Blaine hated the new school.

Well, correction. He hated being the new freshman at the school.

The campus was huge and confusing, the uniform was itchy, and it seemed impossible to make a friend. Plus, he was just having a lousy day.

It was right before Thanksgiving when Blaine's parents enrolled him in Dalton, and the the rest of the new freshmen guys had already formed their social groups. At the start of the year, he never pictured himself transferring schools before Christmas, but here he was. It was all because of the Sadie Hawkins incident.

That day, though, Blaine just felt lonely. Thankfully, one of the Warblers ate lunch with him, but he had a sneaking suspicion it was out of pity. His algebra class was way more difficult than at his old school, and that morning Blaine had been given back a test with a big red "58" on it.

On top of it all, everyone knew who he was because of his stupid boot.

Blaine was in an ankle boot ever since the accident, when he had broken his ankle. He only had two or three weeks left of having to wear it, but it seemed like Dalton was made entirely of staircases, so it took him longer to get from class to class, and he had fallen on more than one occasion.

By the time it was his final class of the day, Blaine was on the verge of tears and just wanted to go home. He hated his life now. He had to go down the main staircase and down an obscure corridor to his biology class, which always took forever.

With his messenger bag in tow and gripping the rail of the staircase tightly, Blaine headed down with the crowd between classes, trying his best to blend in. But that was impossible when he completely wiped out at the base of the staircase, papers flying from his bag and his ankle immediately throbbing.

The thinning crowd of students seemed to pay him no mind, and Blaine bent over hastily to pick everything up and get to class before the bell. His vision was blurred with the tears in his eyes, but he kept his head down.

"Need some help?"

Blaine looked up and blinked. Kent? Kurt. It was definitely Kurt. A sophomore Warbler. He was always pretty quiet in rehearsal and Blaine couldn't recall if they'd ever actually had a conversation before.

"I think I got it," Blaine sighed. "Don't want to make you late." The hallway was empty by now, and he was officially late for class. Again.

Kurt knelt down and tucked Blaine's loose assignments and papers back into his binder and handed it over. "I have a free period, so don't worry about it. Rough day?"

Blaine looked away. He had been about to cry after he fell, but he didn't want to let on that he was upset. Especially not to someone he didn't even know. "Just trying to get used to the new school. It's been a lot to take on."

Kurt smiled and stood, and helped Blaine get back onto his feet. Oh. His ankle hurt worse than it had in several days, not a good sign. Dalton had a nurse available twenty-four-seven, so he would deal with it later.

"Been there," Kurt said, slinging Blaine's bag over his own shoulder. "Where's your class? The office will excuse the tardy since you're injured."

Blaine sighed, grateful something was at least taken off his plate for now. And finally, seemingly for the first time, someone was being genuinely friendly to him. "Science wing. Bozeman's biology class. He's so tough."

Kurt nodded as they walked, Blaine trying not to let his physical discomfort show as they meandered through the hallways.

"Yep," Kurt said. "Told you, I've been there. I came in the same time as you last year. I made a C first semester but got an A in the spring. If you ever need help, we can study together."

To Blaine, the offer sounded amazing. He had so far spent every night in his private dorm stressing over due dates and calling his mom in frustration. All while completely alone.

By the time he could say yes to Kurt, he didn't even realize where they were. "Oh, um," he stammered. "I'm supposed to go to the science wing."

Kurt nodded and kept walking. "It's a shortcut. We have so many after-hours Warblers rehearsal you get to know the school really well. Trust me, it won't always be like this."

They rounded a corner and Blaine spotted his class. Kurt handed over his bag and gave him another smile.

"I have your number from the Warbler chat," Kurt said. "I'll text you about studying. Don't let Mr. Bozeman intimidate you. See you around, Blaine."

Blaine offered a quiet goodbye to the older boy and watched him walk away, his confidence inspiring. He slumped into his class a little happier than he had been earlier in the day, and had a feeling that wouldn't be the last of seeing Kurt around.

Author's Notes:

Howdy!

I know, I know. I took another hiatus. As I get older I've realized how hard it is to carve out time to do things I enjoy... like this. Here's what's been going on in my life: I had surgery last summer (around the time I was posting last), went to South Africa again, entered my senior year at college/uni, and had to leave recently due to Covid-19. That is another part of why I'm back on here: I wanted to see how everyone is doing! I have read every review I've gotten over the years and know y'all come from all over the place. I'm in the very middle of the USA and so we're not too overwhelmed where I'm at, but I know a lot of other places are.

I hope so much that everyone is safe and healthy. With this being something that is affecting the whole world I really wanted to come back and check in on everybody in this little corner of the internet. I am very disappointed I won't get a college graduation ceremony or get to take the trips to Canada and Brazil I had planned, but am still trying to make the best of it despite that.

Well, leave a comment and let me know how you're doing. We'll get through this together! Thankful for all my readers throughout the years, and hope to post again soon!