Hello once again! Here's another chapter for you. A bit of Kurt's back story.

Did you know that Stephen Tobolowsky, who plays Sandy RYERSON in Glee, plays Ned RYERSON in the film Groundhog Day?

Anyway... I don't own Glee.

Kurt Hummel was your average kid: friends, homework, family, hobbies. Yet he was one-of-a-kind.

His mum died when he was eight, leaving him and his father alone. He was always very quiet, very distant and very fashionable. He never really had any friends, and he was fine with that. He would be perfectly content sitting in his room, reading a book or sketching new outfits whilst humming to himself. That was until he met the one and only, Rachel Berry.

-o0o-

Kurt Hummel was walking down the hallway, towards his locker. He was only a month through his freshman year of high school, and he already hated it more than he had ever hated anything. And that was really saying something. No one there knew he was gay. He hadn't told his family or friends. His family being just his dad. His sport loving, mechanic dad. His friends being non-existent. He wasn't going to tell anyone else, especially when the undoubtedly homophobic jocks were twice his size.

Kurt turned a corner and was passing the giant notice-board, when four words in capital letters caught Kurt's attention.

'DO YOU LOVE SINGING?'

Kurt froze. It was a sign-up sheet for the school's new glee club. He had always loved singing. His eye travelled further down the sheet, where he saw that four people had signed for auditions. Auditions that were taking place after school today. Slowly, Kurt stepped forward, grabbed the pen that was hanging beside the sign-up sheet, and wrote his name under all the others. He didn't know how important this action was.

"Wow," is all Kurt could say as he sat and watched a girl called Mercedes Jones belt out the final chorus of 'Respect'.

The pressure was really building now and not being helped by the short brunette girl that was smiling at him from a few seats away.

"If you think she's good, just wait 'til I'm up there." the girl said. Kurt had a closer look at her. She was smiling the most enthusiastic smile Kurt had even seen, she managed to be dressed like both a toddler and an old lady, and she had a suitcase full of sheet music on the seat next to her.

Kurt found the girl irritating and wasn't about the pretend otherwise, "obnoxious much?"

"I prefer 'aware of her talent', not obnoxious." Kurt didn't know whether she was joking or not, but laughed anyway, "I'm Rachel Berry." The girl, Rachel, extended her hand out to Kurt.

Kurt shook her hand, "I'm Kurt-"

"Hummel, I know." Kurt pulled his hand away from the girl, slightly worried, "No! I just checked the sign-up sheet to know who I was competing against," Kurt let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, "and then I researched each of you."

"You do just mean, like, Facebook, right?"

"Yeah, of course." Kurt had the feeling that this Rachel was just a really good actress, as opposed to telling the truth.

"Ok. But there are only five of us, I'm pretty sure we're all getting in regardless."

"You can't prove that!"

Luckily, Rachel's name was called then. She frantically searched through her suitcase for the right song, and then gracefully walked onto the stage. Kurt was pretty sure this girl was insane, and she was definitely was annoying, but he liked it.

Kurt was really nervous now. Rachel was amazing, and he was up next.

"Kurt Hummel!"

Kurt jumped. Ok. Just breathe. They were all probably getting in. Kurt stood up just as Rachel was about to sit down.

"You were really good." Kurt said in passing.

"I know." yeah, totally not obnoxious.

"Wish me luck."

"No, break a leg," she smiled at him encouragingly, but Kurt knew she would be judging him pretty harshly.

It felt amazing. He sang Mr Cellophane and loved every minute of it. Especially the look of shock on everyone's faces as he held the high note. He bounced off the stage and walked up to Rachel, she still looked shocked.

"So how was I?"

Rachel was silent for a moment, before finally speaking, "We have got to start looking for duets for us to do!" She pulled Kurt down into the seat next to her and started searching through her 'suitcase of songs'. She practically jumped out of her seat every time she found a good one.

Rachel Berry was the weirdest human being Kurt had ever met. Rachel Berry would become his best friend.

-o0o-

Kurt and Rachel loved singing, acting and everything to do with it. It was all they wanted to do. That was, of course, until all their plans came tumbling down.

-o0o-

"Dear Mr Hummel, we are sorry to inform you..." Kurt didn't need to read anymore. He knew what it would say, and he just couldn't face actually reading the words of his failure. He didn't get into NYADA.

"I didn't get in." he said, wishing that he hadn't decided to open it with Rachel. She hugged him and gave him an apologetic Look. She was next.

Rachel opened the letter and after a few seconds of silence, "I didn't get in either." Neither of them said anything, they just stood there looking at anywhere but each other. They both failed.

"So, what do we do now?" Rachel finally asked over a week later, graduation day.

"I don't know, Rachel."

"Exactly, there's nothing else for us. We're nothing, Kurt, nothing."

"We have to look on the bright side-"

"What bright side? This is all we wanted Kurt. This is what we've planned for, for the past four years!"

"Rachel, sit down and shut up," she did, "We can't let this get us down."

"Why not?"

"You're being a bit dramatic, don't you think"

"I've always been dramatic, but apparently, not dramatic enough."

"Rachel. If we let this get to us, if we don't move on, then we won't get anywhere. The sooner we accept it and find something else for us, the better."

"How are you this calm?"

"Well it's been a week; I'm not wasting any more than that on mourning. This is why we have back-up plans, remember?"

"Right. What are yours?"

"Fashion or teaching. Or both really."

"Teaching. That's a good one. I could teach." Rachel went from distraught child on the floor to excited adult, pacing again and making plans. Kurt knew the pain wasn't over; it wasn't over for him either. They were just really good actors.

"Are you sure you're not just choosing that as a form of deflecting your pain?"

"No, I wanna teach."

"Then if you want to teach, Miss Rachel Berry, you teach."

"The only problem is: do I teach music or drama?"

"Why not both?"

Rachel jumped on him, hugging him tight. "Kurt, you're the best. Of course I wanna teach. I've always enjoyed singing and acting in high school, but maybe what I enjoyed was the high school bit rather than the acting." Kurt knew Rachel was desperately searching for reasons why teaching was for her, even if they didn't make any sense. Rachel hated high school, they both had been bullied a fair amount, but of course, the experience is better from a teachers perspective. "You should teach with me."

"What?"

"You said it was one of your back-ups, you could teach art and we could co-direct the glee club, the school better have a glee club. Or we could teach at this school!"

"What about Finn." Rachel blushed at the mention of his name. Rachel had had a crush on Finn since freshman year, but had never done anything about it. When Kurt and Finn became step-brothers, Rachel took that as a chance to get closer to him, and they got closer. They were now really good friends, and though Rachel kept insisting that she was over her crush, Kurt knew she wasn't.

"He could teach to!"

"We can't force him Rachel, that's insane."

"Oh come on, you want him to too, and he really likes all that sport stuff, he could coach."

"I dunno…"

"You said the other day that you were worried about him after he didn't get a football scholarship."

"I'll talk to him, give a suggestion, but we're not making him."

"Yes! Teaching, here we come!"

-o0o-

So now we reach the present day, Kurt's last day of teaching before he finally goes into fashion.

-o0o-

"Congrats dude!"

"Thanks Finn."

"'Bout time, Hummel."

"As always, Satan, you're kindness is overwhelming."

"Well done Kurtie, I'm gonna miss you though."

"I'm gonna miss you too Britt." Kurt was standing in the middle of the staffroom, having just told everyone about his new job, "I'm gonna miss all of you."

"Have you told Rachel yet?" trust Finn to ask about Rachel, they were as clueless as each other.

"No, I'm going to find her now."

"K, dude, say hi for me?"

"Britt Britt, you go ahead, I'll catch up in a sec."

"Ok Santana. Kurtie, promise you'll come to lunch with us too!"

"I promise."

Kurt watched as Finn and Brittany walked off, he was really going to miss them, all his friends here. He and Finn were brothers, well step-brothers, and had been there for each other since high school. Brittany was… unique, to say the least, but so sweet. Rachel was his best friend; nothing was going to change that anytime soon. And Santana is a bitch, but in Kurt's opinion, no group's complete without a bitch, and Santana is the smartest bitch he knows.

"What about Blaine?" Kurt hadn't noticed that Santana was walking behind him until she spoke.

"What about Blaine?" he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Hummel, I can read you like a book. You've got a thing for that hobbit, and I'm not about to just sit around while you do nothing."

"Satan, I appreciate your concern, but I don't need your help."

"Because you're going to do something about it?"

"No, because I'm leaving tomorrow." Santana grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop walking.

"That's not an excuse."

"Yes it is. There's no point starting anything if I won't be able to continue, I'll be in a different state. Long-distance relationships are hard, and we don't even have a relationship to begin with."

Santana dragged him down the corridor to Blaine's office where they stopped, looking through the window, hoping Blaine couldn't see them.

"Look at him and tell me you don't want him." Kurt looked, and once he started he couldn't stop. He really liked Blaine. And I mean really liked him. He liked everything about him. He liked his hair, his jawline, his peculiar-shaped eyebrows, everything about him. Sure they didn't talk much, but he loved it when they did. Yeah, he loved Blaine.

"It's just too hard."

"I'll tell you what else is hard," Kurt could feel his face flushing with heat, Santana noticed, "Dirty mind, Hummel, nothing like that… yet. What's hard is watching the two of you be so obvious that you like each other, while both being so clueless that you like each other!"

"You think he likes me?" Kurt couldn't help but get excited.

"Uh, duh. Look Hummel, this doesn't just benefit you, getting people together is kind of my hobby. I'm like cupid, but hotter."

Kurt thought for a moment. If Santana was right and Blaine liked him, he could ask him out without fear of rejection. But he was still moving tomorrow, there was no point. "Well as I'm glad my emotional turmoil is entertaining to you, I don't want your help. Why don't you focus on Rachel and Finn, they like each other and are just as clueless."

"Oh, that plans already in motion. Look Kurt," Santana never called him by his first name, "I know you're lonely. All my other projects are for my entertainment, but I really care about you, and I want to help you."

Kurt was silent. He knew Santana wanted to help him, and to be honest, he wanted the help, but as much as he liked, loved, Blaine, he didn't really know him. Yes they had both taught there for years, but Blaine had always been quite, distant and, sometimes, just plain mean. Despite all the bitterness, Kurt had always liked Blaine, and as Rachel befriended Blaine, they grew closer too, but the few times they talked, they would never talk about anything personal, and if Kurt tried to, Blaine would run off.

Kurt stepped forward and hugged Santana, "Thank you, Santana. I'm really going to miss you." He pulled away and walked off, continuing his search for Rachel.

Santana was left a little confused and a little annoyed. "Ok," she said to herself as she looked at Blaine through the window, "I like myself a challenge." She walked off smirking, plotting as she went.