Adrenaline from the performance was still coursing through Kurt's veins as he walked backstage. The Warblers had been spot-on during their Sectionals set, and the audience absolutely loved them. The air was thick with excitement, and despite the fact that they were all drenched with sweat from dancing under the bright stage lights, everyone hugged each other out of pride and anticipation.

"Kurt, we were amazing!" Blaine said as he pulled his friend in for a hug. He was dripping with sweat, but Kurt didn't mind. He tried to think of a returning complement, but the adrenaline rush had gone to his head, and all he could do was laugh with joy.

The entire group stood right offstage for a few minutes, listening to the applause that was still going strong. As the Hipsters made their way to the stage (very slowly, since half of them had walkers), the Warblers gave them space and headed back to their green room.

Wes was the first to reach the door, and paused as he opened the doorway, causing a domino effect of teenage boys crashing into one another.

"Um, can I help you?" he asked, slowly making his way into the room, team following. As Kurt made his way into the room, he saw the reason for his teammate's apprehension.

Mercedes was standing in the middle of the room. Her hair was straightened and pulled back, and was wearing a grey dress that started white at the top and faded to black at the knee. Kurt would have thought she was stunning, the fashionista he loved, if her face wasn't puffy with tears.

"Mercedes?" he asked quietly. "What's wrong?"

She smiled through the waterworks. "Kurt, you were incredible out there. You were so… happy. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have told you I hate you. I don't."

Kurt's eyes watered up as he remembered his last conversation with his best friend. He had come over to tell her he was transferring to Dalton Academy, hoping she'd be proud of him for getting away from his bullies. Instead, she had cried and screamed about abandonment and how he'd been pushing her away all year. Kurt had accused her of getting too close with Quinn and Santana, and that she had been ignoring all the bullying Azimio and Karofsky had put him through because the Cheerios thought it was social suicide to make a stand against the jocks. The fight had ended with Kurt storming out of the house, Mercedes shouting one last I hate you before he slammed his car door shut. He had cried the entire ride home, but had been too stubborn to call her and apologize.

That had been almost a month ago.

"Oh, Merce, come here," he said, walking over to her and pulling her into a hug. The two stood there holding each other, crying, until Kurt remembered there were other people in the room.

"Everyone, this is my best friend Mercedes," he said, making the girl in his arms smile upon hearing she still had that coveted title. "Mercedes, these are the Warblers."

"You were all really good," she said, waving back to some Warblers and shaking hands with Blaine, who was always ready to introduce himself to a new friend.

"We're really excited to see your set," the captain said. "We've heard nothing but good things about New Directions from Kurt."

Mercedes laughed dryly a she sat on one of the couches next to Kurt. "You guys don't have to worry about anything. We're a mess over there," she said, pointing out the door to where New Directions were situated down the hall.

Some of the Warblers asked her what songs McKinley would be performing as Kurt's cell phone rang. He listened for a moment before hanging up upon hearing Figgins' recorded voice. He got a phone call every other day from his old school, telling him he would be facing severe punishment if he continued to miss more school. Apparently no one had filed the paperwork that he had transferred schools. He gestured at his phone and rolled his eyes at Blaine, who laughed, knowing exactly who had been at the other end.

Sitting back down, Kurt wrapped his arm around Mercedes, the familiarity of their friendship coming back to him. He had just begun to ask her how Lauren Zizes was doing as his glee club replacement when a door slammed from down the hall. Although the door to the Warblers' green room was closed, they could clearly hear the shouting.

"This is bogus! We're going to suck out there, and then I'm going to have to go back to juvie! I'm out, dudes. I'm going to skip town while I still have a chance."

"Puck," Kurt and Mercedes said in unison as the former's teammates shared looks of confusion and fear. Mercedes stood up, adjusting her dress.

"I'm going to see if I can stop Mr. Mohawk over there from running out on us," she said, half-laughing. Kurt ran over as she was about to reach the door and pulled her into another hug.

"Break a leg, gorgeous," he said.

Kurt watched as she stormed off down the hall after Puck, who had broken free of Mike and Finn's grasps and was searching for the nearest exit. "I do not miss that drama," he joked as he closed the door. However, he secretly missed New Directions as much as he had missed his best friend. He sat down next to Blaine as Dalton listened to the Hipsters over the P.A. system (the group wasn't even in the running of winning sectionals; they were adorable yet tone-deaf – and probably actually deaf).

A scream from down the hall made the entire room jump. The Warblers rushed down the hallway to the New Directions green room, letting Kurt push his way to the front.

"What's going on?" he asked, walking in and seeing his entire old glee club huddled around someone on the floor. Mike was the first person to pull his attention from the ground and looked at Kurt.

"It's Zizes. She fainted."