As the year progressed, Blaine thought less and less of Kurt. Rachel rarely spoke about him, and when she did, it usually involved Finn. Blaine couldn't keep up with all the drama at McKinley. One day Rachel would be dating Finn, the next she was with some guy named Jesse St. James. It was all too over the top for him.

Blaine never told his friends about his short lived obsession with Kurt, so eventually the well-dressed brunette with the brilliant blue eyes slipped completely from his mind. There were plenty of other guys at Dalton that kept him busy, anyway. Well, that wasn't necessarily true. There were plenty of guys at Dalton that Blaine found attractive, but none that he wanted to date.

Rachel liked to brag that she had more experience in the romance department, which Blaine found extremely scary. He wasn't sure how someone like his sister (while very attractive, but extremely annoying) could have had more boyfriends in the past year, than his entire life.

Later in the year, Wes and David convinced Blaine to try out for a solo. According to them, it was one of the best things to ever happen to the Warblers. The first performance Blaine sung a solo in was the most popular show to date. If the Warblers were cool before, now they were rock stars.

Rachel had seen the performance as competition, electing to give Blaine icy stares the entire time. After the show, and with some prodding from their parents, she grudgingly congratulated him. Blaine took her glares in stride and instead thought of it as a compliment. He was so good that he had Rachel worried; now that took some real talent.

The Warblers went onto regionals, however; they lost at Nationals. Unfortunately, this gave Rachel another reason to give him the cold shoulder. The New Directions lost at Regionals, and Rachel ignored him for the rest of the week.

That year, Rachel also found her birth mother. It wasn't something neither she nor Blaine had really thought much about. They loved their parents and, even though they were sometimes curious as to what their birth mothers looked like, they were indifferent on the matter. Meeting her real mom had really shaken Rachel up, if only because they were so similar.

Blaine wasn't sure what he would do if he met his real mother. Maybe wonder why she gave him away, or why she had a baby in the first place if she couldn't keep one.

Blaine and Rachel weren't related by blood, as many people seemed to think they were. Although they shared some similar traits, they were purely coincidental. Rachel's mom had wanted to be a surrogate. Shelby had made the choice to have a baby for the Anderberrys. Blaine's mom had put him up for adoption when he was only one week old. Leroy and Hiram had no idea who his birth mother was, and they had no desire to find out.

Blaine was now a junior and on top of the world. He was one of the most popular guys at Dalton, and Wes and David (now being on the council) let him have a little input on what songs they sang for competitions. Blaine was surrounded by fantastic friends and he and Rachel were getting along better than ever. He had never thought he would ever be this happy again.

Blaine grabbed his bag from the floor and hurried out of his dorm. He was going to be late to practice…again. And not just any practice, but an impromptu performance. Wes and David could only give him so many allowances until the other Warblers started crying favorites. He dashed down the hallway and onto the stair well. Flipping open the pocket watch his Pa had gotten him for Christmas last year, he noticed he was already five minutes late.

"Excuse me…"

Blaine stopped at the bottom of the steps as someone tapped him on the shoulder. He tried to mask his annoyance as he glanced up from his watch at the stranger.

"Um, hi. Can I ask you a question? I'm new here."

No way. There was no possible way.

"My name's Blaine."

"Kurt…"

Oh my god it was. Blaine stared at Kurt with wide eyes. Bright blue ones stared right back.

"I know you." His voice was still soft and soothing. He cocked his head to the side as he tried to remember Blaine. "You're Rachel's brother." A brief look of panic flashed through Kurt's eyes.

"Yeah, we ran into each other at your sectionals last year," Blaine grinned. Kurt's smile didn't reach his eyes.

"So what exactly is going on?" Kurt cleared his throat. Blaine remembered that he was still late for his meeting, and, wait-

Rachel would have mentioned if Kurt was transferring to Dalton. She would have mentioned if anyone was transferring to Dalton, then made a huge fuss about it and demanded Blaine give them back. Kurt also wasn't wearing a uniform, something that everyone new student received upon arrival.

Blaine noticed the large sunglasses in Kurt's left hand and his horrible imitation of a Dalton blazer, and smiled warmly. Kurt was trying to spy on the Warblers. Poorly, at that.

"The Warblers! Every now and then they throw an impromptu performance. Tends to shut the school down for a while." Blaine would play along, see how everything unfolded.

"So wait, the glee club is actually kind of cool here?" Kurt seemed genuinely surprised. Blaine instantly sympathized with the poor boy, having heard all about the crap the New Directions got from Rachel.

"The warblers are like…rock stars," Blaine chuckled at his personal inside joke. He was feeling so strong and brave this year. He had friends, popularity, good grades, and a great family, so what was life without a couple of risks? And with that thought in his mind, he grabbed Kurt's hand. "Come on, I know a shortcut."

He probably should have let go of Kurt's hand, or at least switched hands, but Blaine could barely think straight because wow, Kurt was at his school. Kurt, the adorable brunette who, at one point, had haunted his dreams for several weeks. His face had lost some of its roundness and whoa, hey there cheekbones where did you come from?

As they entered the choir room, Kurt's grip on his hand tightened for the briefest of seconds, before he let go.

"Wow, I stick out like a sore thumb," he breathed. Blaine chuckled and tugged a little on Kurt's makeshift Warbler uniform.

"Next time don't forget your uniform, new kid. Now if you'll excuse me," Blaine smiled at Kurt's confused face. Rachel didn't tend to talk much about Blaine, so of course Kurt didn't know Blaine was now one of the main singers for the Warblers.

Blaine joined his fellow glee clubbers and started into 'Teenage Dream'. Looking out into the crowd, all Blaine could focus on was Kurt. The boy looked so upset, and Blaine just couldn't have that; he was going to make Kurt smile if it killed him. He put a little more pizazz in his step and sang directly at Kurt.

If someone had told Blaine last year he would be singing 'Teenage Dream' to the boy who had caused many awkward sheet washings in the middle of the week, he would have laughed in their face and personally put them in a loony bin.

But here he was. And there Kurt was…still not smiling. He was looking around the room with a frown. Blaine internally panicked, was something wrong with the room? Was it too messy? Were the guys too obnoxious? Kurt's eyes roamed around until they settled on Blaine again.

Blaine smiled and quickly pointed at him, "Now you'll be my Valentine."

Kurt's eyes widened and a grin finally appeared. It started off really small, but by the time the song was over, Kurt had a huge smile and was clapping animatedly. The room was loud with applause and students jumped all over place, trying to imitate the performance they had just seen.

Blaine mentally patted himself on the back as he got caught up in the crowd of cheering fans; he had made Kurt smile. Someone grabbed his shoulders and dragged him to the side of the room, and he turned around to face Wes and David.

"Oh hey, guys. Great job!" he said enthusiastically.

"Yeah you, too; just like always. So uh hey-"

"Who was that guy you were talking to earlier?" David finished Wes's question.

"What guy?"

Wes and David leveled Blaine with a blank stare. "Don't play stupid," Wes said bluntly.

"It's very unbecoming," David teased.

"His name is Kurt. I ran into him on the stairs." Blaine shrugged.

"Is that why you were so late?" Wes raised an eyebrow. Blaine smiled sheepishly and looked at David for support. David shook his head and grinned.

"Um, maybe?"

Wes rolled his eyes and sighed. "What am I going to do with you, Blaine?"

"Not punish me?"

"If you explain to me why you let a spy into our practice, then I'll think about it," Wes deadpanned. Blaine glanced quickly at David, who just shrugged.

"It was pretty obvious," David explained.

"Then you also noticed how upset he looked?" Blaine looked between Wes and David. David turned to Wes and they had a mental conversation that involved a lot of complicated hand gestures. Blaine stared at them in amazement, contemplating why he was friends with them.

"Yes, we did."

"Which is why we didn't kick him out," Wes added.

"And we figured we would find out the real reason he was spying. I mean, even if he was upset, we can't just let him waltz in and out of our practice as he pleases," David finished.

"You mean you'll go talk to him with me?" Blaine said hopefully. Wes and David nodded and, oh yeah, this was why he was friends with them. "Sweet! He's right over…uh." The spot Kurt was vacating was now empty. "He was right over there."

"Let's go find him," Wes proposed. "He couldn't have gotten too far; this school is like a maze."

An hour later, the trio found Kurt wandering outside the main library.

"You need some help?"

Kurt jumped at the sound of Blaine's voice. He spun around, a hand coming up to his chest.

"Oh my God. Um. Hi," he said timidly. He looked for a way out of the room, eyes panicked.

"Hey, hey it's okay," Blaine raised his hands in a 'we come in peace' gesture.

"Yeah we just want to talk," Wes added. Kurt's eyes quickly dart between the three of them. He still looked panicked, but he wasn't objecting.

"Why don't we talk over coffee?" Blaine asked gently. Wes and David started walking towards the café, Blaine and Kurt trailing behind. Kurt didn't say anything the entire trip, and Blaine didn't want to pressure him into talking. It wasn't an awkward silence, per se, but it definitely wasn't comfortable either. Blaine, Wes, and David grabbed their coffee and Blaine got something he hopped Kurt would like. As they sat down across from the brunette, Blaine slid the drink over to him.

"Latte?"

"Thank you."

"This is Wes and David," Blaine gestured to his friends.

"It's very civilized for you to invite me to coffee before you beat me up for spying," Kurt murmured. Blaine clenched his teeth in anger. If Kurt's first thought was that they were going to beat him up, something seriously wrong was happening at McKinley.

"We are not going to beat you up," Wes quickly intervened and Blaine took a sip of his latte to stop himself from yelling in anger.

"You were such a terrible spy we thought it was sort of…endearing," David laughed gently. Blaine put his cup down and looked Kurt straight in the eyes.

"Which made me think that spying on us wasn't really the reason you came." And Rachael would have said something. Kurt smiled politely before looking down. This wasn't the Kurt Blaine had briefly met last year. The Kurt last year was assertive, this Kurt looked like he was withering away before their very eyes.

"Can I ask you guys a question?" the trio nodded to the rhetorical question, "Are you guys all gay?" Blaine couldn't help but chuckle. Everyone always assumed Dalton was filled with gay boys, and while Blaine was, he knew Wes and David got tired of people thinking they were gay. It really put a dent on their mingling with girls ("You both have girlfriends" "Shh, a little harmless flirting isn't bad).

Instantly Kurt's face fell and oh god why are we laughing? Blaine sobered up quickly, ignoring the twinge of guilt. "Uh, uh no. I mean I am," hasn't Rachel told you? "But uh these two have girlfriends."

The look of relief on Kurt's face was enough to knock the air out of Blaine, so he was glad when David spoke up. "This is not a gay school; we just have a zero tolerance harassment policy."

"Everybody gets treated the same, no matter what they are," Wes added. "It's pretty simple." Kurt looked like everything he knew in life was crashing down around him; like he had never heard of tolerance or equality. Blaine's heart ached for him.

"Would you guys excuse us?" The words were out of his mouth before he even realized he had thought them. Wes and David exchanged a quick look and stood up.

"Take it easy, Kurt," Wes gave a small wave and then Blaine's two best friends were gone. Kurt didn't mean Blaine's eyes, instead staring fixedly at the table.

"I take it you're having trouble at school." Blaine wanted to smack himself; no shit he's having trouble, why do you think he's here on the verge of tears?

"I'm the only person out of the closet at my school." A tear fell from Kurt's startlingly blue eyes and Blaine just wanted to hug him until he no longer hurt. He knew there were no gay kids besides Kurt at McKinley. Rachel liked to keep tabs on all of them, something about finding Blaine a potential boyfriend someday. "And I-I try to strong about it but," Kurt's voice faltered for a second, "there's this Neanderthal who's made it his mission to make my life a living hell." Kurt stopped, his eyes glazed as if he were remembering all the times he had been hurt by this 'Neanderthal'. "And nobody seems to notice."

Blaine felt his body tense at Kurt's last words. Why wasn't Rachel doing something? Why hadn't she realized Kurt needed somebody? He was brought back to his own time at public school. When life had been hell and no one seemed to give a damn if he lived or not.

"I know how you feel," and he couldn't believe he was telling Kurt this, he barely knew the boy. "I got taunted at my old school and it really…pissed me off." Understatement of the year. He glanced to the side, consumed in his own memories of the day when everything changed. "I even complained about it to the faculty, and they were sympathetic and all, but you could just tell…nobody really cared." It hurt saying this. He remembered coming home with bruises, hoping Rachel would notice force to tell their parents; but she was as oblivious it ever. "It was like: Hey, if you're gay, your life's just going to be miserable, sorry, nothing we can do about it."

Kurt looked away from Blaine, mulling over that he wasn't alone. "So I left…I came here. Simple as that." And he felt guilty about it since day one. He didn't know how his parents were affording it, and he hated having to make Rachel worry ("I'll worry more if you stay at that horrible school.") but it was the only way he would be safe. "So you have two options. I mean I would love to tell you to just come enroll here," he really would, "but tuition at Dalton is steep and I know that's not an option for everybody," not an option for himself but a matter of survival. "Or, you can refuse to be the victim."

Kurt started contemplatively at him and Blaine pondered at his own words. Since when was he qualified to give out sagely advice like that? What if he said something and it made matters worse? "Prejudice is just ignorance," a fact his parents had drilled into his head very early in life, "Kurt, and you have a chance right to teach them."

"How?"

"Confront 'em. Call 'em out. I ran, Kurt. I didn't stand up. I let bullies chase me away and it is something I really, really regret."

Kurt was quiet, searching Blaine's face for hints of betrayal or laughter or any of the other shit the bullies probably put him through. Blaine was agitated; with himself, with Rachel, with McKinley.

"Why do I barely know you? I've known Rachel for three years now," Kurt asked out of the blue. Blaine raised an eyebrow in surprise. He wasn't sure, to be honest. Rachel didn't tend to talk about him much, and he had never really minded.

"I guess it's her way of protecting me," Blaine finally said.

"You're nothing like her," Kurt's mouth lifted in a tiny smile, eyes still glassy from unshed tears. Blaine chuckled and searched his pockets for a sharpie.

"So I've been told." He uncapped the sharpie and laid out his hand on the table. "Can I see your hand?" he asked gently. Kurt eyed him warily and slowly placed his own on top of Blaine's. It was soft and warm and Blaine really wanted to twine their fingers together. Instead he reached over and wrote his number on the inside of Kurt's palm. "In case you ever need anything. I would tell you to call Rachel, but I board here, and she'd forget to give me the message."

Kurt stared at his hand in amazement, before remembering it was still cupped in Blaine's and jumped back. He stood up, causing his chair to scoot back.

"Thank you. For the latte and for this and for not beating me up," he chuckled weakly. Blaine watched in amusement as a light pink flushed Kurt's ears. "I should probably go, though. My dad will be worried sick." He glanced around the room, ears burning brighter.

"I'll show you to the exit," Blaine smiled.