This is my first fic, so I may be a bit rusty in this stuff. But I will take any and all criticism, so feel free to review if you'd like. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: As awesome as that would be, I do not own Glee or any of it's characters

Nobody really is who they are on the outside. Everybody has a story. Even the people who throw up their walls, refusing to let anyone in to find out anything about them. People who use fake personas, to cover them up. To cover up their pasts. These people usually have the most intriguing stories. The ones who always seem like they have something to hide. The ones who block everyone out, and keep their emotions trapped inside. They have stories. But these stories, are the hardest to read. The hardest to get a hold of. There's the thrill of the chase. Man often seeks for it their whole lives. But one specific story, usually. One of someone that is truly cherished to the other. They feel like this person- no matter their ethnicity, gender, religion, or sexuality- is one they need to know. One who's story is sought after, but piece by piece. Slowly, the puzzle comes together, and their story is known. Someone know carries every piece of them, and can easily break them if they so wished. But, who knows if the odds will end in everyone's favor?

Nick

Dalton Academy was a rather large place, especially to a kid like Nick. Everything made the already small boy, feel even smaller than he had ever felt before. It felt like every step he took closer inside the school made him shrink. He looked out into the ginormous foyer- that still wasn't halfway full, even with the dozens of families compiled inside- and wondered if there was an end to it. Maybe the marble floor spread out for miles, beyond the stretch of his young imagination. Maybe he would be able to explore it someday, and be able to see every inch of it. Besides, he had four long years ahead of him in this place. Might as well do something to do distract him.

Suddenly his thoughts were cut off by a firm hand landing on his shoulder. Nick jumped a little, looking back to see whoever was behind him. He sighed, relieved that it wasn't some kind of kidnapper or something. He looked at his step dad, Kyle, who was putting on a sincere smile.

"You excited, kiddo?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. The boy shrugged slightly, looking at everything around him through the corner of his eye, trying to let it soak in. The place was a bit overwhelming to him at the moment. His step dad must of noticed him look around at everything, apprehensively, because he chuckled to himself a bit before replying, "Don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll fit in here fine. And you'll get used to it," He crossed his arms over his chest, before leaning down closer to Nick.

"But hey, I'm sure it will be a lot better than public school." As soon as mentioned it, the young boy shuddered, just thinking back to his experience in a public middle school. And how if Kyle hadn't pulled a few strings with the administrators here, he'd be going to the same school as his brothers. The thought of it made him cringe. It wasn't like he had gotten enough crap from them at home, but having to tolerate them all day was one of his worst nightmares. But, being a freshman, his nightmares weren't as deep, and terrifying than others. He still had the reoccurring nightmare that he'd show up to school in only his underwear.

"And besides, this place has a zero-tolerance bullying policy," he stated, reassuringly. Nick looked at the marble floor, and at the God awful shoes he had to wear with his uniform. He breathed slowly, trying not to let his mind wander to things that he had shoved in the back of his mind, to not be brought up for a long time. Until that time when he could finally trust someone.

Kyle was the only person in the world that he had somewhat come to trust. The man had been there for him since he married his mother, and the boy had his back since then. Sure, he was a very nice, and caring man, but he didn't know how to pick his women right. He had chosen his mother, for God's sake. His mother the drunken sleaze who was pretty much crazy in Nick's mind. Kyle just thought she needed help, and he could help her. But he couldn't, and he knew that. He only stuck around for him, because he could actually help him.

So he helped him get through the grim times, and was able to send him here. Where he was away from all of those bad things. And now once again his train of thought was interrupted. This time by a microphone screeching loudly, earning a loud groan from the crowd of families surrounding him.

"Good morning everybody, my name is Mr. Craig Shrekenghast and I am the headmaster here at Dalton Academy,"

Nick heard the sounds of a few boys snicker at the odd sounding name, as people shushed them and there was silence. He raised an eyebrow, disapprovingly, before clearing his throat and continuing to speak.

"Here, we ensure you that you're children will be in great care. As most of you know, we have a zero-tolerance policy against bullying, so you're boys are sure to be safe," He continued on with his speech for a while, but the brunette tuned him out, looking at the other new freshman around him. Most squirmed uncomfortably, rolling their eyes subtly, and waiting for the speech to finally be done so they could escape their parent's grasps.

Soon enough, he heard the sounds of claps, as the headmaster walked away from the podium he had been standing behind, and introduced someone else who came up to the podium, a stack of papers in hand. She gave a genuine smile, and pushed her oval glasses up on her nose, as she looked down at the stack of papers.

"Alright, so I'm Gail Hartsfield, your counselor here at Dalton. I don't want to go into details or anything, because I know you boys look anxious to get started here. But I would like to say that we are very sorry that we have not announced roommates sooner, and we thank you in advance for your consideration." She licked her finger, flipping through the pages to the one she needed, and looked out at the horde of people, to see if she still had their attention or not. She looked back down at the papers, and moved her face closer to the microphone. "So, let's see, dorms. Up in our freshman dormitory, we have Mr. Anderson, and Mr. Montgomery, Mr. Ball, and Mr. Haltom..."

Some of the boys suppressed a groan, knowing this was going to take forever to get to their names. Nick waited patiently for his last name to be called, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Mr. Duval and Mr. Sterling..." he heard, looking around to see if any of the boy's heads snapped up as he heard his name being called. It was too hard to see, and he gave up, trying not to cause too much attention to himself by having to stand on his toes to see anything.

Soon enough she had finished rattling off the names, and dismissed them to head to their rooms, already stated on the schedules they had received in the mail a week before. Before Nick could escape, Kyle turned him around, and gave him an unexpected hug. "Good luck, bud," he said, his voice breaking a bit, like he was trying not to cry. Nick furrowed his brows a bit, not really liking that he had to be wished luck. Like that was going to reassure him of anything. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything," he added. The freshman nodded, before receiving another hug, and wriggling his way out of his arms, and followed the swarm of teenage boys to the dorm.

He fished his schedule out of the pocket on his blazer, and unfolded it. The boy scanned the page to find where his dorm was on the map on the back. He traced his finger over it, looking up occasionally to see if he was dangerously close to anyone. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, trying to figure out where the map was leading him. Apparently everyone around him were as confused as he was, since they all had the same looks on their faces. At least he wasn't the only one here that was pretty much helpless at this point.

It took him several minutes, and the guidance of a few other freshman to figure out where his dorm was. He tucked his schedule back in his pocket, and opened the door. Nick peeked inside wondering if his new roommate already beat him to their room. When he saw nobody inside, he shrugged, and closed the door beside him. He looked around at everything, taking it all in. Damn. Nick thought. Even this room is big.

It was much larger than his room back at home, and everything seemed a bit intimidating. The cieling was high, and there was a large regal looking rug on the floor. A few pieces of antique looking furniture were scattered accordingly across the room. He walked around, opening a few drawers and things, just to get the feel of it. He might as well get used to everything now since this was going to be his home for the next few years. The boy smiled at the thought. Now he didn't have to put up with his family. He was safe.

The pleasant feeling spread through him for a moment, as he sat down on his bed. Well, he assumed it would be his bed, since his suitcase with all of his stuff in it was already there. He had totally forgot about his baggage in all the excitement of getting here, and didn't notice all of the other boys carrying their own. Kyle must have brought it for him, to save him the trouble of having to drag it all the way over there. He smiled, and opened the suitcase slowly, looking at the contents inside. He had everything he needed, and now he didn't have to worry about anything.

Except maybe his roommate.

Nick didn't know what to expect. He imagined all the possibilities that living with a complete stranger would bring. His mind kept drifting off to expect the worse in this new experience, but he stopped himself. He couldn't think like that. Everything was supposed to be great. He was in this new school, where no one knew who he was, and that was just fine with him. Hopefully he could get a good reputation here. Or at least, a good enough one where he had some friends. People who actually cared. After all, only having one person seem to care about you in you whole fourteen years of life, you get lonely. All he wanted was a friend here, and he hoped more than anything that at least the person he'd be living with for four years would be his friend.

But right now, that didn't matter. He would try to meet some people and make friends later. Right now he had to get settled in.

He got everything out of the bag, and put them where he wanted them. He figured the other boy would figure out where he wanted his stuff, and they could compromise. But right now, he just needed to have everything put somewhere, so he could finally feel somewhat comfortable in this place. Nick plopped down on his bed, when he felt a loud noise outside of his door. It sounded like people fighting. He resisted the urge to open the door and see what was going on, and just sat there, staring at the door. Like staring at it would make the noises go away, but it didn't. Soon it just got louder, then silent as the door swung open.

Nick jumped at the sound of the doorknob crashing against the wall, hoping that the impact wouldn't make a dent or something. He didn't want to get in trouble for trashing their dorm on the first day. He saw a boy standing in the doorway, but couldn't quite make out what he looked like until he got into the light. The other boy staggered inside, the silence his entrance brought filling the room and making the brunette feel a bit tense. Soon he got into the light, and he could make out a frown on his face. He wondered if it was him fighting with his parents outside the door that made him look out so sad. But as soon as he could blink, a grin flashed on his face. Whether it was genuine or fake, he couldn't tell, but he didn't really want to delve into anything more.

"Jeff Sterling has entered the building!" the blonde boy laughed, throwing his hands up in the air, dropping the bags in his hand. "You may bow down to my superior awesomeness!"

That kid sure knows how to make an entrance. He thought, rolling his eyes. And I have to spend four years with this guy.

Little did he know, this could possibly be the person who would change his life forever.

A/N: Hope you guys like it! Reviews are always welcome, so feel free to send me one. Thanks for reading!