, twisting away from any sharp material so that there wouldn’t be any physical harm to his body. Emotional pain was bad enough.

“Good throw,” he heard Azimio say to Karofsky, and Kurt could envision the two of them high fiving each other, their smirks spreading throughout the whole of the gang they were with.

He decided to lie back in the rubble, the disgusting smells covering his body and making him feel a strange urge to throw up. If he tried to get out straight away, the jocks would just come back and throw him back in.

There was little he could do.

Falling asleep in the dumpster wasn’t usually something Kurt did, but it was easier than facing the horrible day awaiting him inside the school. Maybe he could just skip the day and come in for Glee Club at the end. That seemed like the best option.

Closing his eyes, Kurt Hummel fell asleep amongst the decaying food.

_________________________________________________________________

Thud.

Kurt’s eyes fluttered open at the noise and shift of movement inside the dumpster. He sat up warily, eyeing his new companion with a frown.

“Who are you?”

The boy didn’t reply, instead leaning against the dumpster and listening intently to something that Kurt couldn’t hear. “A-ha!” the stranger exclaimed. “Just as I thought. Duros is walking around us.”

“D-d-Duros?”

“Oh, right, silly me.” The boy smiled, his black gelled down hair and hazel eyes making Kurt blush. There was an attractive boy – in the dumpster – with him. “I’m the Doctor. Pleasure to meet you…?”

“Kurt. Kurt Hummel.” Kurt supplied, glancing with confusion at the boy who called himself a ‘doctor’. “You’re not old enough to be a Doctor-“

“Anything’s possible,” the boy told him, rolling his eyes. “Honestly, you humans and you’re stupid brains. I’m amazed at how far you’ve gone with technology. Mind you, you are very advanced compared to the Jamajians. They created a device which they called a ‘minioid’. All it can do is allow them to travel one metre from where they stand-“

“What are you on about?” Kurt asked, his eyes widening with horror. “Are you mad? Oh my god, the first cute guy I see who actually speaks to me and he’s crazy.”

“I am not crazy,” the Doctor replied astutely, knocking the dumpster with his fist.

“You think your name’s the ‘Doctor’.”

“That’s because it is!” The Doctor replied in exasperation. “Fine, you can call me… Blaine, if ‘the Doctor’ confuses you.”

“Blaine?”

“It’s that or John Smith. Choose wisely.”

“Fine, fine! So, Blaine, what in the world is Duros? Is it a disease?” Blaine raised his eyebrows at the countertenor. “B-but you said you were a doctor! A disease is perfectly understandable.”

“No, no, no.” The Doctor – Blaine – said, shaking his head. “Duros… Duros is, in your terms, the grim reaper. Death.”

“You mean that… death is walking amongst us?” Kurt asked, tilting his head. “Now I know for a fact that you’re crazy.”

“Shh, Kurt Hummel.” Blaine quieted him, frowning as he pushed his ear against the dumpster. “Duros is here because someone was brought back by that stupid resurrection glove. I told Jack to destroy it properly. But – no, he had to go and do what he thinks is best-“

“Jack?”

“A story for another time,” Blaine muttered, waving his hand in a sign of dismissal. “I need to stop Duros. If he kills thirteen people, Death will enter this world permanently. And that can’t be allowed to happen.”

“If Death enters the world – forever – d-does that mean t-that… everyone will die?” Kurt asked in disbelief, grasping his arm tightly.

“Yes.” Blaine nodded. “Smart kid. Donna took forever to figure out exactly what to do with some of the aliens we faced. She was brilliant, though.”

“Donna?”

“Again, a story for another time.”

Kurt tried to take all this new information in. This was so… weird. He had been expecting a normal school day, maybe a few tosses and slushies here and there, but having death walk among the students of William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio? That was something he had never been prepared for.

“We need to stop it,” Kurt told Blaine determinedly. “Let’s get out of this dumpster. I am not letting that t-thing destroy my father. Or my step-mother. Or Finn.”

Blaine smiled, his eyes crinkling at the edges. “Okay, then, Kurt Hummel. Prepare to face death.”

_________________________________________________________________

Climbing out of the dumpster wasn’t difficult for Kurt, but Blaine had a bit more trouble.

“Oh come on, this should be easy for you!” Kurt whined, impatience taking over.

“Why would that be?”

“You’re shorter, which usually means that you’re more energetic.”

“Not true,” Blaine responded, lifting his nose in the air and sniffing. He grasped Kurt’s hand and pulled. “This way, Kurt. C’mon.”

The two boys ran through the entrance of William McKinley, past the several Spanish classrooms and a few of the Math classrooms. Kurt bit his lip, praying that no-one would notice them or the hand-holding.

He dreaded to even imagine what the homophobes might do if they saw the two boys having such fun in the school corridors.

“There,” Blaine said, coming to a stop in front of a smoky figure. “Duros.”

“How do we defeat him?” Kurt asked, holding Blaine’s hand as tightly as he could. Terror had just gripped him.

He could deal with the talk about Duros but seeing him? With his own eyes?

It was petrifying.

“We need to find the kid who died.” Blaine murmured. “Someone in this school. Duros only goes to hospital’s (where the people are already dying) or to the place the victim is right now.”

“So, the victim is a student in this school?” Kurt asked.

Someone who should have died was attending his school?

The world was messed up.

“Do you know anyone who’s been missing? For an illness?” Blaine asked, turning to Kurt.

Kurt frowned, thinking. “S-Susan Wiles,” he answered finally. “Sixteen, senior. She was suffering from cancer. Not sure which type. She came back and seemed fine, really healthy.”

“It’s got to be her, then.” Blaine said, nodding his head. “What class does she have now?”

“I don’t know, I’m a year older than her- where are you going?”

“Spanish classroom.” Blaine said. He tilted his head towards Duros. “It’s where he’s heading. Are you coming?”

Kurt frowned, looking at his hands thoughtfully. Shrugging, he nodded. “Why not?”