The Arrival of Kurt Hummel

Kurt Hummel, acclaimed child actor, decides to postpone his budding career and enrol at McKinley High. He soon finds that show business is nothing compared to high school, a place where secrets and betrayals are the norm and will eat Kurt alive if he isn't careful.

Chapter 1- In The Crowd Alone

"Is he really coming today?"

"That's what I heard from Lisa."

"Yeah, but you know how much Lisa lies. She told me last week that her brother's best friend was hitting on her!"

"How do you know he's not?"

"Because, Lisa is only a five. Even her mom's hotter than she is."

"Wow, harsh much?"

Rachel Berry rolled her eyes as she peeled her body from her locker and promptly left the conversation that she was eavesdropping on. She knew that Lisa Montgomery was full of shit most of the time, but she also knew that she would not lie about her favourite actor. That left Rachel wondering if the rumours really were true.

Kurt Hummel was coming to McKinley.

She didn't know a lot about him other than his filmography which she had skimmed through once she had heard the news. His private life was kept extremely under wraps and Rachel's research hadn't churned up anything of great import. It turned out that she recognised him more than she knew she did. His work spoke for itself and he wasn't one of the usual child stars that breaks their way into the business.

His very first film role came as an extra in a Martin Scorsese movie and, from there, it had only skyrocketed. Rachel made a note to ask him who his agent was for when she decided she was ready to take Hollywood by storm. Whoever it was had been doing one hell of a job with him. It was hard to believe that he was actually only their age. A sophomore in high school and already Oscar nominated. Nobody had expected him to even make it that far for his role in the Terrence Malick movie that Rachel had misplaced the name of. Even his nomination was a shock, despite the fact that he took home the Golden Globe and various other prizes for his mature, beyond his years work on the movie.

It was safe to say that Rachel was beyond excited. She had already devised a plan to recruit him to Glee Club and then the Drama Club. She was glad that he was a boy and wouldn't be able to take her spot in whatever musical McKinley decided to put on this year. That led to the question as to whether he could actually sing. Even if he couldn't, Rachel would want him in Glee Club to draw attention to her performances. The press would be there, perhaps even celebrity contacts that he knew.

Long story short, Rachel Berry was completely excited and completely ready for the arrival of Kurt Hummel.

Kurt Hummel sat in his Lincoln Navigator, tapping the steering wheel rapidly with his fingers as he took deep breaths.

There it was. Right in front of him sat the place he was going to be studying for the next three years. He had been schooled by his tutors on the set of his latest movie throughout freshman and had done remarkably well in his testing. Seeing his scores had prompted a real change. He wanted to be in the high school environment. He wanted to be with his peers. And he wanted to move back to his hometown to do it. He had been away from his father for so long now, he barely remembered how he smelt or the sound of his laugh. They Skyped sometimes, but it wasn't quite the same. Kurt was always overwhelmingly busy with filming or press tours or awards shows.

That being said, he missed the feeling of mundanity. Always being in the spotlight was overbearing a lot of the time and Kurt was relishing the idea of being hidden away, treated relatively like a normal person for a change. He had earned enough money from his movies and awards shows and interviews to sustain himself and help his dad out while he was living there, as well as pay for whatever college he decided to attend. Whether it was drama school or academic study, he didn't know, but he was sure that he'd find out in due course.

He had been acting professionally since the age of six and had attended elementary school and middle school in California. Freshman year, he had a bigger role in a movie and would not have had the time to attend, though he had managed to sort out arrangements to be taught whilst on the set, luckily for him. Not that he had needed much teaching. As his director had pointed out, he was an academic natural and that meant he could spend more time preparing for shoot days.

Kurt pushed his sunglasses back up his nose until he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror in front of him.

"What a dick," he muttered, taking them off completely. He blinked, eyes looking less tired these days than they used to back in Los Angeles. He repressed a shudder as he thought of the past few months and how much he had needed the escape. "No. You don't get to think about that today. Just move on with your life. Here, at McKinley High. Okay."

Kurt smoothed his hair at the back one last time, making sure his 'do' was as in place as he liked it and then sighed.

"You're ready."

He opened the car door and stepped out, boots clicking sharply against the pavement. As he closed the door, several heads turned to his direction.

"Here comes the cavalry," he hummed to himself and mentally prepared himself for what might happen throughout the day.

Sam Evans retrieved his World History book with a sigh, not looking forward to day ahead. His classes were okay, nothing too mind-bending, but Glee Club was going to be a stretch. He knew that everyone was going to be performing today and he hadn't prepared anything, having been too busy catching up on his Math homework during the weekend to even think about it. Plus he had had to babysit Stacy and Stevie while his parents went to a friend's wedding. That had taken up a lot of his time.

He had some songs already memorised in his repertoire, but he had already performed them all for Glee Club assignments. He needed something fresh and, given that the assignment was to step out of your comfort zone, there was nothing that he could just do off the cuff.

Shaking his head, Sam decided not to think about it anymore, figuring that he would deal with it when the moment came and not a second before.

When he turned around, the atmosphere had shifted.

It was almost as if somebody was performing a magic trick and he was the only one that wasn't privy to the mechanics of the sleight of hand. Small gasps erupted throughout the hallway, whispers buzzed around like an army of bees, swarming every student and changing their gaze's direction.

Sam frowned, leaning over to see what all the fuss was about. Maybe somebody was pregnant again. It sure seemed like the attention that Quinn had gotten during the first stages of her pregnancy. His mind briefly wondered who it could be before he realised that he didn't actually care. He just wanted to get through the day in one piece.

And then, something collided with his shoulder.

"Shit," a voice whispered from behind him.

Sam whirled around, taken aback when he saw a boy only a few inches shorter than himself wincing and awkwardly rubbing his arm. "Surely that couldn't have hurt," he chuckled.

The boy seemed to recover and smiled, almost reluctantly as though he was scared to. "You're right, it didn't. I just didn't see you there. Sorry, it's my fault."

Sam looked behind his head. "I mean, the wall over there is really interesting, I'm not surprised you couldn't tear your eyes away from it."

The boy nodded, grin widening. "Funny. You're funny. Mind telling me your name?"

"Sam. Evans," Sam smiled, offering his hand for the casual handshake.

The boy took it warmly, dipping his head. "I'm…uh…Kyle."

Sam dropped his hand. "Nice to meet you, Kyle."

Kyle frowned at the crowd. "Do you know why everybody's standing around there? Is there an event on I don't know about? This is my first day here and I didn't know if this was like a daily thing or just…well, a scandal or something."

Sam shrugged genuinely. "No idea. I've been here for a year and this has never happened. I've never seen these people so amped up before." Then he paused. "Wait, you're new? I can…give you a tour of the school if you like? You don't seem to have a Peer Mentor yet."

Kyle shrugged back. "They didn't give me one. I said that I'd be okay without one. Though I'd rely on my superior navigational skills but then I realised the signposting in this place isn't exactly clear."

Sam chuckled. "I transferred in the middle of last year so I know the feeling. Well, I can be your unofficial tour guide slash spirit guide slash peer mentor until you get settled."

"How about a friend?"

Sam nodded kindly. "I can do that, too. It gets pretty lonely around here otherwise."

Kyle's lips tightened. "Do you mind if we stop at the bathroom for a quick second? I just need to freshen up."

Sam finally appraised Kyle as a whole. He was dressed smartly, but not too extravagantly and his hair was perfectly styled, as though every single strand was exactly how he wanted it. He had a watch wrapped around his wrist that looked more expensive than Sam's entire house. And his dad had a really good job.

"Uh, yeah sure. It's actually just this door here, funnily enough. It's convenient because my locker is right here."

Kyle glanced back quickly at the door and slipped through it without another word.

"Hey, wait!" Sam followed him.

Kyle was stood at the sinks, looking around the deserted bathroom and then at himself, breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?"

Kyle nodded. "Yeah. I'm just fine. Thanks."

"You don't have to pretend with me, Kurt. I mean…Kyle."

Kurt Hummel stared at Sam Evans in shock. "Wait, you know who I am? It seemed like…"

"I didn't want you to think that I was just another crazy fan. When you said your name was Kyle, I just went with it. Figured today might be hard for you as it is."

Kurt smiled, touched. "Well, I really appreciate that. It was a stupid idea, though. It seems that just about everyone knows that I'm here."

"I knew that you were coming, I just didn't realise it'd be today. It was hard to not tell you that I knew who you were, though."

"Why?"

"I'm…kinda a huge fan, but don't let that drive you away. I can be cool about it."

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "I can see that. That's sweet of you. Honestly, I'm just here to try and have a semi-normal experience. When I saw the crowds, I kinda freaked."

"Take all the time you need. You have a free period now, right? New students usually have their first block free to acquaint themselves."

Kurt nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm in study hall. We can hide out in here until classes start and everyone disperses, if you like," Sam offered, not really able to believe that he was being so calm about meeting and talking to Kurt Hummel.

The amount of times that Sam had tuned into a movie awards show just to see Kurt Hummel on the red carpet would embarrass both of them. He watched the Oscars purely to see Kurt hopeful win his category. He hadn't and Sam had been devastated, even though the nominee stood and clapped vigorously for the winner. It wasn't a fanboy obsession, he just really liked Kurt's acting and his screen presence was something to be admired considering his age.

"I'd like," Kurt replied gratefully. "Thank you, Sam Evans. Thank you for being probably the only genuine friend I make today."

Sam hummed in agreement. "I'll put it bluntly. People are going to try to use you for their own personal gain. I'll say this: when the race for Prom Queen comes around, do not get involved. They'll try to make you run with them for the votes."

"I'm a sophomore," Kurt said, the phrase sounding strange in his head.

Sam shrugged. "Doesn't matter. The juniors and seniors and going to look to you for their crowns. Don't worry though, I'll make sure you know exactly how to deal with them."

Kurt jumped up onto the sinks and swung his legs back and forth, smiling.

"What?"

"Nothing," he answered. "Just…the feeling of being a real high school. It's weird. I've been on sets of high schools, but never an actual school. It's an experience."

"Oh yeah, Innocence. I remember that one."

Kurt raised an eyebrows. "That was an art house film. Four people including myself saw that movie. Just how big of a fan are you, Sam?"

Sam's eyes widened awkwardly. "I just really like your movies."

Kurt appraised the blond with a smirk and wink.

"Uh huh."