Chapter 5: No Boundaries

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, checking to see if his boyfriend was awake.

"Y-yes?" Kurt mumbled, slowly sitting up. He was definitely not a morning person, but seeing the wonderful boy next to him encouraged Kurt to wake up, so he began to get ready.

"What's up? Did my dad come in and yell at you for sleeping in the same bed as me?" Kurt questioned, becoming more agitated at the thought. He didn't want Blaine to get in trouble, and he knew that his father would not approve of them sharing a bed. Heck, he was barely okay with them holding hands and cuddling during movies.

"Hey, babe, calm down," Blaine said soothingly. "Carole came in, and don't worry, she was fine. She just winked at me and whispered, 'Take care of him, okay?' before leaving the room and shutting the door. Your father probably didn't notice, and Carole took him out to lunch, so we better get ready now and make it seem like we never had our little sleepover."

"O-okay, sure, I mean, yeah," Kurt stammered out, and Blaine laughed.

"You are so cute, babe. I love when you get all worked up over nothing. It's kinda adorable."

Kurt glared at his boyfriend with his icy stare. "Thanks, sweetie," he said sarcastically.

"You're welcome," Blaine said, winking. "Hey, why don't we go downstairs to watch a movie? That way, in case your parents come home early, it won't seem suspicious."

"Ooh, can we watch Hairspray?" Kurt squealed like a child.

"Fine, but then we watch the Buckeyes game, right?" Blaine tried to bargain.

Kurt pouted but then agreed. The two boys walked down the stairs, holding hands, to the living room, where Kurt picked out the well-loved copy of Hairspray. It was one of Kurt's favourites, and the only movie he could stand watching that had Zac Efron in it. He popped the DVD in the player and cuddled into Blaine while the movie started. Blaine cleared his throat as if he had something important to say, and Kurt glanced at him.

"Yes, darling?" Kurt inquired, slightly worried.

"Babe, I wanted to talk to you about coming back to Dalton. I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay at McKinley with Karofsky still there. I mean, Dave would have probably killed you in there had it not been for your friends. You know, you're friends might not always be around, and I want you to be safe because I love you so much," Blaine explained, his eyes filling with tears as he thought about what could happen to his precious, delicate Kurt.

Kurt sighed. "I would love to, sweetheart, but I just can't afford it. Besides, I've already rejoined New Directions, and I'm in their numbers for Nationals. And-"

"But there are so many scholarships that you could easily get, with your grades and everything. Maybe you could talk to Mr. Schue about performing with them and practicing after school, since Dalton gets out before McKinley?" Blaine interjected. Kurt tried to say something in reply, but Blaine cut him off. "Just promise me you'll consider it, okay?" he whispered.

"Okay, sweetie, but just for you," Kurt answered playfully.

"Great! Thanks! Now, let's get back to the world of Tracy Turnblad," Blaine said to Kurt, winking.
-

Blaine walked down the hallways of Dalton to the office. He knew he needed to do this, even though he knew Kurt would object and be upset. All the more reason to do it, Blaine thought mischievously. He paused outside the office door before opening it and entering.

"Why, hello there, Blaine!" The secretary greeted him cheerfully, flashing Blaine a large grin. All of the teachers and staff at Dalton loved Blaine because he was so kind and polite. "What can I do for you, dear?" she added, noticing the bundle Blaine held in his hands.

"I was told you were the one who dealt with this sort of thing," Blaine answered, handing the stack of papers to her. "Sorry to trouble you."

The secretary smiled. "Oh no, not at all," she assured him, glancing down at the papers. Her face fell.

"Blaine, honey, are you sure about this?" she asked, looking rather upset.

"Yes, I am. There's someone very special who needs my help. You remember Kurt Hummel, yes?"

The secretary nodded and smiled a little. "Of course I do. Top of the French class. He was such a nice kid, quite handsome too. It was very sad to see him go. Wait," she said slowly, pausing a little, "you're doing this for him? Are you two, you know..."

"Yes, we're dating. I just need him to be safe, and this is the best way to do that. He's been targeted by this jerk of a football player, and the school isn't doing anything about it. I feel so bad that I can't do anything about it," Blaine explained, and the secretary nodded.

"Well, that's incredibly sweet of you. Just be careful, okay? I don't want this jerk doing anything to you as well," she said lovingly.

"Thank you so much. When will all of this be final?" Blaine inquired.

"Well, it usually takes about a week to change, but in your case, I'll make an exception. You should be all set for next Monday."

Blaine gave the secretary his largest smile and thanked her so much for the trouble he had put her through. She waved it off as nothing and offered him a cookie, which she politely accepted. He walked out of the office, confident that he had made the right choice.
-

Kurt walked into the New Directions meeting on Monday afternoon feeling very nervous. He was auditioning for a solo at Nationals today and his nose was still hurting. He could barely sing with his face all taped up, but Kurt knew he could still beat Rachel.

After a few minutes, everyone settled down in their seats. Mr. Schuester called the meeting to orderr.

"Alright, everyone, settle down. First of all, before we start rehearsals, I believe we have some auditions for our mash-up number. Kurt?"

Kurt stood up, knees shaking slightly. As soon as he saw his friends' smiling faces, he relaxed.

"As all of you know, I've gone through years of torture just because I'm a little bit different, so these songs really spoke to me. Although I didn't get the Defying Gravity solo," he said, shooting a look at Rachel, "I think this performance will fare much better."

Kurt closed his eyes as the music started playing. He took a deep breath and began:

Seconds, hours, so many days

You know what you want but how long can you wait?

Every moment lasts forever

When you feel you've lost your way

And what if my chances were already gone?

I started believing that I could be wrong

But you gave me one good reason

To fight and never walk away

Take a step before you leap

Into the colors that you see

You get back what you give away

So don't look back on yesterday

Kurt smiled and belted out the next part:

Wanna scream out, no more hiding

Don't be afraid of what's inside

Gonna tell you, "You'll be alright

In the aftermath"

And everybody pulls you down

And everybody says, "You're not allowed!"

Just remember, you are not alone

There are no boundaries!

Kurt held the last notes for added effect.

In the aftermath, yeah

There are no boundaries

Everyone in the room gave Kurt a standing ovation. Kurt beamed. He had known that this was his solo since they had voted on an Adam Lambert mash-up. He and Mercedes had influenced all of the other club members before getting to work on potential costumes.

Rachel walked over to Kurt, and the room went silent. She shook his hand and said, "Good try, Kurt, but my superior vocal skills will allow me to win the solo. Cute attempt though." She motioned for the music to start, and Kurt sat down, rolling his eyes.

Rachel began as techno music played in the background:

You run away from everything that you feel

So afraid, don't wanna be a part of it

You see the fake in everything that is real

You hate the paradox, you put us in a box

Let's go, it's my show, baby, do what I say

Don't trip off the glitz that I'm gonna display

I told ya, Imma hold ya down until you're amazed

Give it to ya till you're screaming my name

Kurt cringed as Rachel reached the chorus. Her voice was fairly good, as usual, but not suited for the songs. Besides, although the songs flowed well, they didn't sound right together. Rachel just didn't have enough glam or sex appeal to pull of the Glambert style.

As Rachel hit the final notes of her songs, Kurt could tell she wasn't pleased with her performance. The audience clapped politely, but they all knew who would get the solo.

"Alright, let's take a vote!" Mr. Schue exclaimed. "Everyone grab a ballot from up here and mark your choice. One vote per ballot, please. Then put the ballot in this box." He motioned towards a blue sparkly container that Kurt had spent 3 hours decorating.

The vote took a mere seconds. Everyone always knew who they were going to vote for. They all went up to the box and placed their votes. Mr. Schue quickly counted the voted and smiled.

"Kurt, Rachel, will you come up to the front, please?" Mr. Schue asked. The two walked up to the front of the room.

"Drum roll, please, Finn," Mr. Schue requested, and Finn gave him a quick roll.

"And the winner is...well, it's unanimous, actually...Kurt!"

Everyone cheered as Kurt hugged Rachel and took a bow. Well, maybe a few. The New Directions members walked over to Kurt and congratulated him. He was pretty much jumping with excitement until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Congrats, gorgeous," a voice said, one that Kurt didn't expect to hear at the Glee Club meeting.