"And now, the 2011 McKinley High prom queen… With an overwhelming number or writer in votes is… Kurt Hummel"

A moment of silence, long enough to blink a few times and whisper, "What?" passed as every head turned to stare at McKinley's latest prom queen. McKinley's prom queen who was staring back with wide, fearful eyes and then flying out the gymnasium doors before the catcalls and whistles and sarcastic clapping could escalate. Kurt's footfalls were quickly followed by that of the Dalton Warbler.

Kurt ran down the hall, not knowing where he intended to go, but just moving far away from all the embarrassment and hatred and watchful eyes. Nothing else mattered except for getting as much space between himself and those…traitors as he could.

But Blaine's words stopped him. He rounded on his boyfriend, realizing that he had someone to vent to. He'd already been half-made up on either seeking out Finn from where Sue had escorted him to even running all the way home to collapse against his father and explain tearfully what had happened. But Blaine would understand.

"Don't you get how stupid we were? We thought because no one was teasing us or beating us up that…that no one cared. Like…some kind of progress had been made. But it's still the same" Kurt explained tearfully, thinking of how just two days ago he'd been proudly explaining to Dave how no one was messing with him anymore. How it was okay, this school was now accepting. It seemed the bully turned guardian angel had been right; Kurt had been dreaming.

Blaine shook his head and looked away briefly before moving closer. "It's just a stupid joke" he said in what would have been reassuring if he hadn't seemed so…what? Exasperated. No, that couldn't be it. He was just upset. Upset for Kurt and what just happened to him.

"No, it's not" Kurt said, adamant to make his boyfriend understand. It had been too long since Blaine had to face what a normal high school was like. Why wasn't he understanding that sometimes people were just cruel? Cruel because they were ignorant. Cruel because they'd been brought up that way. Cruel just because it was "funny". "All that hate, they were just afraid to say it out loud, so they did it by secret ballot. I'm one big, anonymous practical joke!" Kurt declared as he stepped away, trying to move his body, do anything, pace, sit, lean against a wall, but just anything to keep from crying anymore.

At some point during his pacing Kurt watched as Blaine slid to the floor, his back pressed against a row of lockers like he was…bored. No, he was just…sympathetic. Maybe this was hard for him to watch. Kurt was, after all, his boyfriend. And Kurt knew that he loved Blaine and surely Blaine loved him as well, so no, he couldn't be bored. He was just…upset.

"Would you at least…sit down" Blaine said evenly, his tone one that Kurt couldn't place. Kurt remained silent, so Blaine continued. "Do you wanna go?" he suggested, sounding rather opposed to the idea although it had been he who had had such reservations about coming in the first place. "We don't have to go back in there."

"Wasn't this prom supposed to be about redemption?" Kurt asked as he finally turned to face Blaine who was peering up at him from his spot on the floor. "About taking away that lump you had in your throat from running away?" he continued on. And Blaine was…was he about to roll his eyes? No, no, Kurt was not seeing that right. But still, the way Blaine was acting was starting to tug at Kurt's irritation. Maybe it was because he was already charged up, more pissed at this school than he'd ever been in his life, and Blaine just happened to be sitting there, but still…

Wasn't he Kurt's boyfriend? Wasn't he Kurt's perfect boyfriend? The guy who was thoughtful and caring and was supposed to comfort Kurt no matter what? And of all the times to need a hug or a kiss or just some loving advice, this would be the time. But instead he was just sitting on his ass as though he were waiting for this to be over.

"What's your problem?" Kurt blurted before he could stop himself.

"Sorry?" Blaine asked, looking away from where he'd been staring at the gym doors to meet Kurt's intense gaze.

"I asked you what your problem is. Here I am, a hysterical mess and you're…are you bored? What, Blaine? What's your problem?" Kurt demanded, feeling himself growing more and more agitated the longer that Blaine just sat there.

"Nothing's wrong, I just…never mind. Do you want to go back inside or not?" Blaine asked, trying to bring the focus back to the problem at hand.

"No, I won't never mind, tell me. Did I do something wrong? Have you been having a terrible time? What?"

There was a long moment of silence as Blaine fidgeted on the floor, but still didn't stand. Finally he cleared his throat and spoke, "I just…Kurt, remember what I told you when you first came to Dalton?"

"What, that I'd never get any solos as long as you're around?" Kurt snorted. He felt bad the second it was out of his mouth after seeing how it made Blaine's face fall, but in a way there was a weird sense of relief, as though he'd been holding on to those words and waiting to say them for a while now.

"No" Blaine said finally after a minute shake of his head. "I told you that you should try to fit in more. Kurt, you…your dad was right. The way you dress and the way you act…you call a lot of attention to yourself and I just think…" Blaine broke off, staring at the floor and glancing around at the other lockers.

"You just think what, Blaine?" Kurt asked almost dangerously as he lowered himself to the ground, crowding Blaine's personal space.

"I just think maybe this wouldn't have happened if you would have done a better job at calling less attention to yourself" Blaine explained in a rush, wincing slightly at how the words sounded as they came out of his mouth.

"Oh, I see…" Kurt said distractedly as he rose back to his feet, towering over Blaine. "Blaine, I'm going to tell you the same thing I once told David and Azimio. That I love being different. It's the best thing about me. I get that some things happened in your past that make you…I don't know, ashamed to really be who you are…"

"Kurt, I'm not ashamed…" Blaine began, but Kurt silenced him with a look.

"But I'm not going to change. I don't dress the way I do just to invite negative attention. I don't pick out outfits in the morning wondering which will look good once they're covered in food coloring and ice water. I don't talk the way I do so that I can practice what my voice will sound like once I'm slammed into a locker. And I don't act the way I do so that I can be torn down and publicly humiliated in front of my entire school. I do it because that is who I am and I love myself. No one can take that away from me, Blaine. No one. But I thought you of all people would understand that. I thought you loved me for all of those things" Kurt said, his body beginning to vibrate from the slow rage building inside of him.

"Kurt, come on, you're being ridiculous. I do love you, you know I do. I'm not saying that I don't, I'm just saying that…some things you do I just feel…sometimes I just feel like you're purposefully drawing attention to yourself and then you act surprised when something like this happens" Blaine explained with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"You think I wanted this?" Kurt said, his voice becoming low and almost to quiet to hear.

"No, of course not. Kurt…"

"Did you want to get beaten up by those guys when you went to that dance, Blaine?" Kurt continued, completely ignoring the blabbering from the boy below him.

"No, god…no. But I wasn't doing anything wro…"

"Hey!" a deep voice called from down the hallway.

Both Kurt and Blaine turned to see who the intruder was. Kurt was fully prepared to give them an earful, but he closed his mouth when he saw who it was and for the first time since he'd run out of the gym he felt something like comfort sweeping through him.

Dave Karofsky stormed over to the pair, scepter still in hand and crown still crooked as ever atop his head.

"What were you about to say, hobbit?" Dave demanded as he stormed over to Blaine who was quickly pulling himself up off the floor and flattening himself against the locker, all with the same unengaged look he'd worn during his previous confrontations with the former bully.

"Look, this is between Kurt and myself, so if you could just go back to the gym…" Blaine began, but Dave didn't really seem interested in his answer.

"No, I don't think I will. I asked you what you were just saying. Because from where I was standing, it sounded like you were saying this was Kurt's fault" he said, a much more intimidating quality in his voice than what Kurt had been able to muster.

Kurt found himself once again on the sidelines, watching his boyfriend and his new friend have at it, although he wondered if he shouldn't find it strange that he was on Dave's side this time.

"I wasn't saying that exactly" Blaine said, his voice sounding a little meeker than before.

"Yes, you were" Kurt cut in. Blaine and Dave turned to look at Kurt, both as though they had almost forgotten he was still standing there. Blaine shot him an exasperated 'are you happy now' look while Dave wore an expression similar to the one after he broke down and apologized outside the French room. He gave Kurt a small nod and turned back to Blaine.

"I think you should leave" he said in a tone as calm as he could possibly manage at the moment.

"No, I'm staying here. Kurt needs me" Blaine said defiantly.

"I think what Kurt needs right now is someone who is actually going to tell him this isn't his fault, which you clearly aren't doing. Get lost, prep school" Dave said, a low growl etching into his voice.

"Kurt, please…" Blaine said impatiently as he turned to look at his boyfriend who was still standing as a silent spectator. "If you want to go, then I'll go, but I'm not going by myself."

"No, Blaine, I think you are" Kurt said softly, but firmly. "You should go. I'll call you later and we can talk about our relationship, but I'm having some serious reconsideration. I needed you just now, Blaine. I needed you to comfort me and tell me this wasn't my fault and you just sat there. I'm sorry for what happened to you, but if that wasn't your fault, then this wasn't mine either. I know you didn't want to come, but I didn't think you'd be this crass about it. You should go."

Blaine looked at Kurt dumbfounded for a minute before he was being pulled from against the lockers and shoved as gently as someone of Dave Karofsky's stature could shove someone, down the hall. "Get lost" Dave commanded in a final way.

"Whatever. I'll talk to you later, Kurt" Blaine huffed as he spared one last betrayed look at Kurt and then took off down the hall.

Dave stood in the same spot, making sure Blaine really did exit the building, a hard frown set on his face. Kurt shook his head and stared at the floor for a moment before looking up at Dave.

"Thank you" he said quietly to Dave's back. The football player jumped slightly and turned to face Kurt.

"Oh, uh…you're welcome. Sorry about…" he gestured in the general direction from which Blaine had exited.

"It's fine" Kurt said quickly. "I mean, it's not fine. I'm pretty sure I just broke up with my boyfriend, but it's…it's fine. I…I think it's been meaning to happen for a while. I kind of…overlooked a lot about him. He's a great guy, don't get me wrong, but he's just…not right for me, I guess. I was just so excited, though, finally knowing someone else who was gay and who I could possibly date that I think I went…well, I went a little overboard" Kurt said with a small chuckle. Dave's mouth pulled up into a hesitant smile.

"I guess I understand that."

Silence fell between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable and although Kurt felt like that should have been strange he was more grateful to even bother analyzing what it meant.

"So, um…are you gonna be okay?" Dave asked finally, nervously twisting his scepter between his large hands.

"I think I might be if…if I have a king's support" Kurt said half jokingly. Dave's face was a map of confusion for a minute before realization dawned on him.

"Oh. I can…I can do that. But Kurt, I can't…I mean, I'm still not ready…" he began, staring at the ground ashamedly.

"I know" Kurt said quickly before Dave could get too down on himself. "I understand completely. God, especially after what just happened I wouldn't blame you if you stayed in the closet for the rest of high school." Dave opened his mouth as though to protest but Kurt shook his head. "You do it when you're ready, though. I'd love to see you be just as out and proud as me, but this isn't something you can rush."

Dave closed his mouth and nodded slowly. He licked his lips nervously and looked back up at Kurt. "So…do you want to go back in there or…because we don't have to. I'd personally love to tell them all to go screw themselves, but…if you want to face them, then…hell, Kurt, it's the least I can do to stand by you."

It was stupid really, now was not the time to start crying again, but Kurt could still feel the tears gathering in his eyes again.

"I think I'd like that. I'm going to go in there and show them that it doesn't matter if they are yelling at me or whispering behind my back, that they can't touch me" Kurt said determinedly as he stepped closer to Dave. "That they can't touch us" he said, grabbing one of Dave's hand between his own before he even realized what he was doing. Kurt saw panic flash in Dave's eyes, but he also saw Dave push it down and nod, his own hand squeezing Kurt's back.

"Okay" Dave said quietly. "Okay. Let's…let's go."

They entered the gym doors and silence fell throughout the buzzing crowd once more. They entered not as prom king and shamefully named prom queen, but as kings together, set on beginning a new world order.