Chapter two

A film was covering his eyes, he could see light slowly growing into focus, and muffled sound gradually filling his ears but he couldn't decipher where he was.

It was only when he realised the film was his eyelids that he attempted to groggily open them, a faint, scratchy gurgling sound unwittingly coming from deep within his throat.

His arms felt terrifyingly light, or they would have done if his body was capable of such emotions right now, but he hadn't quite regained enough consciousness to handle such feelings. He was faintly aware that his arms were in the air and he was trying to grab at his head but it was like something else was doing it, not him, like he was disconnected from his limbs. He felt fingers on his eyes, his own fingers and tried to rub at them, attempting to clarify his vision.

After a time he realised where he was, the nurse's room, he was still in his uniform but his face was clean and his hair was wet.

Uniform? My Dalton uniform?

He looked down, seeing WMHS emblazoned on his red clothing.

He groaned, now he remembered. It was McKinley. Being in the nurse's room now made sense.

He attempted to sit up, instantly regretting it as waves of nausea rendered him immobile as he clutched at his head, a faint ringing and a rhythmic whooshing noise filling his ears. When he realised this whooshing noise was the sound of his own blood he instantly retched.

"Oh my"

The sound of his retching had caught the nurse's attention and she now bustled in with a cold, wet cloth.

As he took it gratefully, wiping his eyes and quietly apologising he was suddenly startled to see Sue Sylvester silently scrutinising him from a near by chair.

To say it startled him was somewhat of an understatement.

She slowly walked over with her lazy gait and handed him a glass of water, he took it, never leaving her eyes and took a sip.

It tasted like metal.

"Sweet, sweet porcelain"

He didn't quite have his wits about him to respond, so he just stared wide eyed.

"You wanna know what happened kiddo?"

He nodded mutely.

"You lost your little consciousness there right in-front of the whole student body"

His eyes widened, "Everybody?" he practically mouthed, his throat feeling too scratchy to talk.

She shrugged, "I exaggerate, everybody that is capable of beating you up, you being so, small and helpless that's, practically everybody, but you know what I mean"

Her voice trailed off deeply and in a near whisper leaving a baffled and upset Kurt in its wake.

She blinked at him and then raised her eye-brows, attempting to spell it out for the feminine boy, "The football team porcelain, you fainted in-front of the entire football team"

Realisation dawned on him and he fell back to the bed groaning.

"That's right, if it weren't for your little Glee friends Manzilla and Mr. T you'd still be out there flat on your back being showered with the shame and disgust of your fellow team members"

"Finn and Puck? Are they here?" he knew who she meant; he'd heard those insults before.

She nodded over to the open door, referring to the head masters office that was just down the hall.

"They're being questioned by Principle Figgins-"

"Questioned? They didn't do anything!"

"Let me finish! They're witnesses; they're giving statements so we can fire the evil evil creature that did this to you"

He raised an eye brow enquiringly.

Leaning forward a cruel triumphant smile spread across her face like an alligator.

"Biest!"

He thought for a second, now he remembered! The coach shouting at him, the heat, the crowd…

Fresh waves of embarrassment coursed through him, each one stronger then the next.

Why was this happening?

Before he had a chance to answer himself he was brought out of his misery by the entrance of Will Schuester.

The man's attention instantly turned to Kurt, an expression of worry on his face.

"Kurt, I heard what happened are you ok?"

Kurt started at him momentarily, and then nodded quickly, his lips pursed. Somehow the sight of Mr. Schue didn't make him feel that much better, after all, the man had let him down on more occasions then he cared to remember.

"Ah, Will Schuester, like an excited little poodle you always manage to sniff your way into other peoples business"

Will sighed, "He's my student and a member of my Glee club Sue; I feel responsible"

A pang of guilt hit Will like an arrow as he looked at the small boy on the bed, swamped in a uniform for a sport he knew he hated.

This was typical, first the poor kid had been chased out of the school by bullies, now he was back and after just one week he was in the nurse's office. If Will had ever felt like he'd let down a student he didn't feel it more then right now.

"Perhaps you are responsible William, who knows? Responsible for the worst hair cut man and woman kind have ever known, absolutely, but responsible for the public humiliation of our mutual friend porcelain here, sadly no"

Will proceeded to speak but was instantly stopped by Sue, who had now returned her attention to Kurt.

"Now porcelain, we may have had our differences in the past, but, I like you. Whether it stemmed from you helping me become my idol Madonna, or briefly being a member of my Cheerios, or by the fact that I haven't decided on your gender yet, I don't know, but I feel a strong desire to protect you, much like I would a frail little baby bird."

Kurt could only stare.

Sue proceeded to stand up, "I grew up with a handy capable sister and I know first hand how cruel people can be."

Will scoffed at this; Sue was one of the cruellest people he knew.

Sue seemed to notice this and put extra emphasis on her next words.

"I don't like it when people pick on those weaker then themselves"

She looked pointedly at Kurt, "So when I see sweet, innocent, naïve, little, pathetic, weak-"

"Ok Sue!"

"-weak little porcelain here being what can only be called abused by a person of authority I had to take action. Mark my words-"

She turned to Will.

"The Beist will be fired for this"

And then she was gone, leaving Kurt and Will in her wake.

Kurt didn't know whether he felt glad or guilty, he'd just gotten someone fired, but somehow he didn't have the heart to care.

GGGGG

After a day and a half of rumours it was sitting in the choir room Wednesday morning that Kurt officially heard the news; Shannon Beist had indeed been fired, for intimidation and abuse of a student.

It was Artie who announced the news after hearing it in French class, and now the room was buzzing with chatter and quick glances in Kurt's direction, people he was closer to gave him reassuring squeezes, assuring him and telling him it was going to be ok.

Kurt on his part felt numb inside, he didn't want this to happen, he didn't dislike the coach and now she was gone; because of him.

He also had never felt so embarrassed in his life. The football players had had a field day when Kurt fainted; they found it the funniest thing they'd ever seen since that Youtube video had been sent around of one of the students vomiting over the lunch lady. But somehow instead of unthinkable humiliation from the team, this had caused a miraculous change between him and his relationship with the other players. Turns out they hated the coach and Kurt being the one to apparently send her packing had made him, for the moment, accepted. Not accepted in the normal sense of the word, he didn't think that was ever going to be possible, but at least he'd been promoted from frequent dumpster tosses and slushy facials to just slushy facials. He thought that was progress.

In one day his little fainting incident had changed his status from 'Princess fag' who had dared to return even though no one wanted him to 'sissy fainting boy' who had not only gotten Coach Beist fired but also unconsciously reinforced the status quo of the school, that is to say, all the football players felt reassured of their manliness and his sissyness. It was like he'd turned into a clown, no one respects a clown, but you like them because they make you laugh. That was what he was now; he didn't know which he preferred, being hated or being laughed at.

He just surmised either way it would be best to draw as little attention to himself as possible.

He seemed tuned out to the gossip of the room, sat slightly apart from everyone else in a simple pair of denim cut offs and t-shirt he seemed a shadow of his former, fabulous self. He'd dressed practical for the warmer weather; he didn't quite have the heart to keep to fashion today.

All the members of the Glee club had noticed the change in their friend and they put it down to the disappointment of having to move back from Dalton and the drama of the previous day.

Finn had asked Kurt about it at home after the incident but Kurt had hidden in his basement room in embarrassment after hearing how Finn had had to carry him to the nurse's office; he could only imagine the amount of gay jokes the jocks could get from that. Apart from that and momentarily wondering why Finn and Puck hadn't helped him before he got to the point of fainting, he hadn't spoken a word about it, not even to his dad. Their relationship was slightly strained after Kurt had had to move back to McKinley, both unknowingly feeling guilty about the other, neither able to admit their feelings.

But it was Noah Puckerman who found himself staring at Kurt in the choir room that Wednesday morning. Puck didn't quite know why, but the dude was different. Sure the obvious toning down of his wardrobe accounted to this conclusion; he hadn't turned up in a corset anyway. But there was something more, it was like Kurt had….mellowed. Matured even, his look of superiority was vastly toned down; it was almost pathetic that Kurt was still trying to attempt it. But it was the dude's confidence; Puck decided which had vanished altogether, his self assurance. This guy in-front of him, staring at the ground was a shadow of his former self. He seemed docile, vulnerable, this Kurt could be pushed around by anyone, this Kurt could never have survived McKinley. It was this Kurt that Puck felt suddenly protective over, not in a guy on guy way, Puckzilla didn't swing that way, but just…he'd spent so much time with the kid in Glee, and well, Kurt was his boy and he'd lost his defiance. Puck would just have to be defiant for him.

He watched Kurt's reaction to the news that Coach Beist had been fired, the boy looked pale, paler then usual and that was saying something, he usually looked like a brunette albino but now he looked like Casper the campest ghost. As far as Puck was concerned, he was a little relieved Beist had been fired, he wasn't sure he felt good about a chick being the coach of an all guys team and it seemed the other players agreed, they'd backed off Kurt a little since he got her fired thankfully, he was still hot gossip but all the players did now was laugh and point when he walked by, occasionally pretending to faint, but at least they'd stopped being violent. Puck himself had got a bit of stick for helping Kurt out at the field, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Kurt had grown a bit of status as the kid who got Beist fired, but alongside that gossip was also the bigger gossip of who would take over her place. Would Ken Tenaka come back? Would it be another woman? The gossip had grown so out of hand that a rumour was going round it was going to be a robot.

He turned away as Mercedes caught his eye warily, it seemed she still didn't trust him completely, well, he did used to take part in Kurt's dumpster tosses. He wasn't proud of it ok?

She looked at Kurt, her eyes sweeping over his stopped frame and then scooted over to where he was sitting and gripped his shoulders in a sideways hug, causing him to jump somewhat out of his trance.

"Trust you white boy, can't escape drama can you?"

He attempted a smile, but it came out as a sort of grimace.

"Yea, it follows him around, once a diva always a diva!" Artie looked up at Kurt good naturedly as the choir room rippled with laughter. Kurt knew they were trying to make him feel better but it wasn't helping.

"Hi guys, sorry I'm late, sorry I'm late!"

The arrival of Mr. Schuester took attention momentarily away from Kurt, which he was grateful for but the solemn glance the teacher gave him made Kurt feel slightly uncomfortable.

Mr. Schuesters eyes snapped away from Kurt as he clapped his hands together.

"Right, lets pick up where we left off, girls vs. boys, girls to the right, boys to the left"

Kurt rolled his eyes, he didn't have the heart to even try and join the girls like he usually did.

"Kurt-"

"I know Mr. Schue, mustn't break convention"

"No, Kurt, that's not it, could I have a word?"

Kurt froze half way between rising from his chair, blue eyes fixing unblinkingly on the man in-front of him. He glanced at Mercedes who looked back at him and shrugged before straightening up and taking in a large breath of air.

He walked over to Mr. Schuester with curiosity, and a little embarrassment stemming from the fact he'd seen Kurt in the nurses office not exactly at his finest hour. But he also had a small, nagging feel of trepidation; The Beist and Will had been friends hadn't they? Maybe Mr. Schue was mad at him for getting her fired?

His heart felt a little lighter at the smile the older man gave him as they neared the corner of the choir room, out of earshot of everyone else.

"So Kurt, how you holding up?"

So far so good.

Kurt gave a sideways nod and a little shrug as he put his hands in the back pockets of his cut offs. "I'm fine"

This was a lie.

And Will knew it.

He put a reassuring hand on the teens shoulder. "I just wanted to see how you were doing and to tell you it's not your fault, you shouldn't feel guilty or responsible about what happened, Coach was out of line, but, she's very sorry about the incident, she didn't mean to hurt you"

Kurt nodded again, a little lost at what to say.

"If there's anything I can do, anything, you just need to ask"

Kurt allowed himself a smile, but he couldn't help but feel Mr. Schue was compensating for his own guilt rather then worried for Kurt's.

His voice came out quite and tired, "Is she coming back? I could ask Principle Figgins to-"

Will shook his head. "Word got out to the other parents, there were numerous complaints; she had to go".

Kurt wrapped his arms around himself, suddenly feeling a little claustrophobic, eyes looking at everything but Will Schuster.

The teacher sighed, noting his discomfort. "Besides, they've already hired a new Coach"

Kurt's head snapped round, suddenly interested. "Really? Do you know who?"

"Umm, I haven't met the guy yet, but I think his name was Humbert, apparently he's got a great reputation"

He patted the teens arm and signalled that their conversation was over.

A thought struck Kurt suddenly. "Mr. Schue, do I have to continue with football?"

The teacher smiled sympathetically. "'fraid so Kurt, but heh, tell you what, you can join the girls team just for today, ok?"

The small boy made an effort to smile at the teachers gesture.

He jogged over to the girls who looked at him with surprise but instantly jumped up and down with excitement and pulled him into a group hug. All except Rachel who looked a little put out. Her hand shot up.

"Mr. Schue-"

"Rachel!" She seemed to get the message as Mr. Schue shot her a warning glare that meant 'not today'.

He winked at Kurt and mouthed "Anytime you need to talk". Will knew the kid had been through a lot, and he knew he'd let him down in the past, he wanted to make up for that, and if the only way he could do that was by making his experience at Glee the best it could be then he would do anything in his power to do that.

Kurt suddenly felt a little better and he clapped his hands together. "Alright girls, what are we doing?"

GGGGG

A/N: I got the name 'Humbert' from Vladamir Nabokovs 'Lolita'. This story is going to be similar to that book and my Humbert will have parallels to the books Humbert Humbert.

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