"So let me get this straight," Wes said thoughtfully. "The guy you were talking to at Sectionals goes here?"

Blaine could feel his teammates' stares, and he felt a little uneasy. "Yes, he does. He's only been here for about a week, though."

"And he wants to audition for the Warblers, after having been a New Directions member for over a year?" Wes continued, frowning.

Blaine nodded. "He does. I'm not entirely certain about his motivations behind the transfer, but I think it's safe to say he was probably bullied badly enough to transfer here, even though his parents – never mind." That was really none of these guys' business, Blaine figured.

"You're sure his transfer has been handled appropriately?" Wes interrogated him a little further.

"He's in some of my classes," Blaine pointed out. "Various teachers have introduced him as a new student, as I'm sure other Warblers can verify."

"How do we know he can be trusted? Maybe he'll just transfer back to where he came from right before Regionals," Trent spoke up. Wes looked caught off guard that someone other than he or Blaine was speaking.

"I doubt he'll transfer back to a school where he was bullied so badly he had to leave," Jeff replied. Before other Warblers could enter the discussion, Wes slammed his gavel down hard enough for everyone to look his way in shock.

"Trent's right," David said before Wes could say anything. "Even if he won't transfer back before the next competition, he could still tell New Directions everything we do."

"With all due respect, David," Blaine started, inwardly rolling his eyes, "technically, so could you. So could I. So could everyone in this room. And may I point out that when he transferred, Kurt could not have been aware of the fact that both the Warblers and New Directions would advance to Regionals?"

"That's enough, Blaine," Wes reprimanded him. "The council will discuss the matter, and we'll let you all know what our decision is when we make one." And with that, the matter was dropped.

o-o-o-o-o

After rehearsal, Blaine walked back to his room quickly. Even though he knew it might be difficult to get the council to give Kurt a chance to audition, he was still a little annoyed by how his attempt at procuring an audition for the new boy had gone.

Of course, it was not like he owed Kurt anything, but ever since speaking to the boy at the competition a few days prior, he couldn't help but feel a certain bond with him. They were quite alike, in the sense that both seemed to have been bullied for their sexuality to the point that transferring to (a school like) Dalton was the only option they had left.

The first thing Blaine had noticed when he'd seen Kurt in class on Monday was that the other boy seemed a little more relaxed this week, though it was still a far cry from how happy he'd appeared around his old teammates. Deciding that now was as good a time as ever to make the new kid feel at home (or, since Kurt didn't actually board, at ease, at least), Blaine had sat down next to him during that period. This had surprised Kurt, who, nevertheless, seemed to appreciate the gesture.

"Congratulations on the tie," Kurt had said, and the two boys had exchanged stories about how the two Glee clubs had reacted to the news that there'd been a tie – while the Warblers had been ecstatic, New Directions had, after celebrating that they were going to Regionals, taken the tie as a more or less personal offense.

During lunch that day, Blaine had tracked Kurt down and made him sit with the Warblers instead of with only his lunch and some homework. Some of the guys had immediately latched onto Kurt, something Blaine was grateful for – he couldn't always be around to help Kurt out and be his only friend at Dalton. Others, however, like Trent, still viewed Kurt as a threat, a spy, someone who couldn't be trusted. From what Blaine had seen, Kurt mostly ignored this, but it couldn't be very nice, Blaine assumed.

After shooting the other boy a quick text to inform him about the council's decision (for now), Blaine grabbed some of his books and headed to one of the lesser used common rooms in the school to get some homework done.

An hour later, someone else walked in, but Blaine ignored them; while everyone at Dalton was friendly to one another, that didn't mean that they all knew each other and always exchanged pleasantries when coming across another student. It was very likely that this person had simply come here to study, just like Blaine.

Obviously, this person had not come here to study, as Blaine soon found out. "Ah, Blaine," Wes' voice came from somewhere at his right, and Blaine finally looked up. "I'm glad I found you; we've been looking all over for you."

Blaine raised his eyebrows expectantly. He generally didn't hang out much with Wes (or the other council members, for that matter), if only because they weren't in the same grade, and he couldn't think of anything that could be the matter – except, of course, Kurt's Warblers membership. But Wes hardly ever discussed anything that had to do with the Warblers outside Warblers meetings.

"What's wrong, Wes?" he asked in the end, and the other boy sat down opposite Blaine, his back straight and his hands folded in front of him. Blaine was just glad he hadn't brought the gavel.

The head Warbler scrutinised him for a moment before he started talking. "What exactly is your relationship to Kurt Hummel?"

Blaine felt surprised – that was, before the surprise made room for the realisation that he could've seen that question coming. Honestly, he was surprised he hadn't been asked that question before. "We've known each other for three days, Wes," he replied cautiously. "But I do think we could become good friends in the future."

"Friends?" Wes echoed.

"Friends," Blaine confirmed. "Just because we both happen to be gay, we don't necessarily have to have more… romantic feelings for each other."

"You were flirting with him at Sectionals," Wes reminded him, but Blaine shook his head.

"Oh, no, we weren't flirting. In fact, I'd spent most of our time together accusing him of being a spy. Only near the end of our conversation, he asked me if I knew anything about auditioning for the Warblers."

"So that's all there is to your vehement campaigning to let him join the group?" Wes asked. "Would you do the same for any other boy you met during a public event?"

Blaine sat there for a moment, stumped. "I don't know."

Wes nodded. "Let me put this another way. We know he used to be in New Directions, so he'll probably he able to hold a tune. The same goes for other people at Dalton who are not in the Warblers. So what makes you try so hard to get him in, especially if you've known him for only such a short time?"

Blaine shifted in his seat. "I'm not sure, but I believe – I believe he transferred to Dalton for roughly the same reason as I did. I know that being in the Warblers helped me open up, get some friends, and get used to the overall atmosphere here. I figured, maybe it would help him as well. He doesn't board here, but that doesn't mean he can't get involved, right? And I suppose he will keep talking to the New Directions members, but they are his friends – which doesn't have to mean, by the way, that he doesn't need friends at Dalton." Wes looked thoughtful, and Blaine hoped that he was actually helping Kurt's case here, and not diminishing his chances at becoming a Warbler even more. "There's another reason," he said when Wes didn't speak. "It's a more selfish one, but I guess it counts. Kurt's a countertenor, and the Warblers don't have one, so he would make a great addition to the group in that respect as well."

Now, Wes looked surprised. "He's a countertenor?"

Blaine nodded. "You didn't deduce that from his speaking voice yet?"

"We didn't even think about that," Wes admitted. "Alright, I should tell Thad and David about this. But what I actually came here for – can you let Kurt know that we'd like to have a talk with him tomorrow during lunch? If all goes well, he can audition on Friday."

Blaine stared after his teammate as he left the room. So Wes had interrogated him even though the council already knew they were going to talk to Kurt tomorrow? Sighing, he took out his phone again, noticing that Kurt had only just texted him back. Smiling at the fact that his new friend (of sorts) seemed so nervous about joining the Warblers, Blaine told him about his impending meeting with the council the next day. No doubt they'd grill Kurt some more about his allegiances there.

o-o-o-o-o

Somehow, by the time lunch came around the next day, every Warbler knew about the council's decision. Some (like Trent) kept sulking, while other seemed weirdly enthusiastic about having Kurt on the team, and not just because of his voice.

While Blaine was glad with this progress, he couldn't help but worry a little as time went on and nor Kurt nor the council members had returned yet. He didn't know where they'd gone or what exactly they'd do, but he was growing a bit concerned by now.

When it was almost time for class again, they still hadn't come back. With a heavy heart, Blaine walked quickly to the classroom, only to find Kurt already there. He hastily sat down next to him and asked, "How did it go?"

Kurt seemed surprised by Blaine's sudden bluntness. "It went pretty well, I think."

"They weren't too harsh on you?" Blaine asked, silently wondering why he was panicking like this. Clearly, Kurt thought the same thing.

"No, they were perfectly nice," he replied. "They just asked me a lot of stuff. Unlike you. No offense."

Blaine scoffed. "Didn't I already apologise for that?"

Kurt nodded distractedly. "Yes, you did. And I know that. You just don't need to be so concerned, you know? Have a little faith in your friends. And in me. I'm not as fragile as most people think I am. I can handle rejection. Kind of. I promise I won't break."

Shaking his head slightly, Blaine looked down at his desk, attempting to hide his smile. He'd learned a lot about Kurt in the past few days, and one of them was definitely that the other boy was much stronger than he himself had ever been.

"I know," he replied dutifully. "I'm sorry. It's just… I know they can be a bit much."

Kurt smirked back at him. "Clearly, you've never met the New Directions. After all the drama at McKinley, having a sophisticated conversation with three seniors is actually quite a relief."

So that was another thing for Blaine to add to his ever expanding list of things he was learning about Kurt Hummel: he would never cease to surprise Blaine.

"Did you get the audition, though?" he asked, not so worried anymore by now.

"Of course I did," Kurt responded.

"Weren't you extremely nervous about that yesterday?" Blaine asked, taken aback a bit because of Kurt's sudden confidence.

Kurt shrugged. "There's always a little doubt, but those guys seemed to know almost all my answers to their questions before we started, so if they still wanted that chat, they'd probably let me audition too, right? Besides, you already told me you don't have a countertenor, so do you really think they'd have turned me down?"

"Don't get too cocky, now," Blaine warned him. "There are still a few Warblers who suspect you of being a double agent or something."

"I'll charm them with my outrageously good looks and incredible voice," Kurt deadpanned. "Just kidding," he hastily added as Blaine quirked an eyebrow at him. "And I promise I won't get too cocky. A year and a half of being neglected in Glee club in spite of all my talent has taught me enough. Besides, I know that once I'm actually a Warbler, I'll be the newest member. I won't expect anything, and that wouldn't be anything new. I'll be fine, Blaine."

Blaine grinned at him. "Good. Now just make sure to blow us all away with you audition and no one'll give you a hard time anymore."

Kurt seemed to ponder something for a moment. "Do you have any ideas as to what I could sing?" he asked. "Is there a protocol for what types of songs you're allowed to audition with?"

Blaine shook his head. "No, not as far as I'm aware. Yes, if you're auditioning for a solo, you generally sing the song you want to end up singing, but for auditions… I think you could sing anything you want. Just choose something you're comfortable with, something you know and something that's just… you."

Kurt smiled at him. "Thanks, Blaine. I'll figure something out."

o-o-o-o-o

The next day, Blaine spent most of his time badgering Kurt about what song he was going to sing, but Kurt didn't tell him anything. Blaine didn't know whether that was because Kurt wanted it to be a surprise or because he didn't know yet what he was going to sing, but he sure was excited for the audition.

Friday finally came around, and the first thing Blaine did when he saw Kurt was look at his face for any signs of nervousness. When he found none, he asked, "How're you holding up?"

"I'm alright," Kurt replied, giving him a brief smile. "It's the second time I'm auditioning for a Glee club, and while this one's a bit more… elitist, I daresay, I feel like this might just work. I did as you instructed me and picked a song I could possibly perform in my sleep. Now we'll just have to wait and see what everything thinks."

All day long, the Warblers shot Kurt curious looks like they all wanted to know what song he had prepared, but Kurt didn't budge. He kept his mouth firmly shut until the Warblers meeting, where he became a little jittery.

"I thought you said you weren't nervous?" Blaine asked.

"I wasn't," Kurt replied. "Now I am. I haven't been this nervous since last year's Regionals."

"New Directions went to Regionals last year?" Blaine hadn't known this, but he figured it made sense. They were pretty good, after all. He just hadn't thought to ask Kurt a lot about the ins and outs of New Directions, seeing as they were still competition, and his questions might come off as attempts to spy on the other group.

"We came in third," Kurt replied. "It's kind of a long story, I'll tell you some other time, alright?"

Regardless of what Blaine would've answered to that, the story would have to wait for another time anyway, as Wes started the meeting. After a couple of introductory announcements, he directed the attention to Kurt being in the room (as if the other boys hadn't noticed him yet). He asked Kurt to get ready for his audition, and told the other Warblers that if they had any objection to Kurt joining, or if they wanted to know why they'd let him join, they should direct any questions to the council, and not to Kurt.

"Hi," Kurt started, sounding a bit nervous. "Now I know, from I've seen and heard so far, that the Warblers are very… top forty, generally. But since someone told me that I don't have to audition with a song like that today, but should choose something that's more… me, I'll be singing something different today." He smiled a little, before nodding at David to start the music.

Blaine had to admit, he was kind of shocked when Kurt started singing Don't cry for me, Argentina. They never sang Broadway tunes in the Warblers, so Blaine wasn't used to hearing people singing them. Kurt was doing a great job, though, and, from the looks on the other boys' faces, Blaine wasn't the only one who thought so. He smiled at the thought of Kurt being such a musical fanatic – perhaps Blaine would finally have someone to talk to about those now.

He was sure that many people would appreciate the amount of emotion Kurt poured into the song. He also wondered how he hadn't seen Kurt's slightly theatrical streak until now – it wasn't a bad thing, and it wasn't always as visible, but it was definitely there. And he believed it – he actually believed what Kurt was singing, even though he knew it was just a song Kurt had picked because it suited his voice.

And that voice…

When Kurt was done, the room erupted into applause. Blaine smiled broadly at the other boy, and Kurt smiled back hesitantly.

"Well, Kurt," Wes started, "well done. You're right, this is not something that's in our regular repertoire, but you did a good job nonetheless. Judging from this applause, I'd say you're in, but we have to take an official vote, so – "

He stopped speaking as most (if not all) of the Warblers put up their hands, some saying stuff like, "He's in," or, "Shut up, Wes."

Wes sputtered for a moment. "But – " he said, before slamming down the gavel to get some order. "He's not supposed to be in the room when we're voting!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, don't be like that," Nick told him. "You know as well as all of us that he's definitely in, and it's nerve-wracking to have to sit outside while everyone in here is pretending to be voting but actually just lounging about just to make the wait longer. It's mean, Wes."

"It's the protocol, Nick," Wes retorted.

Kurt, Blaine noticed, was looking at the (semi-)quarrel somewhat confusedly, and Blaine hoped that the other boy wouldn't decide that the Warblers were too weird for him and not join after all.

"So should I just… go now?" Kurt asked, actually sounding amused, effectively stopping the bickering going on in the room.

Wes sighed heavily. "No, that's fine. You already know you're in anyway, that is, if you still want to join."

Kurt smirked slightly. "A little disagreement isn't going to chase me away, Wes, sorry. You'll have to try harder for that. Believe me, New Directions couldn't last a week without at least one major fight, a break-up, two storm-outs, and a whole lot of back-stabbing, blackmailing and clawing each other's eyes out. It'll take more than a minor quarrel to get rid of me."

"Oh, I already like him," Jeff remarked, which seemed to surprise Kurt.

Again, Wes sighed. "You can sit down, Kurt. Now, the next order of business…"