A/N - Hello again lovely people! Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed/followed/favourited this story since I posted it last night. It means a lot that you guys liked it enough to read it - I honestly expected that nobody would!

So in this chapter we're checking in at Dalton with Blaine and the Warbler's - No Kurt in this chapter but he'll be back in the next one, I think! We're also introduced to my main two OCs, who are both going to have pretty big roles - one of them from the start, and one a bit later on.

In this chapter, there's a quote from one of my favourite books - if you can name the book, and find the quote, you get to name the final OC that I'm having in this story :)

Warnings from first chapter still apply!

Disclaimer - Still don't own Glee :(


"You'll pay for that, David!"

Blaine Anderson watched on, lips quirking into a small half-smile at his best friend's antics; Wes and David chased one another around the common room, the former wielding his gavel threateningly above his head (although Blaine seemed to recall a warning from the principal, which went along the lines of "You hit anyone again with that gavel, Wesley, and I'll have to suspend you,") while the latter attempted to evade capture by hiding behind a leather sofa.

This was normality at Dalton; all the seriousness, the business-like professionalism of Warbler rehearsals - which, if Blaine was being honest, was necessary to get anything done around here - dissipated the second practice ends.

Except for when competitions are approaching; then, Wes had been known to get a little scary. But that's besides the point.

Glancing around, Blaine couldn't shake the feeling that this was home, in a more pure and honest way than the house where he'd spent the first fourteen years of his life, but where he never truly fit. These boys were his brothers; his family. He recalled last month, when, after a few drinks at a Warbler's party, a Sophmore Warbler, Jake, had summed up this feeling perfectly;

"It's like we're a massive jigsaw puzzle. On our own we're all different shapes and sizes and colors, and when you look at us all individually you can't imagine how we'd all possibly fit together; we're just too different. But then one of us connects with another, and they connect with someone else, and sooner or later we're all linked together and we've created this massive picture that's just...awesome."

Granted, that whole speech had been rather slurred (Jake wasn't exactly known for his alcohol tolerance, and a couple of beers tended to turn him incredibly philosophical) and the other Warbler's had had to ask him to repeat certain parts so that they could understand, but the image made sense in his mind.

If you'd told him eighteen months before that he'd feel so at home, so accepted, so comfortable here, he'd have laughed in your face. But now, as he surreptitiously extends a foot into David's path, sending his friend tumbling to the hardwood floor with a thud before Wes dives on top of him and begins to tickle him mercilessly, Blaine's stomach ached from laughter and he knew that he was happy. Not pretending-to-be-happy-so-nobody-asks-whats-wrong, like the first six months here. Not better-than-before-but-not-great.

Happy.

He wasn't even sure when it happened. It wasn't like he woke up one day and all was right with the world; he was in the middle before he knew he had begun. It wasn't the kind of fleeting, giddy happiness that washes over you when something amazing happens - the kind where you can't stop grinning and your feet can't keep still and you just want to shout this amazing news from the rooftops. Granted, he got those moments sometimes; the first time he got a solo in Warbler's, the first time he got an A in Chemistry (after a lot of tutoring from Wes).

But this happiness, it wasn't like that. It's more like, contentment.

It was when he couldn't wrap his head around a question in Chemistry, but he could go and knock on Wes' door without a second thought, knowing that the Senior would be there to help him.

It was singing along with Jeff and Nick to cheesy pop songs in the car, not caring that they were completely out of key and probably not doing their voices any good.

It was walking down the corridor to English, and not being on constant alert, eyes scanning the halls for anything, anyone that might be a threat to him.

It was when he's had a sleepless night, his dreams plagued by faces and names he wished to forget, and one text to David would bring the older boy to his door, wordlessly accepting that Blaine just needs to be held right now.

It was a hand on a shoulder, a smile across the room, a casual suggestion of a movie night, which pushed away the darkness as it began to resurface.

It was knowing that they knew - Wes, David and Dan knew everything, but all the Warbler's knew some of what happened - and they didn't care. They didn't judge, or pity. They're just there, with assurances of "Whenever, whatever, wherever. You're one of us now, and we protect our own".

It was sitting here in the common room, on a Friday night, watching David and Wes wrestle at his feet, watching Jeff and Nick laughing at a video they found online - knowing that here, amongst strangers, he'd found brothers. He found a place where he fits; where he belongs.

It was singing to happy songs, with his best friends, and relating to them instead of the sombre ballads he identified with last year.

It's being a part of this massive, crazy jigsaw that he calls his family.

And if that can't make someone happy, nothing can.


There was a knock on the door. Three sharp taps, and four heads swung towards the direction of the intrusion, groaning audibly.

Hagrid was frozen mid-sentence, mouth hanging open comically and making the boys chuckle from their position entangled on Wes' bed; they should have been doing homework, but had decided that a Saturday morning Harry Potter marathon would be a much better idea.

"Wes, you get it, you're closest and you can probably wave your gavel around a bit and make them go away." smirked David, unwilling to leave his position cocooned in blankets.

"Nope," a shake of the head caused the Asian senior's hair, as of yet unstyled, to fall into his eyes, and he pushes it back lazily, "I'm perfectly fine here thank you very much. As Head Coucillor of the Warbler's, I nominate Warbler Blaine to go and see who's there." as he said this, he put on his "Councillor voice" - authoritative and responsible, a far cry from his personality outside of the choir room - and turned towards the mop of untamed curls sat next to him.

"No Wes - you can intimidate Freshmen, but I've seen you dancing round your dorm to Spice Girls, so your "Big, scary councillor" voice is lost on me. Plus, I'm in my pyjamas and my hair's a mess; I doubt anyone wants to see that."

"We have to put up with it, why shouldn't whoever's out there?" at that, a pillow sailed through the air, smacking Dan in the face with a muted thud.

Wes slapped his friend on the arm, pouting, while the other boys broke out into fits of giggles at the memory of their revered Leader singing "Wannabe" by the iconic girlband, dressed only in his underwear.

"That was once, guys - once! And now you're going to hold it against me forever. You shouldn't have just come in without knocking! This is harassment and bullying, I could go to Mr. Jarvis and have you all suspended," the boys all continued to snicker at their friend's indignant tone, and the irony that he had almost got suspended himself for hitting Nick with his gavel - not that Nick hadn't deserved it, "and anyway, what's wrong with Spice Girls?"

Amidst the playful bickering of four teenage boys, the knock on the door was all but forgotten, until it sounded again - more urgent this time - silencing the group.

"Fine, I'll get it, since you lot appear to have forgotten how to use your legs," grumbled Dan, running a hand through his dirty-blond hair as he swung his legs laboriously off the bed and hoisted himself up, swinging open the door with a flourish to reveal a wide-eyed Freshman.

"Hi guys, I- I'm sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Jarvis wants to talk to Dan and Blaine right now and Nick and Jeff said you'd be in here and I -" Dan's hand on his shoulder silenced the stuttering kid, although the distinct flinch at the contact wasn't lost on any of the older boys, who were observing the exchange from Wes' bed.

A crease formed between Dan's eyebrows, eyes filling with understanding; there was no shortage of emergency transfers at Dalton, most of which were for reasons relating to the zero-tolerance no-harassment policy - he hoped that this kid has the right kind of support around him, as himself and Blaine had, to find his feet here.

"It's fine, Aiden, don't worry about it; Blaine and I will go now. Come on Anderson, up!" Blaine's reluctance to move was short-lived as he's shoved unceremoniously from the bed by a snickering David.

"At least we'll have more space now; and more popcorn, you've been hogging all of it, Dan. I don't understand how you still look like that," David waved a hand - the one that isn't completely submerged in popcorn - towards the blond's toned body, "when you eat like you've been starved for a month!"

"It's called exercise, boys, you know where you actually move? That thing we never do in Warblers? You should try it sometime."

That comment was less than well-received by his two-friends, and Dan was pelted relentlessly with popcorn (catching as much as possible and shoving it in his mouth just to prove a point to the two older boys), until Blaine emerged from the bathroom - now dressed, although his hair remained unruly around his face - and with a roll of the eyes at Wes and David's childish antics, the two left the room.


Dan felt comfortable at Dalton; the breathtaking buildings and exquisite decor appeared austere, cold and unwelcoming to some, but that effect was reversed as soon as you came into contact with the students. Dan sometimes marvelled that the magnificent buildings have remained intact, with the amount of "accidents" and "pranks-gone-wrong" that occurred in any given week.

He could be himself here; he could laugh, and joke, and be silly with his friends, without being judged for it. Dalton had given him a space to figure out who he was, and then the facilities to become the best possible version of that person.


Eventually, the two boys reached the Principal's suite, both with minds pondering why Mr. Jarvis would ask to see them on a weekend; Blaine almost certain that he hadn't done anything wrong, and Dan almost certain that he's done nothing that the Principal could have found out about - hopefully, anyway.

"Boys!" the student's head snapped towards the door of the comfortable, yet beautifully decorated, office, "Come in and sit down for a minute.".

Waving an arm towards the leather sofa, Mr. Jarvis' pen continued to fly over a stack of papers on his desk; middle-aged, and dressed invariably in a suit, although that's the most formal thing about him. For a school with a reputation as strict, with formal traditions and well-enforced rules, there could not be a more relaxed Principal; in the habit of bringing doughnuts to the Warbler's, and striking up casual conversations in hallways which extend beyond the topic of school, he was able to relate to his students in a way that many teachers never try to, making him a firm favourite at Dalton.

Pausing, he chewed his lip thoughtfully, before pushing the forms aside and looking at the boys.

"Been keeping an eye on Mr. Montgomery, I hope, gentlemen?", the crinkles in his face, creased like a well-used roadmap, deepened as his eyebrows raised comically towards his receding hairline, and the two boys chuckled, perfectly relaxed in the presence of this man.

"Yes sir, we're doing our best." confirmed Blaine, thankful that word of last night's antics in the common room hadn't made its way back here.

The Principal nodded, smiling, before turning suddenly more serious; his eyebrows drew together and he appeared to be wracking his brains for the right way to phrase something - unusual for the teacher with a tendency to say what he thinks, consequences be damned.

"I called you both here today," he made eye contact with both boys,drawing out the words and seemingly deep in thought, "because there will be a new boy arriving here tomorrow. You two will have more contact with him than anybody, so I felt I should warn you."

Both boys were shocked by this; whilst mid-semester transfers were far from unheard of at Dalton, they are never executed without some form of extenuating circumstances - there had to be a reason that there would be a new boy, a month into the semester, and they were being "warned" about him. Blaine, curiosity overcoming him, voiced the queries which have entered the minds of both, causing Mr. Jarvis to sigh quietly.

"His situation - it's not my place to explain it to you - is a lot like yours, Blaine," the smaller boy's eyes closed at this, grimacing - he knew what that meant, and he wished that it wasn't the case; nobody deserved to go through that, "I need you to keep an eye on him, but he's going to be closed off at first; distant. You're responsible, compassionate, and trustworthy, Mr. Anderson - I'm proud of how far you've come, and now I'm asking you to help someone else, as Wes and David helped you. Can you do that?" Blaine nodded violently, a lump in his throat the size of a tennis ball barring any words from escaping.

"If I may, sir?" Dan's voice cut through the silence, which had been speaking louder than any words until that moment, "I understand why Blaine's here, of course, but why am I?"

"This new boy - Kurt Hummel; he's a lot like you too, Daniel; he'll be able to relate to you in a lot of ways." the boy nods curtly, unsure of what Jarvis means but willing to accept this until he could speak to the boy and learn more. "Also, you're the only Junior as of now without a roommate; despite your distinct lack of tact, at times," green eyes rolled at this, his reputation for having no brain-to-mouth filter preceding him, "I think you can handle the responsibility. The boy - Kurt - is blind" the man's eyes seemed to darken at this, teeth biting into his lip in a way which indicated that there was a story behind that comment, "so I need both of you on best behaviour. Understood?"

Both boys nodded, silence all that was necessary - to be warned about a transfer, to have two boys explicitly directed to watch out for him, was a more than sufficient indicator of the gravity of the situation.

Dan, sat on the edge of the sofa closest to the window, allowed his eyes to travel to the gardens, where groups of boys are scattered, enjoying their day; Autumn was approaching, putting more of a biting chill into the weather. His eyes lingered on a group of Freshmen, passing a soccer ball between themselves and using their Dalton sweaters as goalposts (better hope the Principal didn't see that; as relaxed as he can be, he struck the fear of God into the hearts of those who fail to follow School Regulations). Nearby, a boy sat, back pushed against the thick trunk of an oak tree; he recognised him as the flinching boy from earlier, Aiden - the one who had fetched them to go and see the Principal. The boy's eyes were filled with longing, eyes following the ball as though he was itching to jump up and join in, and suddenly, the others were at his side - the ones who'd been playing - pulling him to his feet and thrusting the ball into his hands.

Dan wasn't close enough to see the look on the Freshman's face, but he didn't need to; he'd seen it enough times, in many different forms, since enrolling here, to be able to imagine it effortlessly. He'd seen it in Blaine, the day he'd told Dan, Wes and David everything, and the boys had cried with him and held him and reassured him. He hadn't seen it on himself, but he could pinpoint the moment it appeared; when he'd been singing that song in his room - the one that used to summarise everything he'd felt but now seemed to belong to another boy - and Jeff had walked in, pulling him into a suffocating embrace, before pulling back and looking into his eyes, saying "I don't know why you're singing that song, and singing it like you relate to every word; I don't know and I won't ask. But I know pain when I hear it, and you're not alone here."

It was the look of realisation that Dalton was different. The look look of "maybe all the others were wrong", and "maybe it will get better", and "maybe I'm not alone here". A look of hope - fleeting, at first, but stronger with time - for something stronger, something better. It was a glint in the eyes, a flash of light, like someone had turned the power back on after days of endless, senseless darkness.

Dalton was a safe haven for so many, and he'd be damned if they didn't help Kurt to realise it too.

No matter how long it took.

Next to him, Blaine's thoughts almost exactly mirrored his friend's.


After what felt like hours, but in reality had been just a few short minutes, the two boys rose to their feet, mumbles of "Thank you, sir" - because no matter how much the Principal liked you, he was to be called "sir" no matter what - tumbling from their lips, alongside promises to return at 10am sharp the following morning, to greet the new arrival. Dan was commanded to "For the love of God do something about your room, Jenkerson, it can't be a bombsite when Mr. Hummel arrives" and the boys shuffled towards the door.

"Oh, and Mr. Anderson?" a smirk was evident in the Principal's voice as Blaine paused in the doorway - Blaine could identify it even before he turned around.

"Yes sir?" thick eyebrows raised, wondering what more Mr. Jarvis could have to say.

"Nice hair", he chuckled, nodding towards the shorter boy's unruly locks, which never usually saw the light of day, before dismissing them with a smile.

And with that, the two boys made their way back to their friends - both deep in thoughts of one Kurt Hummel - to discover David pinned to the floor, Nick, Jeff and Wes tickling him mercilessly as he squirmed against the carpet. The three boys' only defence of the torture of their friend, was that "he was hogging the popcorn".

Such was normal life at Dalton.


A/N 2 - So guys, once again let me know what you think - good or bad, I want to hear all of it! There probably won't be a chapter tomorrow because it's only half-done and I want to edit bits, so see you guys in a few days!

Enjoy your weekends :)