When Kurt was released from the hospital a few days later, he was reluctant to go home for a few reasons. One, he wasn't exactly sure what he was wearing. It was something that Burt had brought him, and he wouldn't put it past his father to put him in flannel and jeans.

Two, he had no idea how to get around the house. The hospital had brought in someone to talk to Kurt about living blind, but it was pretty much a crash course. If you step forward with your left foot, your cane should tap right. The cane should be 2 or 3 steps ahead of you. Be careful when crossing the street. That was pretty much the extent of his learning, which left a lot for him to figure out. How the hell was he supposed to get up stairs? And "be careful" is not enough advice for crossing at a busy intersection!

And, finally, he didn't want to return to McKinley. He already got enough crap from people for being gay, and now he was blind. He could just imagine people calling him "Ray Charles" as he tapped down the halls. Plus, the school was crowded, almost unbelievably so. Getting through the hallway was hard enough when he could see and suddenly he was expected to travel down the narrow, crowded hallways blind and with a cane that he was supposed to keep 2 or 3 steps in front of him.

Hell no, he thought to himself as he sat in the car on the ride home. I will never go there like this. He needed someone to vent to. Burt was still upset and practically seething about what happened, and Carole's voice was dripping with sympathy these days. He could never talk to Finn about something as serious as this, so he made a mental note to talk to Blaine when he got home.

The car pulled into a familiar driveway, and he heard the car engine shut off. He waited for Burt to come around and help him to the door, something he would've normally refused, but now that he was "disabled" he needed help with the simplest things, like dressing himself and, sometimes, even eating. He needed Burt to tell him which food was there, because the last time he didn't, he ended up trying to drink his pudding.

Burt linked arms with his son and gently guided him to the door, Kurt lagging a little behind his father. It was one of the skills he actually learned in his crash course. By staying behind the person guiding him, he could tell if there was a stair or a step down by the way they moved. Once he heard the front door creak open, Kurt unfolded his collapsible cane and carefully started using it. He was determined to memorize the layout of his house so that he wouldn't need the cane, even if the memorization took him weeks.

Kurt realized he had never really seen his house until then. He'd lived in it his whole life, yet there were things he just never noticed. Like how the 3rd and 8th stairs creak when you step on them, or that there was a loose floorboard in the living room that sunk down when you stepped on it, or how the walls were smoother in the hallways than they were in the living and dining rooms.

Kurt walked down the hallway to Finn's room (last door on the left) and pulled his phone out. He asked his stepbrother to dial Blaine's number, and when he was asked why, he curtly responded, "It's personal," and grabbed for his phone. He walked across the hall to his room and hit call.

Blaine's phone rang 3 times before he answered it groggily. "Hullo?"

"Did I wake you up? I can always call you back later." Kurt tripped over his words, making his face hot. He still hadn't gotten over Blaine holding his hand yesterday, and even though he had spent so much time trying to convince himself that he didn't have a crush on Blaine, it didn't stop his heart from pounding when they spoke.

"It's fine. I needed to get up anyway," he said with a yawn. "What's up?"

"I'm going to die."

"What?"

"I'm going to die. I can't do this. I can't be blind and still be Kurt."

"Lots of blind people have made it, like-"

"If you say Ray Charles, so help me God, I will murder you."

Blaine laughed. "But he's still one of them. And Helen Keller...you're much better off than she was."

"Now is not the time to be making Helen Keller jokes, Blaine. I called you because I need help."

Kurt heard what sounded like a ruffling blanket. "Alright, shoot."

"How am I supposed to go to McKinley blind? You should've seen me walking around my house earlier. I freaked when Finn bumped into me. I don't know what I'd do at school."

"Well, you could always come to Dalton."

Kurt blinked. "What?"

"Well, why don't you want to go back to McKinley?"

"I don't want to be made fun of."

"No bullying at Dalton."

"McKinley's crowded."

"The classes are small."

"But I won't know anyone."

"You know David and Wes, and yours truly. I happen to be a popular guy."

"What about the stairs?"

"What about them?"

"I'm no good at stairs."

"I can help you until you are."

"And what about homework?"

"We can work something out. Look, it's the easiest solution."

"But what about tuition?"

"Again, we'll work something out. The principal is a pretty understanding guy."

"I...I guess so."

"So you'll talk to your dad?"

"I don't think he'll be so easily persuaded."

"Alright, just give me a while."

Kurt heard a click and he set his phone down on his bed. What was he supposed to do while he waited for word back?

A few minutes later, he heard the home phone ring. He heard his father pick up and talk to whoever was on the other end. After a few minutes, Burt said goodbye to whoever it was, and he walked down the hallway to his son's room. Kurt heard the door crack open, and Burt said, "That was the principal from that Dalton school. They want you to go there."

Kurt felt a smile creep up on his face. So that's what Blaine was up to. "Can I?" he asked.

"Normally, I'd say no, but, since they offered a to cut the price in half, I guess you can."

Kurt clapped his hands together. "You have no idea how much I want to hug you right now!"

"The principal said that if we accepted, you'd start next week and that you'd be boarding there or whatever. I'll have Finn help you with packing once we're finished with dinner."

"Alright." Kurt heard his father leave the room and heard the door click shut behind him.

Kurt spent the rest of the day consumed by a frenzied excitement, let out only through his fingers as they drummed on his knee, the table, whatever his hands rested on. He couldn't believe that he was able to leave McKinley, leave behind the monotony, the slushies, Rachel's controlling personality, and Karofsky and all his sidekicks that lived to make his life a living hell.

And in leaving McKinley, he got to go to Dalton Academy. With none other than Blaine Anderson. Where there was an enforced, no bullying policy, something he could've only dreamed of until now. It seemed rather ironic that for something good to finally happen to him, he had to give up his New Directions family and his own sight.

But the thought of Blaine with him was that little bright spot now. That was something he could look forward to, he knew.

Finn wasn't much help with packing. He would confuse the Marc Jacobs designs with every other designer under the sun, and was so hopelessly lost in Kurt's closet that Kurt had to end up calling out simple styles and colors instead of names. Finn would hand them to him, and Kurt would recognize them by the texture of the cloth, the patterns stitched into them and the level of wear in them. He marveled at how much he remembered, seeing as how he'd never noticed the feel of his clothes before.

Soon all the clothes were folded and set into the suitcase on Kurt's bed with Finn zipping it up. A few tears threatened at the back of his eyes, and he blinked out of habit, not needing to now since they wouldn't cloud his vision.

That thought was enough to send a few tears rolling down his cheeks, and as he wiped them away, he felt the mattress move beside him and heard Finn sit down with a sigh. "You okay, man?" he asked Kurt with a familiar tone: slightly worried, a little uncomfortable, but completely sincere.

Kurt just turned to his stepbrother and hugged him. "I will be, Finn. I promise."


Author's Notes:

I want to give a big thank you to everyone who reviewed: kyubifreak, SkyWriter9, MagnusBaneLove13, and Golden Perception. You guys rock!

And, once again, I want to thank MagnusBaneLove13 for beta-ing. She's helped out so much with this story, it's ridiculous. You rock.