Dimes and Quarters

By: Rachel

When you're young, when you're naïve, your heart, the way you see life is almost… pure. But then you grow up, you learn to pick friends, you learn to pick enemies and you learn to not stray from the path laid down for you since you were brought here, for as long as you would remember.

But that path laid down for you, with golden shining bricks, that wouldn't be a future. That just wouldn't be you. And you would know that somewhere down that perfect golden road, you change and you become someone you'd never want to be. It's painful, it's heart wrenching and if you would choose, you'd pull back. Go back to the crossroad point of your life when you realize that that perfect golden path in front of you isn't right, and you don't want it. Instead you choose to take cautious steps towards the darker, crooked, winding path hoping that it'll take you somewhere.

And you hear soft muted voice, growing louder, hands which pull and shove at you. They remind you that you're different, that you mustn't stray that this wasn't the path you should go through. Go back and return to that golden brick road you once came from. But when you look back, it isn't shining anymore, all you see it grey rubble and nightmares. Seeing others pass through it effortlessly and happily, that pains you that you can't do the same. But like they say, life goes on.

That road you still keep on pursuing is nasty, full of filthy wrappers and trash which make you trip and fall and you hate it. You hate it so much, and you wish you'd be one of those people who'll walk on the yellow brick road. You would wish you're normal but then you'd continue down that path once more. When you trip again, you see something shinning, peeking right from under the mess. There you see, right under something so horrible and cruel, a golden brick, cemented on the ground. It doesn't fade away when you reach out to it, it's real, and it's solid and it makes you smile.

And as you make your way down that old road, you'd see more and more of those golden bricks, and they give you hope. At the very end of your journey where the road stops all together, you see that soon, the road is made of solid gold, and they glisten and shine and they make you, so happy. There, you'd see all the others running along next to you. Those who had taken the yellow brick road, in the end, you both ended up at the same place. A different journey, but in the end, everything will be alright. And you'd see you were never that much of a difference to them than you thought you were. But like they say, life goes on.

.

.

"Kurt?" Burt whispers slowly as he removes his seat belt to look back at his son, "We're here."

There was silence for a moment until the timid brunet nods cautiously, removing his ear phones as the car engines rumbles to an abrupt stop. Taking a deep breath and trying to shake out last minute nerves, Kurt watches his father leave the car before biting his lip and following after him.

He adjusts his shirt and let's warm air blow into his face, watching the gravel under the soles of shoes crackle on the impact. In the corner of his eye, he sees his father opening the trunk of their car and he quickly rushes over to pull out his own luggage with trembling, feeble hands before his father could take it out for him. He drops it on the harsh broken rocks beneath with his head bowed down, awaiting what his father's next command.

"I could've helped you know." Burt sighs, drops his arms to the side and leaves their conversation hanging in the air, reaching over to shut the trunk.

"I've-"Kurt paused to clear his throat, making sure his voice was in a lower register, "I've got it."

"Kurt," Burt began, his voice dejected and out of place without its normal warmth that Kurt was accustomed to, "you don't have to do that-"

Kurt looked up, giving his father a slight smile but quickly deflected the offer. Instead, he motions towards the school with a small twitch of his thumb towards a tall building towering over the both of them, "Come on"

Kurt tugs his luggage forward and looks back at Burt who seemed like he wanted to say something, opening and closing his mouth with buried words that were begging to come out. Kurt raises his eyebrows expectantly but Burt shakes his head instead, adjusting his baseball cap.

He lets Burt lead him through the foreign surrounding and weave up a perfectly paved road while hailing his luggage between nimble fingers. The wheels on the luggage make a familiar clicking sound as it rolls over the small bumps of the path filling the noisy silence between them. Kurt was never good with silence, it edged him and it made discomfort surge through his whole body but given the circumstances now, he only wishes the silence would stretch on for as long as it could before he's subjected to voices again.

Feeling his bicep start to cramp up, he changes arms before realizing they'd reached a huge Garden with another pathway leading towards a grand building. He takes a swift look around the garden and notices various kinds of shrubbery lining the edges and massive trees which cast huge shadows upon soft green grass, still intact with trickling morning dew.

He doesn't think more about it and looks forward to jog up to Burt who was already reaching the main entrance. He nearly trips as he takes in the size and how small it made him feel, almost like a weak outcast entering into school for legends. He can guarantee that it looks three times the size of the Lima mall, which in his defense wasn't that amazing but still quite stretched over.

But covers could be filled with lies, an illusion perhaps. Would it look as good inside as it does outside? Kurt was mentally preparing himself for peeling wallpaper and sticky floors to greet him but instead he was faced with a magnificent sight.

Dalton was as beautiful as it looked outside, maybe even more so inside.

The walls were lined with old photographs of founders and even a really old sepia colored photograph of possibly the first batch of Dalton students. It read 'Dalton, 1967-1968'. This school had to be at least 20 years older than Mckinley.

Kurt pauses to take a closer look at the picture, the ends of his mouths twisted downwards as he saw a roof with a cross perched on top of it.

Blinking, Kurt turned his head to see where Burt had went, a groan of frustration threatened to bubble up the top of his throat as Kurt looked between two identical archways. Each with two overly large crosses. A little strange, he'd suppose.

Silence reigned through as far as he could here and with determination, Kurt chose the right archway with caution. His breathing became slowly more erratic after going through two other corridors but failing to find Burt.

He cursed internally at how badly designed the building was, as fancy as it was, all the corridors looked alike and he felt panic rising. How could he have gotten lost on the first day?

"My sister just came back from Australia."

"Oh really? Did she bring any souvenirs?"

"Did you really expect her to?"

"Naah, I heard that everything was really expensive there. But she brought these really good chocolate candies."

"Really! I-"

Kurt's breath hitches as he hears numerous voices coming from an end of the hall. He hated social interaction, he really did, and this morning, he couldn't let himself start talking to strangers again if he could avoid it. Many had called him introverted, but he never really bothers with label. Kurt looks around as he sees a closet with its door slightly ajar. He quickly ran inside and shut the door noiselessly as he watched the three figures saunter closer, eyeing them from the narrow slit of the door.

Kurt waited with bated breath as he watched them pass, their voices growing increasingly softer the further away they went. He felt a thin sheen of sweat form on his forehead as he slowly pushes the door open, wincing as it creaked. He poked his head out and looked around for a while, ignoring the noisy clips of his heel on polished marble until he saw Burt standing and looking around very confused at the fringe of the corridor Kurt came from.

With his head down, Kurt slowly went out of the closet and stepped a little closer to Burt.

"Kurt!" Burt sighed in relief, "Please, never do that again. I thought something had happened to you."

Kurt shrugged slightly, his eyes still downcast, "I apologize." He says, biting his lip raw.

Burt pursed his lips and he brushed lint off Kurt's jacket, nodding slightly, "That's alright, Kurt," Burt slowly gestured towards where he came from, "I've talked to the head of the school and he wants to meet you."

Kurt nodded silently as he followed his father through the corridor, ignoring how his father opened his mouth again, like he wanted to say something but restrained himself instead. Kurt suddenly notices that Burt does that a lot when he's around him.

They passed a grand stair case which was luckily, empty, and rounded a corner turning towards a large oak door reading 'Principal Daniel' on a metal plate. Burt knocks on the door, the three sharp raps echoing the caved corridor. Burt glances towards his son who blinks back with a blank look.

"Ah, hello!" a man with a black waistcoat with purple stripes and a welcoming grin, motions towards the two to enter his office, "do come in."

Burt and Kurt shoots the man an empty smile as the three of them all entered the big room, shutting the door with a thud behind them.

"Aaron," Burt says, holding his hand out for the man to shake, "thank you for having us here on such short notice. You know, when you're so busy with your board meetings."

Mr. Daniels shook his head, chuckling slightly as he motioned towards the two suede chairs strategically placed in front of his desk table to seem more confrontational, "No need to do that, Burt. Shall we?"

Burt grinned at the man as he and Kurt sat on the chairs opposite of the man, sunlight catching in his bright blond hair.

"So, first impression?" Aaron smiled at the both of them, an air of giddiness present.

"Fine school you've got here Aaron," Burt says, eyes lingering on an angel miniature figure sat on the polished wooden desk.

"Really? I take pride in interior design," Mr. Daniels hummed as he trailed Burt's eyes which were still lingering on the statue and picked up the angel, "This was given to me by a man who I met at a church in France. It's always nice to have angels watching over us. Don't you think?"

Burt tore his gaze away from the statue and smiled up at the man, "It's.. uh… interesting, I guess."

"Now," Mr. Daniels smiled and looked away from Burt to Kurt who was sitting slightly slouched over the suede chair who nervously offered the principal a smile, "Is this Kurt?"

"Um, yes, this is Kurt." Burt snapped out of his silent reverie as he turns to look at his son with a slight smile.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Daniels." Kurt recites, smiling at the man as he offers his hand to shake.

"So Kurt, are you excited for learning in Dalton?" the man smiles genuinely at Kurt who just fidgets uncomfortably on his seat.

"Well, I guess so. It was a… fast decision."

Mr. Daniels nods as he looked between Burt and Kurt, "I'm sure you'd find your stay here at Dalton exciting to say the least. The boys here are simply wonderful and charming and I'd think you'd make many great friends. Our facilities are known to be one of the top 10 in all of America and I hope you'd be able to enjoy its practicality as well as its extravagance!"

There was an uneasiness that Kurt can't quite place with the way the man speaks. Everything was almost mechanic and strained as if he was only a shadow of a person there to promote the school with only a flash of human emotion under bright eyes. But then again, Kurt could just have been over calculating everything

"Breakfast starts as 8 AM, lunch starts at 1 PM, and dinner starts at 7 PM so I would hope you not be late. Our top student, Sebastian, would be delighted to escort you around campus as well. So I suggest you wait on the bench in front of this room for him."

Kurt smiles nervously at the man, hoping it was genuine enough.

The three of them shook hands once more as they all stood up to get ushered out of the principal's room.

"Oh!" the principle paused abruptly, "I forgot to mention, prayer is mandatory every meal time and class time. We wouldn't want to be disrespectful to God, do we? We have to keep our high status as a prestigious catholic school here in Westerville. Kurt's schedules should be given to you by roommate soon enough. And to you, Kurt, have a pleasant stay."

Kurt's jaw nearly drops as his father quickly thanks the man before pushing them both out of the room hastily.

A catholic school. His father sent him to some stupid all boys catholic school. He could've known to be honest. How exactly did he miss the huge church out in the back of the school that was apparently on the photograph as well? And those weird cross ornaments outside those huge archways?

"Dad?" Kurt frowned as he looks up at Burt, "Is this really-?"

Burt looked down at his son and closed his eyes tightly. Albeit a little softer, he had the same look he had on when he waved goodbye to his son at that camp he sent Kurt to in the summer. He lets out a shuddering sigh as he wills himself to look Kurt in the eye.

"Yes Kurt. Dalton is a catholic all boys school." Burt manages out with a strangled sigh, as if the tone brought out sudden guilt.

"Dad, I've told you many times. I've changed and I've learned." Kurt says in monotone, hoping his voice wouldn't slip and crack at any moment, "I know I wasn't living before. But now I know how I'm going to live my life. I don't understand why you're leaving me again."

By this time his voice was an octave higher and he couldn't help it if he was panicking a little. A little, what an understatement.

"Kurt, no." Burt's eyebrows creases in shame, "what I've done during that summer. That- it was a mistake. A very big mistake. And I-"

"So you're making me go through it again. In this school." Kurt says through gritted teeth, eyes immediately shooting down to look at the weird patterns on the marble floor.

It took nothing and everything but practice to not let his bitterness and distrust show. A bitterness that was packed away so tightly in the back of his mind that Kurt was almost sure that it would spring out at any second.

"I see." Kurt nods after a while shooting Burt a confident look, hopefully showing determination, "I failed you, sir. Don't worry. My time here won't be to waste. I will better when I come back. And then you'll trust me sir. I will try harder."

He might have been stupid for a couple of years, but Burt knew that behind that steely and seemingly confident facade his son has put on, was the real Kurt. A one that he desperately whished would come back out.

Burt was at a loss of words, he breathes out loudly and pats his son on the shoulder gingerly, in a foreign touch. Things changed and that's all there was to know about their relationship. He looks Kurt straight in the eye, "I'll see you in a month."

As Kurt watches the silhouette of Burt round the corner, disappearing from sight, he stands off, somewhat awkwardly, to the side as he waits for the promised student which would show him around.

"Kurt Hummel?" came a tentative voice. Kurt shuts his eyes tightly as he turns around, plastering an undoubted smile.

"Yes?" he responds. The boy who stood before him was much taller than Kurt causing Kurt to look up embarrassedly.

"Were people always this tall?" Kurt curses inwardly, pecking at his bag in nervousness. Kurt clears his throat as he suddenly felt self-conscious, pulling his hoodie further down.

"My name is Henry Crucible," he says, offering a hand in which Kurt shook confidently.

"I thought Sebastian was going to escort me?"

"I'm going to be your 'guide' for today. Sorry Sebastian couldn't make it." Henry offers an embarrassed smile, "It won't be long, and you won't have to worry. It's my first time doing this thing so I'm not as confident as I should be though."

"No, that's fine."

"Shall we?" Henry smiles as he points towards the hallway.

Kurt nods curtly as he takes his luggage a long with him, the wheels of the luggage rumbling along, creating a peaceful atmosphere. Too bad, Kurt didn't feel that way. Though he knew there was something different about this school than other catholic schools he's heard about, he chose ignore it as Henry points towards the first door.

.

.

.

2 Months ago

"Kurt!" Rachel exclaimed, prying away Kurt's hand from ripping a 'wicked' poster from his trembling fingers, "What are you doing?! Are you out of your freaking mind?!"

"I need to make my dad trust me, Rachel!" Kurt sobbed as he tried to grab hold of the paper again but Rachel held a firm grip on his wrists. The girl had tears pooling from her eyes as she shoved Kurt off, making him fall on the floor like a useless heap he thought he was.

"And tearing those posters off the goddamn wall would make him trust you?" Rachel countered, biting her lip and looking away, "Kurt, oh Kurt. Broken as you are, you are still perfect. To me, to the whole glee club. We love you Kurt."

"Lies!" Kurt screamed, silencing Rachel as he looked down on the floor, feeling awful. Oh, he really was broken was he, "Rachel, he's sending me off. This is my last resort. I've got to get rid of this. I have to get rid of myself. At least for a while."

Rachel shot a searching look towards he friend, "sending you off, Kurt? What aren't you telling me?" she knelt down close to Kurt, slowly brushing the tears away even when Kurt swatted her hand off. For what felt like way too long to be a few seconds, Kurt took in a shuddering breath, "he's bringing me to a camp Rachel. And he wants to make me all better. And I don't want to be. So I have to convince him I'm normal. I have nothing else to lose."

Rachel stared at him in shock as she shook her head, "no, Mr. Hummel won't ever do that!"

"Well he did," Kurt gritted his teeth, so much anger and hatred burning in his eyes, "Sometimes I don't even think he's my father anymore. Well at least, the father that I knew."

Rachel gaze didn't waver as she stared back at Kurt with a hard expression on her face. They were only freshman. Only freshman. The point was that they were still so young but their hearts were old, heavy and broken by the world.

"And I know, if I go. I won't be myself anymore. So I have to try."

Kurt paused as he looked up at his best friend, not knowing what to say. This might be their last time they spend together.

Kurt slowly stood, up, keeping an eye on the girl to see if she would make a move to stop him. And she almost did, but she didn't. She just watched as Kurt slowly took down all his posters which decorated his room. Kurt closed his eyes as he took hold of his 'wicked' poster. He slowly picked it up as he watched Rachel stare at him with pleading eyes, like she wanted to say or do something but she just sat there, with wide eyes and trembling lips. And even if they were the most caring people in the world, all people do around him was stare. And that was a reality. That was his reality.

With a surge of courage Kurt tore it the poster half. He watched as the poster rip right at the middle and he knew, he knew, there was no going back now.

His heart never felt so numb.

.

.

.

"And now here we are, room 407. Is that correct?" asks as he looks curiously at the key Kurt tightly grips in his hand.

"Yeah." Kurt says after looking at the gold number on his wooden key holder, "Thank you so much."

"My pleasure," Henry grins, "Not too bad for the first time right?"

"No, not all" Kurt bows awkwardly at the man, and then slits the key into the key hole when he had seen Henry's upright body disappear behind the stairs. He takes one last look at the place Henry was standing from and muttering "Tall people." With a slightly aggravated and defeated tone before pushing the door open with an almost soundless click.

The room was brightly lit with some floaty music playing as the background, and there on one of the couches, sat a brunet who was humming as he filled out a quiz in a magazine.

Kurt's eyes widened as the boy chewed on his pen, unconsciously flashing Kurt the title of the cover. Tiger Beat? Kurt's eyes widened and let out an awkward cough, alerting the boy on the bed.

"J-Jesus!" the boy yelps in surprise, sitting up straight away and walking over to Kurt with a nervous but relaxed smile.

"Hi, you must be Kurt." Nick smiles slightly as he straightens out his clothes "My name's Nick and I'm your new roommate."

Kurt smiles slightly as he noddes in conformation. He couldn't help his eyes slide towards Nick's bed which still held the magazine sprawled over it. Nick frowns slightly and looks back, hoping to catch what Kurt had found more interesting. "I'm sorry." Kurt apologizes, immediately feeling awful. He didn't want to come off as judgmental so quickly in the year.

"No! It's fine," Nick blushed as he ran over to his bed to snatch it up, "let's do you."

Kurt stared suspiciously at Nick who seemed deadly serious as he took out his pen, poised on the page.

"So… do you like to go to the mall?"

A/N: So… thoughts? I know I haven't been updating TLINY for ages but like I have previously mentioned, I was blocked with test week and UN and homework. So, I couldn't do much but this little idea popped in my mind. I never wrote Kurtbastian before but I hope it'll be okay with you guys? If I have to be honest, I'm falling over the Klaine ship and I'm just not too in to it anymore. So just writing TLINY for Klaine and not shipping it would be difficult. But I think I'm slightly coming back in the ship after episode 1 of season 5. I want to also continue one of my very first fics called 'Home is a fire' which is a Huntbastian one-shot I made. I was also thinking to add a couple more chapters but I'm completely drained of ideas so would you guys mind checking it out and maybe PM or review it? I hope you like where this is going so far and don't forget to give me some comments if you like it or you think my writing needs to be more improved. Sorry for long author's note! (PS. I made Rachel great here because in most fics she's horrible)

If you're wondering if I had updated this fic, it's kind of a yes and a no. I always do this I know, but I'm trying to wrack my brain for ideas but none are coming just yet so I just edited this chapter to make the characters more in character if you know what I mean? Anyway, hopefully I'll have ideas soon!

I'm undergoing serious editing so I'm so terribly sorry, please bear with me. I'm serious lol, I changed a lottt of things.

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