Kurt Hummel was never really 'Kurt Hummel'. All his documents stated that he was, but he'd never really met any Hummel as far as he knew. He'd much rather go by Kurt Mayfield, but sadly that wasn't possible unless he had a parent's permission, which wasn't going to happen.
Mayfield Acres was an old building on the outskirts of Lima, Ohio. It was hidden deep within a forest, down twisting pathways just large enough for a minibus. The surroundings were isolated, and it was closer to the farmland than the city itself.
Mayfield Acres was an asylum for children seeking refuge from their home lives, but it was also an orphanage. Children as young as a few days old were sent off to this large castle-like building, just like Kurt Hummel.
It was a late May afternoon when Nurse Mary had decided to call the kids back inside from their playtime in the front gardens. Although the building was protected by high stone brick walls, Nurse Mary was still very protective of the children in her sector.
"But Nurse Mary," Thomas whined, "We made a new friend!"
Nurse Mary quickly stormed over to where the children were huddled, the group of boys moving over to let Nurse Mary through.
She gasped at the sight. Wrapped in an old and oversized t-shirt was a baby, laughing as she reached out for the woman. There was a name tag attached to the shirt, the words 'Kurt Hummel' written in beautiful cursive writing.
"Oh you poor thing!" Nurse Mary exclaimed, picking him up, "Don't worry honey, you'll be safe here."
Ever since, Kurt has lived at Mayfield Acres under the hawk-like watch of Nurse Mary. Of course he'd never tell anyone why he could never invite someone home, or why all his parental permission slips were signed by 'Mary Joanna Smith'. He didn't want to broadcast to his friends that he was an orphan.
Of course, Mayfield Acres was quite well-off as an institution. Many millionaires had donated to the institution, as well as the many charitable contributions from hospitals all across the state. Mayfield Acres was the best place to be if you could pick.
Nurse Mary had always known something was different in Kurt than other children. To begin with, he never wanted to be adopted. Whenever someone would ask him why he didn't want to meet anyone, his answer was straightforward and simple.
"Mommies and daddies are mean, mine left me here and I don't want to meet more meanies!"
It broke Nurse Mary's heart to hear such a young boy have such a negative view of people, but she knew nothing could change his mind. He was stubborn, incredibly so.
Nevertheless, he'd always latch onto Nurse Mary's leg like a young child with his mother. He was scared of visitors and would rather help around Sector C than play with the children.
Sector C was Nurse Mary's sector. It was for the orphans who wouldn't get adopted. The building was big enough to be divided into sectors after having done a few extensions into the rest of the Mayfield Acres ground.
Nurse Jamie was in charge of Sector A along with Nurse Olive. Sector A was for teenagers and even children who needed escape and refuge from their home lives. Some were kicked out because of who they were or they were 'too much to handle', others ran away. Those who needed extra help would find it, and sadly, that sector contained mostly children.
Sector B was for the children who could actually get adopted, mostly babies. They were the ones with no name tags or legal ties to their biological families. Most of the children left quickly. It was run mainly by the adoption agency living within the grounds, and the children that no longer could be adopted moved onto Sector C.
Sector D was the temporary stay sector. People with mental and/or physical disorders were sometimes sent to Mayfield Acres for professional help, and usually left after a couple of months. It was run by professional nurses and doctors mostly.
Sector E was the smallest sector. It was for baby and toddler development. It was also run by doctors, but no one really went down there apart from when they had to move children into a new sector.
Kurt enjoyed helping around Sector C. He liked the fact that all of Nurse Mary's children had the top half of the castle-like building, whilst the other sectors had the extension buildings. They also had the library mostly to themselves, or well, for Kurt to have to himself.
He spent most of his days in his childhood reading the books in the old library. Things from Shakespeare to Hemingway, from poems to plays. The theater scripts he read were his favorite, and once he discovered musicals, nothing could stop him from singing his heart out in his attic room.
The other children would spend their time playing tag around the corridors or finding secret passages (which he'd already found) until they were old enough to leave Mayfield Acres without an adult. At that point, most children were long gone for the larger part of the day.
And then there was a significant increase in adoption rates. Even teenagers were being adopted while Kurt had been the age of 12, yet he still opposed to being put on the list. Slowly, even Sector C started emptying. Kurt was left as the eldest, watching over the other six children who had decided that they didn't want parents either, or they simply weren't adopted.
Around that time, Kurt had realized that he liked boys a lot more than girls. He didn't know if he was being reasonable or silly at that time, so he quickly asked Nurse Mary for help.
She'd explained in detail that sometimes girls liked girls and boys liked boys, and that it was perfectly normal but some people still didn't like it. Nevertheless, Kurt was proud of who he was.
When he was 13, Kurt finally got a new room mate in his lonely 4 people attic room. Her name was Santana Lopez, and she was very friendly towards Kurt. They became best friends within the first night.
"Is this place scary?" Santana asked as they hid under a blanked on Kurt's bed, holding torches under their heads and pretending they were camping.
"The only really scary people are the big kids from the other sectors, but they leave us alone," Kurt explained to his new friend.
"I'm scared, Kurt," Santana whispered, "I don't want to go back home."
"We'll keep each other safe, that's what best friends are for," Kurt smiled, holding out his pinky to Santana "Pinky promise?"
Santana smiled brightly, hooking her pinky finger with Kurt's.
Santana was tough and strong, yet very protective of her and Kurt's friendship. They'd never separate from one another in the building, always sitting together at meals and sitting tucked away in the library during cold winters. Their most important memory together was the night they promised they'd change everything. Together.
"One day I want to change my name," Santana announced as she and Kurt worked on homework on the floor of their room, "I want to be called Santana Mary Lopez, just like Nurse Mary!"
"I want to change my name too," Kurt agreed, "Maybe even to Kurt Mayfield Hummel."
Santana beamed, "It's decided then. When we're both 16, we'll find out parents together and get permission to change our names. We'll do it together."
Kurt smiled, nodding, and it ended in them having another pinky promise to live up to.
When they started in McKinley High School, Santana was quick to protect them from bullies. She signed them up for the Cheerios, the schools cheer leading team, and they were nearly immediately accepted. Their identity was now the red and white cheer leading outfits, and their names were respected across the school. But of course, when Kurt heard about Glee Club, he quickly dragged Santana along.
Somehow, that boosted their reputation even more. People started seeing them as their leads, their shining stars at McKinley. Even if Kurt was were openly Gay, and Santana was openly a bitch, their power overrun people's judgement. And although no one knew about their involvement with Mayfield Acres, they felt on top of the world. Untouchable.
That is, until Blaine Anderson came along, and managed to break through Kurt's shell.