A/N Thank you to all of you have already favourited, followed and reviewed this story. You are all awesome!

I don't own Glee or the characters

Chapter Two

Kurt Hummel stood in front of the imposing looking red brick building that looked more like an English nobleman's house from the regency times of Jane Austen than a school, with it's impressively tall floor to ceiling arched windows, balconies and its spindly chimney stacks. The lawn that the boy now stood on was well maintained with its pruned bushes, stone statues and towering trees off to the side. He gulped down his fears and steeled himself to go inside. He had arrived late last night with his father, Finn and Carole to unpack all of his things into his new dormitory, which thankfully was a single room and not a shared one. However, this was his first actual day in the school, and although he knew it could be a whole new start here at Dalton, where a strict no bullying policy was in place, he was still scared stiff of being tormented and ridiculed and just, well, not welcomed. He had been too nervous to go to the breakfast hall earlier and he heard a small growl erupt from his stomach in protest, making the boy sigh and rummage around in his bag for the granola bar he had shoved in there earlier, wolfing it down in record time.

This is stupid. Just go inside Kurt Elizabeth Hummel. It can't be that bad. Taking a deep breath in, and letting it out slowly, he started across the lawn and into the building, stopping as he entered the breathtakingly long corridors inside. I'm going to get completely lost in this place. The corridors seemed to be endless to Kurt and they were heaving with other Dalton students all noisily chatting amongst themselves. It was overwhelming to say the least. He had no idea where anything was or who anyone was and he needed to get to the principals office before classes started. Maybe I should ask someone?

Kurt did not have to worry about finding a friendly looking student to help him though, they found him first.

"Hey!" A tall, floppy haired, grinning blonde came rushing up to him, stopping just short of smashing straight into Kurt himself. Kurt, flabbergasted and panicked by the thought of being bundled into, had stepped to the side of the corridor he was in in an attempt not to be trampled, his hand quickly covering where his heart lay in his chest from the fright. Gulping down his fear he watched as a shorter, dark haired boy jogged up to the two of them, wheezing a little in his attempt to catch up to the taller boy.

"Jeff try not to freak out the new student already! I'm so sorry, Jeff gets a bit overexcited at meeting new people. I'm Nick Duval, it's a pleasure to meet you." The dark haired boy stuck his hand out and grinned warmly towards Kurt. Kurt, calming himself down a little, took Nick's hand and shook it and did the same with the blonde haired boy afterwards as he eagerly extended his hand for Kurt to take too.

"Sorry, I just get really excited about meeting new people. I'm Jeff Sterling. I hope you really like it here. Dalton's the best, right Nick?" Jeff turned, his whole face beaming when he looked down at his smaller companion.

Nick chuckling at his hyperactive friend, replied heartily. "You're always right Jeff. About everything." He patte the blonde on his arm and then turned to Kurt, finishing what he needed to say. "Now we need to get you to the principals office. Come on!" Nick ushered the two other boys in his company along and Kurt, a little dumbfounded at these two incredibly friendly and helpful individuals, scurried along silently after them, listening to the two jape and giggle with one another. Jeez, it's like they're a couple or something. Kurt smiled at his thought before shaking it off as a passing folly. There was no way that two teenage kids his age were openly out about being in a gay relationship. It just didn't happen, right?

After what seemed like an eternity weaving through endless corridors, the two Dalton boys stopped in front of an imposing looking, heavy oak door.

"Here we are, the principals office. Jeff will wait outside for you since he's your official guide for the day, but I'll see you later Kurt. Have a good day!" Nick told Kurt happily and waved them both off as he raced back so that he could get to his own classes on time. Kurt turned to the door and felt his stomach churn at the thought of entering the room and of what might lay beyond. Principal Figgins had never seemed this threatening to Kurt before. He began to understand why Dalton boys towed the line and how the anti bullying policy might actually work here.

"Don't worry Kurt, Principal Johnson is a really nice guy actually. He just doesn't brook any nonsense. If you get on with your work and don't do anything stupid you'll never hear a cross word from him." Jeff warmly smiled down at Kurt who gave a wobbly smile in return to his new acquaintance.

"Thanks Jeff. Guess I'll go get this over with then." Kurt attempted to reply in a joking fashion, but found his voice wavering slightly due to his nerves. For the second time that day he took a deep breath in and released it slowly to calm the butterflies churning in his stomach. He stepped forwards and knocked on the door, opening it when he heard a deep voice telling him to enter and walked inside to whatever lay beyond.

"Ah, Mr Hummel! Come in, come in." The principal waved Kurt into one of the seats opposite his desk as he shuffled through the large piles of papers on his desk, squinting at the wording through his reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. He was a spindly looking man in what appeared to be his late fifties, his silver grey hair combed down to perfection, with a neat suit on that was wrinkle free. He didn't look overly intimidating, but then the most intimidating people generally never did. Kurt thought he looked like he couldn't hurt a fly though and tried not to smile at the images that entered his head. When the principal found what he wanted on his desk, he triumphantly cried out and waved the papers with fervour towards the boy as though Kurt would give him a prize by merely finding them. Which, after looking around the immense piles of papers in his room, Kurt felt that maybe he deserved a prize, just a little bit.

"Well here is your class schedule Mr Hummel and a map of the campus, although I'm sure Mr Sterling is doing a fine job of showing you around. Good boy that one. Stick with him and you'll go far. Well I hope you're first night here went well?" Principal Johnson asked, all mock concern for his new student, as he looked at Kurt with worry lines on his face and a comforting smile. I suppose he does this with all new students.

"Yes, the room is great. Thank you." Kurt politely replied, making sure not to use any sarcasm in his voice as he was prone to do. Plastering a fake smile over his face, he waited in the hope vain that this man would let him go without talking to him any further.

"Good, good. We want you to feel comfortable here at Dalton Academy Kurt. And you should. I want you to feel safe and secure here. To feel as though you can be who you are meant to be without fear of anyone hurting or scaring you. It might be a comfort for you to know that you'll find that some of the other boys here are here for the same reasons that you are Kurt. We do not tolerate bullying of any kind, but if you feel that someone is bullying you for some reason then you come straight here and I will deal with it personally. Ok Kurt?"

"Um, yes. Thank you."

"Well, you should run along and get to your first class then. Your schedule should be close to Jeff's so you will be able to follow him to most places, but you will find all the boys helpful and accommodating here Kurt. I hope your time here will be a happy one." Kurt thanked the principal one last time before scooting out of his chair quickly and rushing out the room. Well, thank the Gods that's over! I hope I never have to go in that room again...

Kurt had been placed in every class that the floppy haired blonde was in and so he dutifully followed Jeff around for all his morning classes, letting the blonde, who was extremely talkative, gabble on as Kurt only half listened. The problem was that Kurt was so overwhelmed he thought he was about to short circuit. There were so many new things to remember. Like the uniform, the length of the lessons, where everything was, all the new people. Kurt just couldn't keep everything inside his head.

The lessons themselves were hard enough to keep inside his brain. They were so much more challenging than the classes at McKinley and by the time that lunch came around Kurt's brain was definitely frazzled.

"So come join us at the Warbler table. You were in your show choir at McKinley, right? The New Directions, wasn't it? So you can sing, right? Maybe you should apply to join the Warblers? It's early enough in the year that you could still get a place." Jeff spoke a mile a minute with Kurt trying to focus on what Jeff was saying to him as he waited in line for his hot meal. When he heard someone chuckling behind him and turned around to spot a tall, dark boy, with what appeared to be the longest eyelashes in the history of the world, or so Kurt thought, he realised he was staring and blushed heavily.

"Wow Jeff, I think his head might explode if you talk to him any more. Let the poor boy sink some of this information in. Hi I'm David Thompson. Nice to meet you." David placed his hand out for Kurt to shake and Kurt did so timidly. They were all so friendly here that he felt as though he were being pulled into some sort of trap and he had to force himself to stop thinking such idiotic thoughts. These boys are not like the ones at McKinley. They actually have brain cells.

"H-hi, um, Kurt Hummel." Kurt stammered out as David beamed widely at the boy and ushered Kurt further along the queue.

"So you've been put with Jeff huh? You poor thing. I'm surprised you still have any hearing left."

"Hey!" Kurt giggled as the two boys playfully bantered to one another. He could definitely get used to this if this is what Dalton was like. They all seemed so, well, nice. And nice was exactly what Kurt needed after Karofsky and his lackeys. Once they had their food on their trays, he followed them both to a table that looked to be pretty full, with an Asian boy dictating to the others to calm themselves down and sighing when they took no notice of him.

"Hey Wes. We have a newbie with us today." David indicated that Kurt should sit next to him and he gratefully sank into the seat and watched with avid curiosity as Jeff beelined to sit beside Nick, with Nick having saved a seat for him. "This is Kurt Hummel. He used to be in New Directions." Wes' eyes went larger, as his head whipped round to face Kurt fully.

"Hi, I'm Wesley Montgomery. I'm the head of the Warbler council. Have you thought about joining us? I've heard that New Directions is a powerhouse of talent and if you were one of them then you must be good." Wes abruptly stuck his hand in front of Kurt's face to take and the boy reluctantly took it. Wow, some of these guys are really full on...

"Um, can I think about it I mean I think I do want to join, but I just need..."

"Give him a couple of days Wes, then you can make your pitch to the guy. I mean, jeez, he's been following Jeff all morning. Give the guy a break." David told his friend in a calming voice and gave Kurt a sympathetic look.

"Oh, uh, sure. Sorry. How have you found it so far?" Wes asked politely, and Kurt breathed out in relief. Maybe this boy wouldn't be so bad once he got to know him a little better.

"Intense." Kurt responded with one word, not able to process much more. He took a first bite out of his vegetable lasagne and realised he was ravenously hungry. That granola bar in the morning had been nowhere near enough to keep him going.

"Yeah, Dalton can seem like that at first. If you stick with us though you'll be fine." Wes smiled at Kurt, and Kurt found he was beginning to like the small Asian boy the more he spoke.

"Thanks. Um, can I ask you guys a question?" Kurt asked his curiosity needing to be sated as he watched Nick and Jeff talk quietly to one another, completely ignoring everyone else on the table.

"Sure, what is it Kurt?" David inquired of the boy, an amused smile on his face as he looked across to what Kurt was staring at.

"What's the deal with those two?" Kurt pointed to Jeff and Nick and both Wes and David smiled widely at one another.

"They're the cutest couple at Dalton. We call them Niff. They're inseparable, which is why they are so cute I suppose." Wes informed Kurt, whose eyes went wide in shock and his mouth fell open.

"They... They're a couple?" Kurt breathed out in awe and looked over at them. Have I stepped into some weird twilight zone where gay couples can be open and not criticised for being so? He heard the two boys laughing warmly beside him and he could feel his face getting warm as he became aware that he was staring at the golden couple.

"I take it you're gay Kurt?" Wes bluntly asked with a friendly, open manner and when Kurt blushed further, both Wes and David were given all the confirmation they needed. When Kurt started squirming in his seat Wes sought to comfort the boy further. "It's alright Kurt. It's not a problem for any of us. You are who you are and we accept that."

Kurt could feel his eyes start to water at the edges. No one at McKinley, apart from his friends in the New Directions had ever said that it was ok for him to be himself. That they accepted who he was. It was a lot to take in.

"Hey, come on Kurt. Wes hates it when people cry in front of him. It makes him teary eyed himself." David joked with Kurt, placing an arm around his slender shoulders and squeezing, getting the desired effect of a giggle out of Kurt. "There, that's better. You know what Kurt? I think you're going to fit right in here." At that Kurt smiled widely at his newest friend. You know what? I think you might be right David.

The rest of the day had been as much of a whirlwind as the morning had, and Kurt, now alone for the first time all day, breathed a sigh of relief at being able to have some piece and quiet. He really liked all the boys that he had met today, but they were all so loud sometimes, especially Jeff. What Kurt needed right now was some quiet, alone time. As he made his way across the lawns and gardens with only the moonlight of an almost full moon to guide him, he felt content. As he got inside the school building, he wandered through the deserted corridors of Dalton and tried to get his head around the layout a little bit more for tomorrow. Jeff was great, but it always felt so rushed from one place to another that Kurt hadn't been able to process the routes and layouts in the way he would have liked. If there was anything Kurt needed, it was routine. He thrived on routine and hated being out of control, which is how most of his day had felt like. Wandering aimlessly now, in a part of the building he didn't recognise, he heard the soft tinkle of music further down the corridor. Mildly intrigued, Kurt's pace quickened and as the noise got louder he began to realise that it was the sound of a piano being played. And played beautifully. Entranced by the soft, flowing music that was playing, Kurt felt himself pulled towards the room and, once outside the doors, quietly and slowly opened one of the heavy, wooden doors to reveal what lay beyond.

He felt himself gasp quietly as his eyes laid on the most stunning boy he had ever seen. The moonlight shined down from the floor to ceiling windows and cast shadows over the plains of his face, making him seem almost ethereal to Kurt. His high cheekbones and strong jawline sent Kurt's heart haywire as it thudded inside his chest at an insane speed. His dark, wavy hair, styled flawlessly to show the waves without it looking like a puffy afro, and his soft, plump lips moved silently as he mouthed the words to the song he was playing the tune to. His eyes were closed shut as he played with emotion and depth, causing Kurt's eyes to tear up for the second time that day. Oh Kurt, how much do you want to know what lays under those eyelids? When the tune the boy was playing came to an end, Kurt courageously stepped forward, more terrified than he had ever been in his life, but wanting to get to know this ravishing creature in front of him.

"Hi, that was amazing. Are you a Warbler?" Kurt asked into the silence and watched as the boys eyes snapped open in what appeared to be shock and stared in wonder at Kurt, with eyes of liquid gold, making Kurt's knees feel a little weak and his stomach turn in knots...