"You were brilliant, Kurt." Rachel smiled at him, looking like a proud mother. "Really brilliant"

"Not as good as us, I killed it even without the magic comb" Brittany muttered under her breath.

Kurt just looked at her, a mixture of confusion and amusement in his eyes.

"You were amazing too. I'm so glad we both got through. May the best men win!" He laughed. Rachel rolled her eyes.

A tall, blonde boy, who looked to be around 17 approached and tapped Kurt on the shoulder.

"Kurt Hummel?"

"That would be me!" Kurt said brightly, this guy was hot.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" The blonde said. He glanced at Brittany and Rachel. "Alone."

"S-sure…" Kurt stammered. "Ladies, would you give us a minute?"

Brittany leaned in and kissed Kurt on the cheek and whispered "Go for it, Kurt, you two would make beautiful man babies."

"Thanks, Brittany…" He replied. Rachel hugged Kurt and gave him a thumbs up as they walked away and left Kurt alone with the mysterious stranger.

"So, you think you're a Warbler, huh?"

"Well, they did give me the bird!" Kurt smiled, but he felt nervous. The blonde had a venomous tone to his voice.

"Kurt Hummel, let me tell you something. You will never be a true Warbler." He spat. "Warblers have got to have two things: talent and charisma, which are two things you obviously know nothing of."

Kurt started angrily, "What the hell? I—You-You don't even know me! What makes it okay for you to—" But the other boy cut him off.

"I don't know why they even let you in, probably pitied your pathetic ass. Didn't want you killing yourself after what happened at your old school. You wonder why you didn't get a solo? Because you are nothing. You are a talentless little boy who in doesn't even deserve to be at Dalton, let alone a member of the Warblers. I hope they see sense and kick you out as soon as possible. You ruined that performance. You're worthless." And with that, he turned swiftly on his heel and stalked away, disappearing into the rapidly growing crowd gathered in the foyer.

Kurt stood where he was, completely stunned, tears welling in his eyes. He stood there for a whole minute trying to comprehend what had just happened. Why it had happened. But when the tears started falling, he ran to the toilets. He could not let anyone see him fall apart.

Once in the venue's, mercifully empty, restroom he could not stop the tears from cascading down his cheeks. Finally somewhere he felt safe, somewhere he felt wanted. Somewhere thought he belonged. And it had all been pulled out from under his feet in a moment. He couldn't understand why someone would say that to him. He hadn't done anything wrong. He was trying to be a better person, less bitchy, less catty, and he thought being at Dalton was really helping him. He knew he shouldn't let a stranger's opinion bother him but the floods of tears did not stop. Why was this affecting him so badly? He supposed it was simply because he thought he had escaped all the abuse. He had truly thought that. Clearly, he had been sorely mistaken. He would never escape the abuse. The heart ache. Was there even any point in trying to carry on? He stood in front of the speckled mirror, fixed to the wall above the sink and watched as his nose and eyes flowed, not wiping them, feeling like something inside him had snapped.

"Kurt, are you in here?" Blaine's voice wafted towards him as the door clattered open. "Are you there? Everyone's look— Kurt? Kurt, oh my God what's happened? Are you hurt?" The worry in Blaine's voice made Kurt want to cry even more. Or laugh. He must be hysterical.

"Oh, oh no. Oh no. I thought I saw him! Damn it, I am going to kill that boy!"

"Wh-What?" Kurt stammered through the tears, turning to face Blaine.

"Brian." Blaine said with a look of fury. "I take it was him who got you like this. Tall? Blonde?"

"Yeah that w-was him, bu-but you know him? Who—"

"That bastard! Someone has really got to do something about him."

Kurt tried to hold in a sob. "But I don't understand. Who is he?"

"Oh Kurt, please stop crying. It's killing me seeing you like this. You have to believe me when I say this, anything that boy said to you is complete crap. You're wonderful, okay?"

"Blaine, can you please just tell me wh-what is going on!" Kurt demanded, trying to regain composure and feeling slightly frustrated with Blaine.

"Of course. Sorry." He took a deep breath. "His name is Brian Jones and he is the nastiest piece of work I have ever had the misfortune to meet. He used to be a Warbler. Lead Warbler in fact. I sort of took his place. He got thrown out of Dalton, you see. Got caught doing pot. And Dalton was sort of the only thing he had left. His Mum and Dad split up, and he lived with him Mum but she cared more about finding rich, old men to sleep with than him, and his Dad didn't want anything to do with him anymore. He didn't have any friends out of school. Not that he had many in school either. That's why he turned to drugs. He was lonely. We sort of tolerated him but he was not a nice guy. He was never outright horrible or anything but he made snide comments all the time and would sometimes "accidently" trip you up or barge in to you. Just not a nice guy."

Kurt sniffed. Blaine looked at him and raised his arm slightly as if he were going to wipe the tears away but then thought better of it and let it swing back down to his side.

"Anyways, when he left is when he started getting really horrible. He is just so bitter. He wanted to be a star and he thought the Warblers were his pathway to that, so when he got kicked out he was obviously upset. And now, whenever we get a new member he goes up to them and gives them abuse about how they're not real Warblers and they don't have any talent. He thinks he's God's gift to Earth and no one can live up to him as a Warbler. He did the same thing to Jeff and Trent as I assume he's just done to you."

Kurt moved towards the mirror again and looked into it, willing himself not to start crying again, now that he'd just regained control of himself.

"He said I was worthless. He said I didn't get the solo because the only reason you let me in was so I didn't kill myself."

"Oh, Kurt. You and I both know that is just not true." Blaine tried to console him. "You one of the most talented guys we've had through here. The reason you didn't get a solo is because you just haven't been here for long enough yet. All in good time and all that." Blaine moved so he was standing a few steps behind Kurt. "One day you'll get your solo and you'll blow everyone away." He said looking into Kurt's eyes in the mirror. Kurt managed a weak smile, though his cheeks were still wet and he could taste the salty water on his lips.

"I hope so."

"And I know so. Anyways, I came to tell you, the guys and I are having a little celebration in the practice room this evening. You have to come along. And you have even more reason to now. It'll take your mind off things."

"I don't know if I feel like a party tonight. I think I just want to be alone with Joni Mitchell and a tub of half baked."

Blaine chuckled. "Come on Kurt, it'll do you good." He moved forward and rested is chin on Kurt's shoulder, his hands clasped behind his back. Kurt drew in a sharp intake of breath. "I promise I'll make it worth your while." He said in a sing song voice. Blaine's eyes had a mischievous glint about them as he stared into the mirror, and deep into Kurt's own eyes. Kurt sighed. He could not resist those eyes and the warmth of the other boy's body against his, with a few curls that had escaped the barrier of gel brushing against his ear, was making it hard for him to think straight.

"Alright, I'll come check it out. But I'm not making any promises as to how long I'll stay." Blaine stood up sharply, beaming at Kurt. He looks just like a pleased little puppy when he smiles like that, thought Kurt to himself.

"Great! You go home and change out of your uniform. Get to Dalton from 8 onwards." Blaine turned to leave. "And really, Kurt, forgot what Brian said. He's not worth it and you're too pretty to look so sad."

Kurt's heart fluttered at those words and he stomach flipped as he watch Blaine walk away and remembered what he'd said. "I'll make it worth your while." What did he mean by that? Kurt didn't know, but he could not wait to find out.

Back at the Hummel residence Kurt started having second thoughts. He'd changed out of his uniform and into some more casual wear of diesel jeans and a new stripy jumper from Marc Jacobs' spring line. The shirt he wore under it was from American Apparel. He didn't like wearing outfits completely made up of designer labels. That thought it looked trashy. He was ready by 8, he didn't want to be the first to arrive and anyhow, he was a firm believer in being fashionably late. He'd told Burt where he was going and asked for a loan of the car, promising to be home by one. Carol had told him to have a fun time and hugged him good bye. But now he was just sitting on the door step, car keys in hand. He was not sure what he should do. Blaine had said he wanted him there, but did he mean it? Was he just trying to make Kurt feel better? Kurt knew he was being silly but that Brian guy had shaken his confidence. Maybe everyone really was just being nice to him so he didn't get too depressed. Kurt knew he could sing. He did. But now he was starting to wonder.

"Kurt?"

He looked up, disturbed from his whirling thoughts. "Oh, hey, Finn." He said as he spotted Finn walking up the drive. "Why are you back so late? Carol and Dad were just starting to worry."

"The bus broke down. Rachel tried to start a sing-a-long to pass the time but it, of course, turned into a Rachel Berry solo which caused a cat fight with Quinn. Puck and Sam had to separate them which was a bit awkward for obvious reasons. Then that started a slanging match between Quinn and Santana because Sam held on to Quinn for too long or something. I don't know, dude, it was pretty mad. I tried to stay out of it." He explained. "Why are you sitting out here, were you waiting for me?"

Kurt laughed. "Why does that make me miss New Directions? I must be going mad." He laughed again softly, shaking his head and then said. "And no, I hate to break it but I wasn't waiting on the doorstep for you. I'm supposed to be going to this Warbler's celebration party. For making regionals."

"Oh cool, well I'll see you later then, bro. I gotta go get this stupid suit off."

"It looks good on you."

Finn smiled at Kurt. He was glad he'd now gotten past feeling weird when Kurt complimented him.

"Kurt, have a good time tonight, okay, dude? You, you know, deserve it. And stuff"

Kurt smiled weakly. Did he though? "Thank you, Finn. That's very sweet of you."

"I mean it Kurt, you Warbler guys rocked it tonight. I'm just glad you're happy now." Finn smiled awkwardly at him but Kurt was touched.

Finn started to unlock the door and Kurt made his way to the car. He was going to go. He'd told Blaine he would and he didn't want to let him down. He would not let himself be cheated out of something else by a bully. Not this time.

As he pulled into the parking lot he thought he could hear music but shook the thought from his mind. The Warblers were cool guys, but they were pretty uptight about their reputation, and he doubted they were ones for wild parties. He expected this to be pretty tame. A bit of Katy Perry, maybe some Britney. Volume not too high, obviously. Perhaps a few wine coolers if they were really pushing the boat out. But as he let himself in the trader's entrance – Blaine had sent him a text telling him about the key under the flowerpot – he could feel the bass of a familiar song pounding under his feet and as he got closer and closer to the practice room he could definitely hear Pink telling him to raise his glass. He gingerly pushed the door open, not quite knowing what to expect and what he saw shocked him. There were bottles of tequila and vodka covering the low table, with plastic shot glasses scattered all over the floor. Groups of boys stood around chatting and laughing, swigging from red cups. Logan and David, both in a state of partial undress, were chasing each other around the outside of the room, while others cheered them on. Kurt chuckled as he watched them. He scanned the room for the familiar curly-haired head that belonged to the reason he was there. He caught sight of him in a corner, deep in conversation with another Warbler and smiled. As much as he hated to admit it, Kurt was falling for Blaine Anderson, and he was falling hard.