Moving to Dalton had been both an easy, yet pain-staking decision to make. Easy because his reasons for leaving were clear and notable ones, but it was also pain-staking because it meant having to leave those he loved behind – all of whom understood his decision to leave McKinley.

There were some things Kurt had to consider thoroughly though, before he could finally make the choice to vacate his old high-school.

His family was a big factor; Kurt knew that when he moved to Dalton, he would be staying in one of the dorm rooms there among the Statham wing of the school, meaning he would only get to see his father, Carole and Finn on the weekends and on school holidays. But what made it easier to transfer was the fact that Burt and Carole had used the honeymoon money they'd been saving up to pay for the steep tuition at Dalton; Kurt was going to do his best to make sure that money would not go wasted.

Another reason he found it hard to depart was because of his friends in glee club. How could he leave them behind when they had done so much for Kurt when times got rough? They tried to provide him with safety, even when he didn't ask for it. Granted, the majority of them were so self-absorbed that Kurt almost had a heart attack when they eventually realized he was in trouble, but either way he had appreciated just how much they cared.

Unfortunately, despite these reasons, his main one for leaving went unknown by both his parents and his glee club.

Kurt tried not to think about the night he had endured with one, Sebastian Smythe, two weeks prior to when he left. It made him feel sick to his core and only brought back the revolting memory of the way Sebastian's fingertips felt against the hot skin at his hips as he struggled so desperately to get away. To run from the nightmare that had ensued...

"You okay over there, kiddo? You haven't said more than two words to me since we left Lima." To Kurt's relief, Burt's caring and somewhat concerned voice broke through his thoughts before he could begin to relive the one thing he wished he could forget.

He looked over at his side mirror as he considered his answer, just about registering seeing Finn still following them closely in his Navigator. Although he didn't appreciate or trust his brother being behind the wheel of his car, Kurt was grateful he wasn't driving it alone or with Finn; as much as he loved the big lug, the countertenor wasn't sure he could put up with him for an extended amount of time in such a confined space. Besides, leaving the car behind wasn't an option. He needed a way to get himself home on the weekends and around Westerville without having to result in lifts from the boys at Dalton.

Kurt gradually turned his attentions back to his Dad and evenly spoke, "I'm fine. Just a little nervous, I guess. Never expected to have to start a new school and make friends all over again." Just like that, the tension that had been wound inside of Kurt's body throughout best part of the night and their trip slowly started to ebb away at the sight and sound of his Dad's light chuckle. It was enough to make his nerves ease up and bring a slight smile to his face.

"You'll be fine, buddy. I can guarantee it."

They had been driving for less than two hours when, what Kurt assumed was his new school Dalton, began coming into view. Not used to seeing something so grand and beautiful within a small town such as Westerville or Lima, he slowly took his the scene that surrounded them.

He had seen the pictures on the pamphlets and the prospectus that his father had given him when he said Kurt would be attending Dalton, but nothing compared to the sight that stood before them. Kurt quickly noticed the detailed work of the "D" that adorned the centre of the hefty iron gates, just before it slowly split in half as they opened, allowing them entry onto the school grounds. It was the exact same lettering that was embroidered on the blazer's left breast pocket.

When Kurt brought himself back to reality, he looked over at his father who returned his gaze with a reassuring smile. "Thank you, Dad." In his own ears, Kurt could hear the sorrow and pain that thickly laced his voice, mixed in with the slight reprieve from the protection he knew he would get here.

Over the past couple of weeks, Kurt had been trying his hardest to cover the emotions he'd been feeling since that night with Sebastian, and more often than not he managed to succeed, but whether that was a blessing or a curse, Kurt was still unable to decide. He wanted nothing more than to tell his father or Mercedes about what Sebastian had put him through, but he knew it would only make things more complicated and Kurt just wasn't ready to experience that night again. Not yet.

So, until he felt strong enough to talk about it, Kurt was happy enough to make the transfer to Dalton in an attempt to block out the past. He couldn't remember getting out of the car or the walk to the principal's office, but somehow after making the conscious decision to keep quiet, he found himself sitting in a plush, brown leather chair, arms resting in his lap whilst he kept his fingers interlaced – trying hard to stop himself from shaking.

"Where's Finn?"

"I made him wait outside in the car. I didn't see the point in making him sit through this, so I left him to play his Super Kart thing." Kurt couldn't help but smile at his Dad's complete cluelessness, it was something he had always found endearing about his father. Unfortunately, it didn't translate to Finn whose cluelessness often pushed his limits when it came to patience.

"Super Mario Kart, Dad." He said, voice portraying both mirth and adoration for Burt. His dad merely shrugged his shoulders as the silence from earlier fell over them again.

Kurt moved his eyes around the room, taking in the overbearing furniture in hope that it would keep his mind preoccupied. He stared at the large mahogany desk that sat in front of him, currently taken with stacks of papers, multiple empty cups that were probably once filled to the brim with coffee and a simple lamp, covered by a cream shade that was placed on the upper right corner of the desk.

Behind the principal's table sat a luxurious swivel chair that was bound in a similar leather cover the one that was on Kurt's. But what he really noticed that caught his eye from the beginning was the large window that consisted of just three long sheets of floor to ceiling glass.

The window was overlooking some type of courtyard that bared the most beautiful and colourful of flowers and also had a stone walk-way surrounding a patch of vibrant, green grass. His eyes drifted up to take in the oblong buildings that enclosed the courtyard; Kurt knew from the prospectus that each rectangle building held multiple dorm rooms of the different houses that were on campus. To the left of the courtyard, he had memorized it to be the Ashford house, to the right would be Harlem and straight opposite the window that allowed access to such a view, was Statham, the house Kurt would be staying in during his time here.

Kurt was eye-balling the vast amount and variety of books placed on the shelves that took up both the left and right walls of the office, when he heard the large double doors leading into the room open behind him and his father.

He couldn't help but do a double take when he saw just how handsome the principal was, a definitely improvement over Figgins. He was wearing a black tailor-made suit which Kurt's fashion eye recognized it to be none other than Armani, and had paired it with a white buttoned down shirt.

He looked up from the suit to be greeted by a pair of warm, murky blue eyes, both framed beautifully by dark eyelashes. He also had eyebrows that Kurt was sure had been plucked more than once over the years, and some seriously coiffed dark brown/greyish hair. The countertenor had to give the man some props for taking such good care of his appearance.

"Good morning, I'm Mr Miller, headmaster of Dalton Academy." With his deep and rather raspy tone, he greeted Kurt and Burt with a smile and a handshake before settling down in his own chair.

He quickly began fishing through his top draw as he continued to speak, "I understand the tuition for this year has already been paid for and you were given a quick tour of the grounds before you got here." He glanced up at Kurt with a slight smirk before saying, "Although one little look around won't be enough to get used to the seemingly endless hallways. Trust me, I know."

A small smile played on Kurt's lips whilst his cheeks flushed a light shade of pink. He watched Mr Miller do a little sing-song of victory once he had found the sheet of paper he'd been looking for.

"Here you are, Kurt. This is your time table; it is pretty simple to follow, even if the classes are harder to find. If you ever do get lost, just simply stop one of the students and ask. They are all very friendly here at Dalton." He took the paper in his hands, and found that most of his classes were AP due to his excellent grades at McKinley. He went on to try and memorize his time table while his Dad and Mr Miller engaged in discussion.

"Do you have any questions, Mr Hummel?" Kurt could practically hear the grin the principal was sporting in his voice. Despite his better judgment, he found another smile making its way onto his face, the enthusiasm infectious.

"Just one; are you sure my boy's gonna be safe here? Its bad enough I had to move him once away from his family and friends because of some kid's ignorance."

"Dad!" Kurt whined at his father's upfront attitude.

As he buried his head in his hands, he heard a rather deep and hearty chuckle come from Mr Miller. "It's alright, Kurt. And yes, your son is perfectly safe here at Dalton. We have a zero-tolerance bullying policy which is enforced so if anyone were to try and harm Kurt, whether it is verbally or physically, they will be automatically suspended. No questions asked."

The introduction carried on in a similar fashion. Burt asking more questions that further embarrassed his son to the point where Kurt was completely slumped in his chair, wishing for the floor to open up and swallow him whole. After the meeting, Mr. Miller led Kurt and his father outside and left them alone to say their goodbyes. Finn saw them approaching and had quickly jumped out of the car, bounding his way towards father and son. "Hey dude! So, you're officially a student at this place, huh?"

"Yeah, I am." Kurt just stood there, head down with his arms folded over his chest, the perfect image of a sulking child.

"Well, I guess this is it then. Now, I don't want you to worry about coming home this weekend son. I'd prefer it if you stayed here and got settled in before you started doing all that driving back and forth business, okay?" Burt placed his hand on his son's shoulder, ducking a little to get Kurt to lift his head and meet his gaze. Since leaving the office, he hadn't said anything to either the principal or his father. "Kiddo?"

The countertenor began raising his head, his eyes glazed over with tears. "That's fine, Dad." His answer came out breathy and a little shaky, nerves as well as overwhelming sense of gratefulness taking over.

"Are you okay, dude?" Finn's concern only made his little brother want to cry more, but the last thing he wanted was to make the taller teen feel awkward by having to deal with an emotional Kurt.

"I am now. I'm just going to really miss you guys, that's all." Kurt must have said something right because in return, he got one of his brother's dopey grins and was suddenly encased inside a big hug. He cautiously wrapped his arms around Finn's torso, not sure just how much he was actually comfortable with Kurt touching him yet.

"I'm gonna miss you too, little bro. If anyone treats you wrong around here, just let me know and I'll get the boys to-"

"That's enough, Finn." Burt cut in as Franken-teen began to get more animated and before he could begin to babble about ways he could protect Kurt even though he was a couple of towns away. "Could you give us a minute?"

Finn nodded and went back to the passenger's seat in Burt's old pick-up truck, leaving Burt and a still watery-eyed Kurt behind. "Good luck, son. Hopefully this school treats you with the respect I know you deserve."

Kurt gave him a quivering smile before he launched into his dad's arm, not quite ready to say goodbye yet but knowing he had no choice. "I love you, Dad. Make sure Carole takes care of you," He began pulling away, removing one of his hands from his dad's side so he could wipe the tears that were now streaming down his face. "And remember – no salty or unhealthy food! You know what the doctor said."

His father threw his hands up in surrender. "I know, I know. Don't worry; Carole will take good care of me." They gave each other one last hug before Burt finally tore himself away and left his son behind, a decision that he had never wanted to make, not so early. But if it meant Kurt was going to be safe and not have to deal with the real world for a while, well then it made it that much easier for Burt to start up his car and wave goodbye one last time before pulling out of the school grounds and driving away.

OoooOoooO

Kurt knew that when his dad eventually left he would have to return to the principal's office to meet the prefect of Statham – a boy which Kurt remembered as Wesley (pictures of him had been shown in the prospectus, along with the leaders of Ashford and Harlem).

He couldn't help but notice as he flicked through the book that in every picture, the Wesley kid had a gavel within his grasp. And although it had piqued his interest, Kurt was about 90 percent sure he probably didn't want to know why his prefect even had a gavel.

After Kurt had watched his dad drive away, more tears began to well in his eyes, all of which were threatening to escape. As he walked towards the principal's office, he tried to calm himself down and take comfort in the fact that he no longer had to keep glancing over his shoulder waiting for a slushy attack that would never come, or having to keep a look out for Neanderthals who wanted to bruise every inch of him for who he was. He was free.

He opened the double doors that lead into the office and was greeted by a chirpy Mr Miller, "Kurt! This is Wesley Montgomery; he will be showing you to your dorm and will be at your room tomorrow morning, bright and early, to take you to your first lesson."

Kurt clasped onto the extended hand Wesley had given him, and noted the huge grin that was plastered onto his face. "Hello, Kurt. Your luggage has already been taken to your room, now all we need is to get you up there." Kurt unwillingly gave his prefect a smile. Although he really appreciated the kindness he was being shown, after everything that happened, all he wanted at that particular moment was to sit in his room and cry. He had had a long day, and it was all becoming too much to take in.

The walk to Kurt's room was beyond confusing, and halfway through, he had finally given up on trying to memorize his way through the halls – which at some point, began to blur slightly and looked like ones he'd already walked down.

"So Kurt, are you liking what you see so far?" They'd been walking in silence up until that point, and Kurt had thought he was going to get away with not saying a word. Obviously not.

The countertenor had actually planned to ignore pretty much everyone at Dalton once he arrived; he already had friends, he didn't need more and the last thing he wanted was for people to start prying and pitying him if they ever found out the real reason as to why he moved. So to avoid that, Kurt was just gonna keep to himself.

Although, maybe making friends here wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"Yeah, it's absolutely beautiful here. But, do you mind my asking where the other students are? I mean it's 5 on a Friday evening and its dead silent around here." Wesley laughed quietly to himself and patted Kurt on the back. The paler boy winced a little at the contact he wasn't used to getting.

"Well, here at Dalton we take education pretty seriously. Don't get me wrong, we're not completely tedious and straight-laced. We normally throw small end of semester parties and a massive one at the end of the school year. Believe me, once the students here get going – with or without the aid of alcohol – they can be extremely...Nuts, to put it bluntly."

Kurt tried his best not to laugh, to keep his cool exterior, but a little giggle escape which he tried to disguise with an amused smile. Both still seemed to relax the prefect.

"Oh and by the way, I would prefer it if you called me Wes. Anyone who calls me by my full name is usually asking for a beating."

Kurt turned his head and muttered, "With your gavel, no doubt."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" Kurt exclaimed. Wes gave him a funny look before placing a smile back on his face, albeit it was a little forced this time.

The rest of the walk was more awkward than it had been, but it didn't bother Kurt at all. Right now he just wanted to be left alone, but he promised himself he'd be more cheerful and receptive of Wes' kindness when morning came. After all, he was only trying to be nice; given the circumstances, Wes' could've been completely rude and not tried to engage Kurt in conversation at all. But he had pushed and tried to make the paler boy feel welcome, which is more than anyone at McKinley had ever done for him.

Once they finally got to Kurt's room after what seemed like a thousand hallways later, Wes bid him a hasty goodbye and walked back the way they had come. Kurt watched him walk away briskly until he had turned a corner and completely disappeared, leaving Kurt the only student standing within the hall. The paler boy walked into his new room and begun removing his blazer, tie and shoes before collapsing face-first onto the double bed that sat to the left of the door.

Kurt had been through so much in the last two weeks that the minute he closed his eyes, he fell into a dreamless sleep; he didn't even care that he'd forgotten to do his nightly skin regime before doing so.

Now unconscious to the world, Kurt was oblivious to A) the mess that lay on the other side of the room, indicating the other person that would be sharing the dorm with him, B) his phone constantly vibrating in his blazer pocket and C) the boys who had come to greet him, and who were currently standing outside his door.

OoooOoooO

A/N: This chapter has been changed and revised. In addition, as the story progresses, the chapters will get longer and I kind of have a rough idea of what I want to happen, but I think I'm just gonna let the story write itself.

Hope you liked the first installment!