Chapter 1

You never fall in love twice. Once it's broken, it can be fixed, but the cracks will still be there. You move on with your simple life like nothing ever happened. You drift in the background while love is in the air, the blissful ignorance which you cannot seem to inhale anymore. You smile to hide the memories, laugh to hide the tears.

"Kurt Hummel."

A deep, harsh voice shocked my mind, as my limp body shook back and forth. I lifted my face from my folded arms on the table, opening my weary eyes. I was reminded of the classroom that I was meant to be in. The cold stung my cheeks.

I scanned the room to determine what woke me from my rest. The wide room was decently furnished with gold and royal blue, giving it a prestigious and high-classed appearance. Victorian parlour chairs neatly tucked underneath their matching set of polished tables. Metal filing cabinets surrounded the teacher's desk, which is neatly organised. The windows slowly frosting as seconds passed. This environment looks nothing like an ordinary classroom. It looks like a study room of a well-endowed mansion. I found myself sitting in Mr. Karofsky's room, a well-respected teacher in Dalton Academy who has taken a dislike to me after my recent incident with his son, Dave, who has moved out of the school, escaping the wild.

"I asked for an explanation. You refused to answer my questions, so I asked you to write it down. Why is it such a challenge?"

His piercing willow green eyes did not last any longer than a second on me until he quickly diverted his attention back to his unmarked essays. In fact, he avoided looking at me, like he'll turn into stone if he ever made the slight mistake of dropping his gaze on me.

I studied his frustrated body language for a moment, until I gathered that he didn't want me anywhere near him. Short hair combed to the side, his preppy taste in clothing reminded me of how the times when I teased Dave about his choice of rugged clothing. Mr. Karofsky was pale, showing signs of wrinkles and grey hair along both sides of his head. He had a remnant of a toned body in his former days, but he now looks like he's constantly carrying holiday weight. He had a prominent nose too.

I shifted my gaze on the ocean blue sky outside. Serenity and peace soothed my mind as thick white clouds slowly drifted along the empty ocean of air in complete silence. The sky was the most beautiful of all shades of blue, pure and luminous. I wished the last thing I see before the moment I die is to look at this sky one last time.

The agitated teacher shifted in his seat. "You're lucky my son left. It was the best for all of us." His tone of voice sounded reassured. Not to reassure me, but himself. My eyes started to sting.

"This isn't going to go anywhere, Mr. Karofsky. If you'll excuse me, I have more important duties to attend to." I abruptly got out of my chair, my face turned away from him to shadow the tears trying to burst out. Grabbing my brown leather messenger bag perched on the chair stood next to mine, I pushed my chair underneath the table and fled from this meaningless confrontation I was bound to lose from the start.

Students rushed from all directions, giving me a quick scan as they made their way to their next lesson. I gave my inner-self a slap, getting myself back together. I took a deep breath, brushed away invisible dirt from my knitted wool jumper from Ralph Lauren and lurched towards the cafeteria. Avoiding any eye contact, I looked for any sign of a familiar face roaming the corridor.

"Head Boy Kurt!" This title was of great importance to me. It helped me feel like I belong. I'm trusted with major responsibilities in the school. In exchange, I felt so much pressure as judgemental eyes observed my every move.

Warmth enveloped my face as my sight disappeared. Instinctively, I grabbed the gloved hands from my face and swiftly turned around to see chocolate brown eyes and a magnificent white crescent moon greeting me. Finn, who was head-length taller than me, appeared shorter than he should be today, if he stopped slouching. His cheeks reddening from the chilling temperature, it brought colour to his visage of cheerfulness. His short dark chocolate hair was in messy short curls made him look like an 8 year old who recently jumped out of bed and harshly applied gel to his hair because he was late for school. Which is probably the case today for Finn.

"What's up, Finn?" We stood in the middle of a rush-hour, but I didn't care, I was too fixated. Finn had this bright aura about him. He's one of those people you can easily open up to, because he was so approachable. Too bad he didn't apply for Head Boy; Finn would've been a great challenge.

He rubbed his eyes gently. "Yeah I'm good man. Yourself?"

"I just escaped Mr. Karofsky." Escaped wasn't an exaggeration at all.

"Oh, again? Dude, if he's giving you trouble, I'll talk to him for you." He winked. His way of comforting others made me smirk. Finn's compassion for other people made him different from most of the other guys in this school.

Finn isn't from a well-off family. His mother, Carole Hudson, worked as a nurse in the local hospital not too far from here. His father was killed while serving in the Middle East as a US Marine. My dad and Carole recently married, and made me and Finn step-brothers. Finn got accepted into Dalton Academy through scholarship, for his plausible athletic ability and now achieved the position football quarterback here in Dalton. He is constantly in his gym clothes, ready for sport (though we're meant to be in our uniform at all times). It worried me seeing him like this, because I wondered if he also focused on his academic subjects. He's never focused when we privately studied together, which left me no options to bribe him with food to help him concentrate.

"I'm fine. I can handle him myself." Mr. Karofsky has been trying to find ways to give me as much grief as possible for the past few weeks. I haven't told Dave about his father, because I refused to talk to the bastard. The coward he is, I am left on my own in this school to handle everything.

I motioned him to walk on. We seemed to be distracting the corridor with our presence. "Come to the cafeteria with me?"

"Sure, I was headin' there anyways."

I searched my bag for my lucky Gucci wallet, but it was nowhere to be seen. "I forgot my wallet."

He gave my silly situation a sad puppy look. "I'll pay, but it'll have to be just this once, buddy!" He always says that, he's been paying for my lunch every time he gets the chance.

"Are you sure? Thanks, Finn." I beamed my million-dollar smile.

Ever since I met Dave, I have found other people's compassion towards me meaningless. I realised there is no one who has naturally goodwill without expecting a reward or appraisal. No longer do I care for anyone's well-being, but I still keep the innocent mask to remain in this messed-up society.

I jolted as locks of luminous fair hair flew before me, as a beautiful slender girl barged past me to pounce on Finn. She wrapped her fragile arms around his neck as she craned her neck to give Finn a quick peck on the lips. Her flawless youthful skin and soft rosy cheeks made her look like an expensive china doll. They are beautiful people. They also do not suit each other. Quinn Fabray had a very intimidating presence. Finn was warm and inviting, but Quinn much too overpowering. Their characters shone in very different ways.

"Shouldn't you be in class right now, Quinn?" I engaged in conversation to appear friendly.

I disliked Quinn. I didn't like the vibe I received from her.

"Like I need to attend. I believe I have the intelligence to learn everything in advance, Finn." Her feminine tone of voice was mocking.

I studied her uniform, which consisted of a white and royal blue chequered, silk tartan skirt of which she wore just above her knees, in a wholesome manner. Along with white knee-length socks and black buckle shoes. They wore a plain white blouse, with a matching gray/cyan ribbon tie, and her blazer was wool-based, in a light shade of grey, with cyan ribbon trimming; similar in design to Dalton's blazer however their logo was in the matching colour of their cyan trim. What I was most jealous about was that Daliah's girls wore straw-coloured boater hats, with a delicately tied royal blue ribbon which flowed down elegantly down to their shoulders. Their uniform looked devilishly cute. Quinn pulled the colours off very well. It made her silky blonde hair stand out even more.

I strongly believed that girls like her always have something to hide. I remained civil. Not because she's Finn's girlfriend, I see no reason why I'm not allowed to smack her in the face even if she's my brother's girlfriend. Unfortunately, society isn't a free-for-all wrestling ring.

Finn grinned, looked around and behind them, to see if anyone heard what she just said to him.

"Babe, aren't you the Head Girl at Daliah Academy now? Shouldn't you be setting a good example to the students?"

"I am setting a perfect example." She gave him a conceited look.

"Well, you look really pretty today."

Quinn gave him a smile that implied: "Of course", to show him that she is perfectly aware.

"I gotta run babe. I got things to do right now." His eyes were sincere and apologetic.

Finn quickly switched off his short glance at Quinn to look at me, standing here impatiently. He scratched his head and meekly looked down at the floor. I'm mentally stamping my foot. Quinn finally turned to look at me, hazel eyes cold. I don't stand up to that crap from girls, so I gave her a cheerful smile. That's sure to piss her off.

I turned my back to continue marching to the cafeteria. "Come on then Finn. Don't forget to attend my meeting with Headmaster Figgins, Quinn."

"Wait, you're going to buy his food again? That guy has his own money!" I heard footsteps rushing behind me. She's not going to hit me. She wouldn't dare lose her reputation. I felt a tug on the sleeve of my jumper and I turned around to a familiar wide grin.

"Kurt, don't do that again."

"Do what?" I plastered on an innocent face.

"Getting me into trouble with my girlfriend, you cheeky bastard!" Giving me a playful punch on the arm, I belted a laugh and lightly shoved him in the chest.

We ambled into an immense hall of chatter and littered food. The distinct smell of meat pizza and strawberry milkshake filled the room, which is somehow arousing my hunger. I studied the busy room full of people queuing, eating, or loitering. Finn and I were already being approached and greeted by people we have no recollection in meeting before. Phatic communication was a normal occurrence to me. Politely, we slowly ushered into the food court. We were seniors, so we had the authority to be allowed inside without having to queue. It may seem unfair to the younger years as the queue looked like it was a line to go see a newly-released Broadway show, but I'm not complaining.

"What d'you want today then, Kurt?" He picked up a bacon and cheese Panini and studied it.

"Pizza!" That answer did not come from me.

Having not noticed the difference in our voice, he quickly twisted his head to show a surprised look on his face, because he knows I'm not very fond of pizzas, even Dalton's healthy recipes.

"Don't look so dumbfounded. That wasn't me that said that, Finn." I turned around. "What's up Blaine?"

Blaine Anderson is considered as the weird kid around here. He's socially awkward. Everyone condemned him as a complete basket-case. He's most popular in the dining hall for his eccentric choices of food. Once, he had a sandwich which he carefully applied breakfast cereal into and a generous amount of sugar as its filling. Blaine didn't care what impression he gave others about him, which is what I admired about Blaine the most. Along with his reputation, he did not care what he looked like. His white shirt was creased and un-tucked while his Dalton Blazer appeared to be falling apart at the seams. His grey school pants were splattered with mud and his leather shoes looked cheap, worn-out from overuse. I've spoken to him before about his attire, but I guess he didn't listen, looking at the current state of his clothes.

He stared at me for a short moment, not saying anything. "I'm okay."

I gave him a friendly smile and elbowed Finn in the rib, as he covered his mouth with a gloved hand, trying not to laugh at Blaine, secretly performing mocking gestures behind the poor guy. I hated seeing him being ridiculed like this. However, as always he was oblivious to the things people say about him. Either that or he's very good at brushing things off his shoulder.

Blaine returned a small smile, stared at me once more, until he whirled around and wandered away. He looked so fragile. His short, curly hair was unruly, matching his set of thick black eyebrows. His soft golden eyes always looked like they were elsewhere, in his own little world. The feature of Blaine I like the most is his height. He's freakishly small. It's kind of cute.

"Weird guy." Finn said, under his breath.

Finn handed me a heated bacon and cheese Panini as he paid the middle-aged woman working on the till. I beamed a warm smile at her, which she was surprised to see, judging from her reaction. No one around here ever takes notice of the hard work these adults put into feeding us.

I took a big mouthful of my free meal and muffled out to Finn on how Blaine's a cool guy and everyone should give him some respect and leave him alone.

"Sorry, Mr. Nice Guy!" He said in a sarcastic but playful manner.