Author's Note: I have this chapter already written out, so I figured I'd post it. I might get to the second one tomorrow since I have it finished, but I still need to edit it. And then the third one is only half-done as of now. So, we'll see when I get to that. You guys ready for this?

Chapter One

Kurt sat alone in the hallways outside the Dalton office. It was his first day here. He had his Marc Jacobs bag filled with a few clothes to wear on the weekends, some pajamas, boxers – the basics. He had quadruple-checked to make sure he had all the necessities when packing – his lotions, his toothbrush, hair products… He nervously fiddled with the strap. He wasn't going to be allowed to wear scarves or hats even around school, just a traditional little outfit with a blue and red blazer. It wasn't even that cute. Kurt slumped down in the chair, pouting. That didn't last long, though. The door flung open a few seconds later.

"I don't have a problem with him being gay. I'm pro-rights and all. I just don't know how I feel rooming with him."

"I don't want to hear another word of it," the director replied. Kurt felt his face flush. He hadn't even started his first day here and he already was hearing stuff like this. A tanned boy with sandy blond hair walked out of the room, looking slightly defeated. When he turned around and saw Kurt sitting there, he jumped.

"You heard all of that, didn't you?" the boy asked, looking slightly ashamed. Kurt stiffly nodded. "I didn't mean to start off on the wrong foot." He extended a hand and gave a hopeful smile. "I'm Richard James. Look, I know I probably sounded like kind of a dick. I've roomed alone recently. Really, though, I don't have anything against you. I didn't mean to…" He trailed off, looking more and more flustered by the minute. Kurt felt slightly bad. He shook Richard's hand.

"Kurt. And it's fine." Well, it wasn't really fine, but he would deal with it.

"Dalton takes a little getting used to. I'm supposed to show you all your classes then take you to the room, but I think it's easier the other way around. That bag looks heavy." He scratched his arm nervously, and Kurt nodded. Everything was different here. They didn't say much as they walked to the room they were going to share. It was a bit like a college dorm. Of course, with teachers around, everything was neater.

"Breakfast hall is going to be down that hall," Richard said, pointing. Kurt, again, simply nodded. "You don't talk much, do you?"

"I don't know." A part of him was determined to be miserable. His dad couldn't force him to stay if he hated it after a while, could he? Actually, he wasn't sure what his dad would do. He'd never seen him this angry. Karofsky and Azimio had gotten off with just three days of suspension each. They admitted to shoving him against the lockers, but they both claimed to have no clue about what happened to his arm. The hallway tapes for that hour had been mysteriously missing, so they had nothing to prove.

"So, what happened to your arm?" Richard asked. Of course he would pick up that topic.

"Someone broke it."

"Football? No, you don't look like a football type…"

"Actually, I was the kicker." Richard blushed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to –"

"No, it's okay." He was tired trying to shove this kid away. Kurt sighed. "People weren't really accepting of gays at my old school," Kurt said, pulling at his tie. He had needed help from his dad putting it on. He wasn't sure how he wasn't going go about doing it for the next two weeks. He didn't want to ask Richard for help, but he didn't see the alternative.

"Oh my God, I'm really sorry. That's horrible." Richard looked like he didn't really know what to say to that, although his eyes were wide and horrified. But then again, what was the proper response?

"Where is everyone? Classes?"

"Yeah. They're going to end soon though. Um, there's a Rec Room there. Just a TV, a couple of armchairs, ping pong table – nothing fancy." It was definitely like a college dorm. He couldn't believe that a simple high school would have all of this. He just wanted to go home to his room and cuddle up on his bed.

"Wow, you guys are never bored, huh?"

"Eh, we usually go out and about. We're allowed to leave campus as long as we're back by ten. And, you know, you can go home on weekends. Once you get the hang of things, I'm sure you'll love it." He paused. "And here's our room." Richard handed Kurt a key and pulled another one out of his pocket, sticking it into the lock.

"Oh, thanks." The door swung open to reveal a small, neat room. The two sides were identical, with beds, dressers to the left, and a closet and a small desk on the right. Inside both of them, there were already a few sets of school uniforms.

"Bathrooms are communal. Um, that's about it, though. You need time to organize now or are you going to do it later?"

"Later," Kurt said, dropping his bag on the bed. Seeing this room and knowing it was going to be his made him miss his everything even more. He missed his dad and he missed the Glee club. And what about his room in the basement – what would it be used for now that he was gone? He trembled and shook his head. It was silly to feel so sad over something like that, but this was all so new and different. He liked things the way they used to be.

"You miss your friends?" Richard asked. Kurt could hear him shifting slightly, and he turned around, pushing the tears back.

"Yeah, but, I mean, it'll be better here, right? No more getting beaten up – that has to be a plus." It was Richard's turn to silently nod.

"Everyone's a lot more accepting here. And, I mean, as long as you work hard, you'll be fine with school. And you can hang out with my friends. Although, we're all Warblers. I'd understand if you felt awkward."

"Warblers?" It sounded familiar. The director had been talking with him about something…

"It's the glee club here." Oh, right… The director had mentioned it, thinking Kurt would be interested. Kurt figured he might as well join it. After all, he needed something familiar and fun. And singing always managed to relax him. He needed something to do that.

"You guys the butt of school jokes as well?" Kurt asked, trying to reach for a casual tone. But even the thought of a slushy in his face made him nostalgic. What was wrong with him?

"No. The Warblers – Well, let's just say sometimes I feel like a bit of a celebrity. Why, was it like that at your old school?" He sounded shocked Kurt chuckled quietly, repeating his thoughts.

"Let's just say it's a tradition to get a slushy in the face by someone more popular." Richard's face looked even more horrified, but then he paused.

"Wait, you were in glee club at your old school?"

"Yeah, actually I was thinking of trying out here."

KBKBKBK

"So, this is your chemistry classroom. Mr. Davis teaches it." Kurt felt slightly nervous. After showing him his classes, Richard had agreed to let him meet up with the Warblers. He said it wasn't up to him, but he didn't see why Wes, David, and Thad wouldn't let him. Kurt repeated the names again in his head. A part of him felt like he had to get everything perfect. At least, he really wanted to prove that he knew what he was doing. This glee club sounded quite serious.

"And Monsieur Black teaches French. Oh, he's still in the room." A man with wavy brown hair looked over and gave a tight smile. He continued looking down and grading.

As they walked away from the room, Richard added, "He can be a bit of a pain sometimes, but he's nice when he's in a good mood." The next room was Mr. Acker, the English teacher. Then it was Mr. Towns the history teacher. Next Kurt had lunch in his schedule.

"You have econ with Mr. French and then calculus with Mr. Neal." Richard pointed at two rooms right across from each other. "And that's it. Right now schedule too. Here, let me take you to the Warblers." There was a buzz and Richard took out a cell phone. He laughed at whatever it said and pocketed it. With that, he ran down the halls, leading Kurt to a room at the end of one of the hall. The paintings on the walls and the chandeliers – he felt out of place.

"Hey guys…" The double doors burst open and Kurt tentatively entered. Most of the group was all lounging around on couches talking to each other. Three of them sat behind a table rather formally. He went up to them and stuck out his hand.

"I'm Kurt. I guess you're – err – Wes, David, and Thad."

"I'm David," the black guy said. He smiled affably at Kurt.

"Thad," a scrawnier boy said.

"And, Wes," the Asian added. "Nice to meet you." Before Kurt could get anything else out, the doors banged open again.

"Sorry I'm late!" Kurt turned around and his jaw tightened. There was a small flip in his stomach. The guy standing at the door shrugged his shoulders and tried to look innocent. It was absolutely adorable. Kurt didn't believe in love at first sight, but lust was a completely different story. He had a mess of black curls on his head, and he was currently biting his lip awkwardly. Goodness, he had amazing lips. What would it be like to kiss them? Kurt blushed. He couldn't think about that, not now.

"Oh, you must be Kurt. Hi, I'm Blaine." The boy reached out to shake his hand, and Kurt accepted. He cringed thinking how sweaty his palm was, but Blaine didn't seem to notice. He just grinned and bounced over to the table. "Faith came over to say hi. I'm really sorry. We just lost track of time."

"You're only a minute or two late. It's fine," David said, laughing. His head turned toward Kurt again. "So…"

"I was thinking of singing – umm…" Everyone was staring at him. There had to be close to twenty people here.

"You'll sing House of the Rising Sun," Thad said formally.

"Let him chose," Blaine said, throwing one of his crinkly-eyed smiles Kurt's way. Kurt couldn't help but smile back.

"But everyone always sings House of the Rising Sun. It's a tradition." Blaine shrugged. "Look, when you're part of the Warbler council, you can decide."

"So, House of the Rising Sun." It wasn't really his style. It didn't seem like the Warblers style either, but the idea of a tradition had been stressed. They seemed to be keen on keeping some things same year in and out. Well, that could be a little dull.

Kurt sang the song with ease. It wasn't really a challenge. The main problem was trying to ignore everyone. At one point it even seemed that Wes kid was taking notes. He liked the laid-back, friendly feel of New Directions. Here everyone seemed to be taking it like a job. But glee club was supposed to be about passion and having fun, wasn't it? Kurt felt a knot form in his throat as he finished the last few notes, and his voice wavered. He glanced at the floor.

"Let's see, it's a bit of a weak finish. You also didn't exactly put in the emotions we were looking for," Wes said, twirling his pen. "But it was good other than that. You have a nice voice." He smiled. "Welcome to the Warblers."

KBKBKBK

"Hey, wait up!" Kurt swallowed heavily. Blaine's hand was on his shoulder. He looked over, trying to look calm.

They had gone through two songs while they were in there, one by Bruno Mars and the other by Katy Perry. One was The Lazy Song and the other was E.T. Blaine had gotten the lead in both of them. The rest of the Warblers were practically back-up vocals. But Blaine's voice… If he had thought Blaine was nice before, this just made him that much closer to perfect. There was nothing to compare it to. He sounded sweet enough in The Lazy Song, but when he sang E.T, Kurt was certain he was going to die. He growled out the words, and the way he just slid down the table – Kurt had stared wide-eyed.

"Kurt, you okay?"

"Huh?" Kurt's voice was an octave higher than usual. He had to snap out of it. "Yeah, Blaine?"

"What song were you going to sing?" Oh, he wasn't thinking of hanging out or anything. Kurt deflated slightly. Still, he had come up to him and started a conversation. That was a start.

"I don't know, actually. She Will Be Loved or Thinking of Me from Phantom of the Opera. I have a soft spot for musicals." He grinned perhaps a tad too eagerly, and Blaine chuckled.

"Think you could reach that note?" Blaine asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Are you challenging me?"

"Maybe…" Kurt blushed. He was acting like an infatuated middle schooler. He had to stop this.

"I'll just have to sing it some other time to you."

"I'd like that. Hey, I'm going to go meet Faith. A few of the guys were probably going to join me. You can come along if you'd like." Kurt nodded.

"Sounds good. Who's Faith?"

"My girlfriend." Kurt felt his stomach drop. Of course he had a girlfriend. With a voice like that how couldn't he. Still, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He had a thing for straight guys who were dating someone else, didn't he? First Finn and now this. "You alright?" Kurt nodded again.

"Just overwhelmed. There's a lot going on."

"Yeah, I get that." Kurt reached up to fiddle with his scarf, but of course there wasn't one. His yanked at his tie, and it came undone. Great, now what was he going to do. He reached down and grabbed it. Of course his cast had to reach over his elbow.

He looked helplessly down after slinging it around his neck. For a moment he attempted to move his left arm to bend, but of course it was helpless. Nervously chuckling, he reached up with his right and tried to start getting it. But of course it was hopeless. It was impossible to tie a tie with one hand.

"Here, need some help?" Blaine asked, reaching over. He smiled and grabbed the tie. His eyes didn't even glance down. He had probably done his own so many times that it was pure muscle memorization. "Just loosen it at night so you can slip it back on in the morning. With that, he tightened the knot and winked.

"Thanks." Kurt could barely breathe. Blaine had been so close. Kurt could even smell the peppermint gum on his breath. And Blaine was only half an inch or an inch shorter, or so it seemed. His lips had just been there, tempting him. They definitely looked kissable. Kurt squirmed.

"No problem. Just give me your number?" Kurt nodded and reached into his pocket. His phone slipped out and hit the ground. He let out an inaudible groan. This was turning out to be a mess. Get yourself together, he mentally scolded himself. Before he could pick it up, Blaine did.

"I'm sorry. Thank you, again. I'm a mess."

"Nervous, huh?" Did he know that he liked him? Kurt attempted to think of an explanation. But Blaine didn't seem that upset, did he? "I get that. I was really nervous when I first moved here too. It's all crazy and fancy. Kind of traditionalist too. You probably noticed that, though with the whole House of the Rising Sun thing." Kurt nodded and breathily laughed.

"Yeah, it definitely has more rules than the glee club at my old school," Kurt said. That's what he was thinking of. So his ridiculous crush hadn't been too obvious. At least, if it was, Blaine was far too big of a gentleman to say anything about it.

A group of guys came their way, and Blaine began talking to other people. Kurt slung back and followed them, smiling. It wasn't like he had a chance, but at least he had a friend. And he would see him every glee practice. He was already starting to warm up to Dalton.