The next day, Kurt couldn't stop thinking about what he had found the night before. As soon as he had gotten back to his dorm, he collapsed into his bed, not bothering to shower or change his clothes or...do anything,really, even though he had work to do.

First period in Mr. Williamson's class was incredibly...intense. Kurt could have sworn the teacher kept looking at him, as if he knew what he did last night, but Kurt knew from experience that when he was feeling guilty he tended to make things up in his head. There was no way of knowing that Mr. Williamson knew.

He couldn't concentrate all day. He just wished he could skip school and spend the rest of his day finding out more about those pictures and articles. He was rather jumpy all day, too, feeling as if Mr. Williamson would pop up behind him at any moment and ask what he was doing in his classroom at one o' clock in the morning. Because come on, there is not one good excuse to answer that question.

The day seemed to go on even slower than usual. By the time 3:15 came around, it felt like he had been in the school for years.

As he rushed to get back to his dorm, Blaine ran up to him, putting a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Hey!" Kurt jumped at the action and nearly tripped on one of the benches nearby. "Whoa, there," Blaine said, clutching Kurt's arm to steady him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Kurt replied, brushing off his blazer. He started walking again, trying not to look like he was in too much of a hurry. Blaine strolled alongside him. "Just...it's been a long day, and..." Kurt stopped mid-sentence, not really sure what to say. Things were still a little awkward between him and Blaine.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry." Blaine told him. "I'm sorry I was kind of an asshole to you yesterday."

"Oh, no, you weren't...it's okay." He held open one of the double doors for Blaine and they both walked inside.

"Oh!" Blaine looked surprised that Kurt had forgiven him so easily. "Okay, then. The Warblers and I are going out for pizza tonight. Sectionals is this weekend, and we wanted to have a pre-competition party. Would you like to come?"

They had stopped walking, both of them standing in front of Blaine's dorm. Kurt took a moment to reply. He really wanted to spend the day alone and doing some research, but he didn't want Blaine to think that he was still mad at him (which he was a little bit, but still).

So the next thing he knew, he found himself saying yes. "It's funny how much the Warblers seem to take interest in me even though I'm not one of them."

"Yeah, well, they've heard a lot about you from me, and they have pretty high expectations, so you'd better live up to them...or else." Blaine smiled jokingly.

"Then tell them they won't be disappointed," Kurt said, and walked down the hall and into his own dorm.

Blaine closed the door to his dorm and took off his blazer and tie. Last night took every drop of energy from his body. He thought the transformations were supposed to get easier as they went on, but they just seemed to be getting more and more tiring and painful. All he wanted to do was sleep, and he doubted the others felt much different.

So why the pack wanted to "officially" meet Kurt tonight, he had no idea. He just hoped they wouldn't be too hard on him.

He send a mass text out to the group. Kurt will be there. Play nice.

He really hoped things would go smoothly.

"So, Kurt, how's Dalton treating you so far?" Trent asked after ordering drinks.

They were at a small pizza parlor just outside of Westerville. It was more like half-sports bar, half-pizza parlor, with a bar and multiple TVs showing different sports games on the other side of the restaurant.

"Not bad. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be, but it's okay, I guess." He spun his cup of water around in his hands.

"Has Mr. Williamson loosened up on you a bit?" David queried.

Kurt groaned. "I wish. If anything, he's made it harder. I just wish he would give me a break. I mean, I don't even know what I did to make him hate me."

"Ah, well, if you ever need help, David has one of the highest GPAs in the school. I'm not too bad either, if I say so myself." Wes smirked. "We'd love to help you out."

"Thanks. I might have to take you up on that. I'm not sure how much more work I can handle until my brain explodes."

The Warblers, along with the rest of the restaurant, burst into cheers as the Buckeyes scored a touchdown.

"Want a drink?" Sebastian asked Blaine with an almost evil-looking smile on his face, gesturing towards the bar. Blaine glared at him, shook his head, and sighed.

Kurt wondered if his dad was watching the game. He hoped he would have enough time to visit him this weekend. He knew he would miss his family and friends when he chose to board here, but he never thought he would miss them this much.

Because when it came down to it, Blaine, Wes, and David were his only friends. He barely knew any of the Warblers, and all his schoolwork left little time to socialize.

He remembered Tony for a moment but immediately pushed the thought away. He didn't want to think about Mr. Williamson or any of his family members tonight. He just wanted to have fun.

So, when Sebastian offered him a beer, Kurt took it, not bothering to care how he got it when he was underage.

He drank in little sips, and when he finally finished it, Sebastian pushed another one his way. "No, no, thanks," Kurt protested.

"Oh, come on. Loosen up a little! You're so worried about school that it's like you forgot the definition of 'fun.' One more will never hurt anybody, right?"

So Kurt drank it.

And another.

And suddenly, every word out of Blaine's mouth was hilarious. He felt a little light-headed, but didn't care. The people around them in the restaurant turned their heads as Kurt's laughter became more and more obnoxious. He leaned into Blaine's shoulder, cackling uncontrollably.

Blaine looked to Sebastian. "How many drinks did you give him?"

"Oh, just one or two. Maybe three or four. I don't know, I didn't bother counting."

You've got to be kidding me. For a leader, Sebastian sure was irresponsible. It was his idea to bring Kurt here in the first place, and now he got him he plan this...?

That was the thing about Sebastian. You never knew what to expect. One minute, he could be smiling and laughing, and the next he'd be a total asshole. Not to mention that he was the cause of about ninety percent of the group's problems. Blaine wondered how he was even the leader. He sure as hell didn't remember voting for him.

Next to him, Kurt clung to Blaine's arm, still laughing. Blaine slid out of the booth, then wrapped his arm around Kurt's waist and dragged him out. "I think it's time for us to go home."

"But Blaaaaaaine!" Kurt slurred. "S'b'stian was just telling me this hilaaarious joke...something about a...a farmer and a nun...That was a good one..." And he started cracking up again.

"Alright. Time to go home. We'll see you guys tomorrow." He kept his arm around Kurt's waist as he stumbled out of the building.

"I wasn't ready to leave yet..."

"Oh, I think you were." They made their way across the lot to Blaine's car. He opened the backseat door with one hand, and lifted Kurt inside of it.

"I can sit in front, y'know. I'm not twelve." Blaine closed the door and sat behind the wheel. "Lemme out. I wanna go back in...your friends are soooo much fun..." His head fell against the window.

"Oh yeah, seems like you had a blast."

"I did."

They drove in silence for the next twenty minutes until they reached Dalton. Blaine practically carried Kurt across the grass, into the building, and up the stairs. He unlocked the door to his dorm and finally laid Kurt down on the couch, who was silent as Blaine poured him a cup of water. "Drink this." Kurt was oddly eager, and drank half the cup in one big gulp. "I'd get you coffee, but I'd have to go downstairs and that would mean leaving you alone and drunk in my dorm." Kurt didn't say anything in reply. He only sat on the couch and stared at the ceiling.

"Hey, Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever been in love with someone?"

Blaine was taken aback By the question. I mean, there were times when he thought he was in love, but he just ended up getting his heart broken. Why was Kurt asking him?

"No."

Kurt just made a noise in reply, and for a minute, the room was silent.

"Sometimes I just wish somebody would love me, you know? For the past two years, I've went after people who I thought I loved, or at least liked, and I screwed it up." He chuckled sadly. "Hell, one even went on to be my stepbrother. Either way, the feelings are never returned. I'm just tired of going after people when it just ends up with my heart getting broken." The entire time he spoke, his eyes never moved from the ceiling. "This time, I was hoping it would be different..."

"What do you mean, 'this time?'"

Kurt was silent again for a moment, then shook his head. "...Nothing. The moral of the story is, I'm tired of being lonely. At McKinley, everyone was always walking around, holding hands and kissing their boyfriends or girlfriends in the hallways, and me? I had no one. And it sucked knowing that even if I did have a boyfriend, I wouldn't be able to do any of that stuff with them at school. I was bullied enough as it was."

Blaine simply stared at him. He had no idea Kurt felt so alone. He didn't know what to say. "I'm...I'm sorry."

"I'm just happy I'm out of there."

"Are you? Happy?"

Another long pause. "I don't know. I'm happy that I can be myself here, but it's so hard. I don't even remember the last time I got a decent amount of sleep. Not to mention all this shit with Mr. Williamson. To be honest, though, you're one of the only things that really make me happy here. I don't have to pretend around you."

Again, Blaine was at a loss for words. How does a person reply to that? "Oh." Oh. Damn it, Anderson, he says that and all you can say is "oh?"

"That's, um...that's really nice of you to say." God, what am I saying? He had to admit he tended to get flustered around the other boy. His heart raced and his mouth ran at a hundred miles per hour. In short, he was a blabbering idiot around Kurt, and he didn't know how to feel or what to do about it.

Kurt lay his head on the pillow and mumbled "Mhm. G'night, Blaine."

"Night." Blaine stayed seated at his chair for a while, not thinking about anything. Once he caught himself nodding off, however, he decided to go to bed. He brought out a blanket from his bedroom and laid it on top of Kurt's body. He then turned off the lights and finally let himself sleep after a long, long day.

Kurt was greeted with a pounding headache when he woke up the next morning.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Blaine said cheerfully, walking past the couch clad in his uniform.

"Ugh," Kurt mumbled and buried his head in the pillow until a few seconds later, when he found himself rushing to the bathroom. Fuck. What did he do last night? As hard as he tried, he couldn't remember a thing.

Blaine put a glass of water next to the sink. "I'm guessing I should tell the office you're sick today?"

"What happened last night?"

"Sebastian gave you more than a few drinks."

"He—what? I swear to god, when I see that man—"

"I won't hold you back. I do, however, think that you should wait until tomorrow."

Kurt groaned and took a drink of water. "I think I'm okay. For now. I'm gonna go to my dorm. Would you mind bringing me my work?"

"Sure. Try not to die on me."

"Can't make any promises." He walked out the door and down the hall to his own room. The pile of work on his desk grew taller and taller every day he put it off. He would do it today if his head didn't feel like a hammer was pounding on it and a small candle flame looked as bright as the sun.

So he got into bed, pulled the blankets over his head, and slept for the rest of the day. One more day of procrastination couldn't hurt.

Yes, it could, his conscience told him. It hurt last time you did it.

Shut up.

Before lunch that day, Blaine found Sebastian talking to Nick and Jeff. "Sebastian!" he called, and the brown-haired boy turned around.

"Hey, buddy!" he said. "How's your day going? Kurt doing okay? I haven't seen him around all day."

What an asshole. "How can you call yourself our 'leader' if you're literally one of the most irresponsible people at this school? Because really, I don't know what possessed you to make you do that to Kurt, but—"

"It's not like I forced him into it, Blaine."

"Really? Pushing beer after beer towards him?"

"He could have said no."

"He was already drunk! He couldn't think clearly!"

"It's not my fault the kid's a lightweight." Sebastian scoffed and turned back to Nick and Jeff, but Blaine was stubborn.

"What I don't understand is why you did it. What do you have against Kurt that you had to sabotage him?"

Sebastian sharply turned on his heel and faced Blaine again. Raising his voice, he snapped, "I did it because this can't end well, Blaine, and you know it. He needs to stay away from you and us and vice versa."

"So now you're saying that you were just trying to protect him by getting him completely hammered? Because if that's what you're trying to tell me, Sebastian, then I would suggest coming up with a better strategy instead of trying to give him alcohol poisoning."

Sebastian had already begun to turn away. Blaine, satisfied that he got to say what he wanted, let him go, and turned around to walk towards the cafeteria.

That same afternoon, Kurt woke up and rolled over on his bed. His headache had gotten considerably better, and he felt less sick now. He had only gotten a hangover once before, and he thought that was bad. This, however, was about ten times worse. Sebastian better look out when he finds him tomorrow.

He figured now was a good time to do that research he had been meaning to get to. The school day wouldn't be over for another two hours, so he could have privacy. After downing another aspirin for his headache, he picked his phone out of his bag and set it on the bed along with his laptop. He opened up a search engine and typed in the title of the first article. The first result looked like it was a match. He clicked on it and scanned through the article.

Animal Attack in Zanesville

Last night in Zanesville, Ohio, a couple was attacked while camping in the woods...

...Dana Groban, 26, and Michael Groban, 27 were found dead near the campsite...

...mauled bodies...claw marks...

The other articles were almost the same things, only different people in different locations. Kurt kept researching for the next hour, looking at the pictures he saw in the folders and reading more articles. He found them rather interesting despite the goriness of it all. But he still wasn't any closer to finding out why Mr. Williamson was so interested in all of this. It just didn't make sense.

So he decided that tonight he would go back to Mr. Williamson's classroom and find more information. Something was up with all of these photos and newspaper clippings. Kurt couldn't exactly describe it, but he felt that something was wrong, and he was determined to find out what it was.

It wasn't until around ten o'clock at night that Kurt was able to get Blaine to leave. He had insisted on staying with Kurt for the evening, keeping him company and making sure he felt better. Kurt didn't understand why Blaine was hovering around him today, but he didn't bother asking.

When Blaine left, Kurt took his phone and flashlight again and slipped out of his dorm and the building. It felt like deja-vu, considering the exact same chain of events had happened just a few days ago.

The difference between the two times is that this time, Kurt stopped abruptly halfway up the school's staircase.

Because he saw someone in the hallway, walking towards the other side. Kurt carefully took another step up to see better.

The figure kept walking until he got to a certain room. Mr. Williamson's room. He then turned to the side. Kurt saw his face and realized it was his history teacher.

Why is he here this late at night? Did he know Kurt would be here?

The teacher unlocked his door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him. What was Kurt supposed to do now? He would just have to come back another night. He crept back down the stairs and exited the school.

He had put his foot on the first stair towards the dorms when a voice made him jump.

"Hey there, Hummel."

In a corner of the enormous room stood Tony, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"What do you want?" Kurt snapped.

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering where you were. I was getting a little worried. It's not safe to go out into the dark alone, you know."

"It's none of your business."

"Has your boyfriend told you his dirty little secret yet?" He cocked his head, a wicked smirk on his face.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll take that as a no."

"Leave me alone, Tony." Kurt told him and began to walk up the stairs.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

Kurt pretended to ignore him, but shivers ran down his spine at the tone of Tony's voice.