"Lightning never strikes the same place twice." That's how the saying goes. But places like the Empire State Building are struck by lightning about a hundred times a year. Yet the saying prevails. Why do people still say that? I guess the question really isn't so much can lightning strike the same place twice, but will it?

Chapter One: Pilot - Part One

Blaine dug through his closet. At last he found what he was looking for. The outfit he'd worn his first day at McKinley. He swapped the yellow-rimmed sunglasses for his hot pink shades. He hoped it would make the right impression. No time to think. It was nine pm here which meant it was eight-thirty in the AU. Eight-thirty am, McKinley High, Lima, Ohio, September, 2009, Alternate Universe. Kurt would be sixteen. Anything was possible.

Blaine trotted down the side-walk un-able to contain his excitement. He couldn't wait to see Kurt again. To at least hug him. To hold him in his arms once again. Up ahead he could see Kurt, Finn and Puck surrounded by football players. Oh dear. Practically extinct by the time Blaine transferred to McKinley he had nonetheless heard horror stories about dumpster tossing from his fellow Glee-Clubbers. It was obvious these three were about to get it. Mr. Schue was there and Blaine could hear him chattering about Kurt making new friends and Finn's homework being overdue. God adults can be blind. Blaine unhooked the pink glasses from his belt and put them on.

"Hey guys." Blaine called out cheerily. Inside his heart was racing. How would Kurt react to him showing up a good fourteen months early? Puck had moved to stand on Kurt's right so Blaine slipped between the football goons to stand on his left. "Are these people giving you a hard time?" Kurt would surely like him if he saved him from bullies. "We're a match for them. Finn, Puck, if you wouldn't mind backing me up?" Why was Kurt looking at him like he was crazy? Why did Finn look so uncomfortable? Why was Puck sneering?

"I think Newbie here needs to be initiated into loser-dom." What was Puck talking about? Why was Azimio stepping forward like he was under Puck's command? Than Puck grabbed his arms and Azimio grabbed his feet and it became horrifyingly clear that Puck and Finn weren't the ones who were going to get tossed into the dumpster. He was.

Rats and I dressed up a bit too. Blaine landed in a shallow mass of junk. Trying not to think about what he was covered in Blaine got to his feet. Crouching so his head didn't rise above the top of the dumpster. What am I supposed to do now? He brushed himself off. How can I make a good impression and help Kurt like this? Outside he could hear Puck saying:

"Is he coming out? Ah well, let's just toss Hummel in on top of him." Oh no. How can I stop this? Blaine could hear Kurt pleading on behalf of his jacket and then Finn cried,

"Wait." Great, Finn gets all the glory, but at least Kurt's safe. Then he heard the jacket being unzipped and Finn saying, "Okay." So much for that. What can I do? Kurt's too big for me to catch… I'll have to try. Maybe I can help him land upright. As Kurt came sailing over the top of the dumpster Blaine held out his arms and…

…caught him. Of course, Kurt's only sixteen. He's way smaller than eighteen-year-old Kurt.

"Hey, that actually worked, I can actually-" Then Blaine's knees buckled and he sat down painfully on a pile of trash.