I do not own Glee, if I did Kurt would have gotten into NYADA with Rachel like he does here.

Chapter Four: Doubt and Conviction

Kurt and Rachel made their way to the school board. Already a group of students were gathered around. Rachel pushed her way confidently in between them pulling Kurt with her. She ran her finger down the list and found her name – Berry, Rachel – underneath someone named Beret, Catalina. Smiling in satisfaction Rachel glanced at Kurt who was still searching for Hummel, Kurt among the other H's. Finally he found it above Hypen, Will. Kurt sighed in relief. He had made it in. Maybe, just maybe things were going to be all right at NYADA. He didn't disillusion himself that he'd be getting any solos but he was confident he could pull his weight. He turned to Rachel and hugged her before whipping out his phone and giving Blaine the full story via text. Much to his surprise Blaine answered immediately.

Yay! But come on, who saw that coming? *raises hand* I totally called it! Congratulations! I cyber-toast you. – Blaine P.S. I love you.

You're too kind. Love you too. – Kurt

Kurt saved the text. Hmm, he'd been positive Blaine would be in classes by now, maybe he'd caught him between classes. Kurt was stowing his phone back in his pocket when he heard a thud to his left. He knew that sound all too well: It was the sound of someone hitting a wall after being shoved. Kurt's head snapped towards the sound. He'd thought a school like NYADA wouldn't have to worry about stuff like this. They were all artists after all. He saw a well-dressed guy taunting the green-clad boy Rachel had bumped into earlier as a couple other boys held him against the wall.

"Could you wear any more green? C'mon! Shake it up a little. I mean, what do you think you're wearing? Do you even read Vogue? And name-tags, please. That is so Kindergarten."

Kurt felt a surge of anger. Sure, he'd thought a few of those things when he first saw the guy. And he was usually very critic of people's clothing choices. But this didn't feel like helpful criticism, it felt like bullying. He marched over.

"Hey, what is going on here. The well-dressed guy who had been delivering all the insults turned around.

"Oh hey, I was just reminding this guy of the importance of personal appearance. People with no fashion sense give me a head-ache. You needn't worry though." He looked Kurt up and down. "You seem to be up to date with – if not have a flair for – fashion." Kurt put his hands on his hips.

"Okay, I'm all for helping out chronically un-fashionable people and frequently give out large slices of criticism to even my closest friends. But if this guy's clothes are really bothering you don't you think giving him a make-over would be more productive than this frankly bully-esque behavior?" The guy gave Kurt a side-ways look.

"Listen, I'm Stephen. And I pretty much run this school. Now you can let me finish lecturing this guy before he commits fashion suicide and then hang out with me, because with your fashion-sense I have a feeling we could get along quite well, as long as you have a little talent to go with it. As long as you don't have more talent than me." At this he gave a hallow scoff. "that's a laugh, no one has more talent than me. And of course you'll have to ditch that midget you've been hanging out with. It's too late to save her from fashion suicide. But if you want to fight me. Trust me, you're gonna lose." Kurt stepped forward.

"Look. I've spent my whole life being unpopular. I'm not going to start compromising myself now to try to change that. And I would be compromising myself if I walked away from bullying. Which is something I cannot stand!" Kurt marched over to the two boys holding Mr. Green up against the wall and pulled them off. Now get lost and think twice before abusing people in front of me." The three boys backed off.

"So be it." Stephen sneered. And led his cronies away. "This isn't over." Kurt rolled his eyes and turned to Mr. Green. He snuck a glance at his name-tag.

Hello, My Name is Will.

Will. That was right!

"Sorry about those guys. I guess their kind just exist in every environment. Will seemed to be trying to say something but nothing came out of his mouth. Kurt gave him what he hoped was an understanding smile.

"Look, I don't really have any friends here except my roommate who I've known since high school. And if that Stephen guy gets his way I doubt it will be easy for either of us to make a lot of new friends, so would you want to hang out after our classes are over? I could give you a make-over, because no offence but that guy did sort of have a point about the fashion suicide bit." Kurt bit his lip hoping Will wouldn't take that last comment the wrong way. But the boy's face just broke into a hug smile and he actually started to tear up.

"I'd love that. I'd really love that."

"Great! I'm in Room 2705. And my last class ends at five." Will nodded.

"G-great. I'll see you later then." Kurt gave him a smile and returned to Rachel who was watching from the other side of the hallway.

"What was that about?"

"Well, I do believe I've made a friend." Kurt smiled and linked arms with her.

Finn fiddled with his pack nervously. He had been given a list of things to bring, and now he was here in Georgia, items packed about to enter boot camp. After his family had finished freaking out and crying over his decision to join the army, Burt and his Mom had decided he needed to do everything he could to be as prepared as possible for boot camp. Blaine had rattled off a bunch of facts he'd learned somewhere and Kurt whipped out a laptop and started looking through articles. The rest of the summer was spent very differently than all the ones before. Every dinner became Friday Night Dinner. The whole family gathered around the table, Blaine included, savoring their time together before they were split between three states. Kurt and Blaine helped Finn plan a daily work out session and his video games were locked up so he would get enough sleep. One by one former ND members bid their goodbyes and headed off to whatever futures awaited them. Kurt gave him the short haircut required for the military before he left with Santana. Suddenly the family dinners were a lot sadder and Finn was glad he was getting out of Lima.

But sitting here with a backpacks worth of belongings muscles aching from their labors over the summer. Labors that were only going to increase now it was the real thing. Finn pulled out a magazine and flipped through it as the bus carrying him and his fellow recruits to Reception. Someone behind him leaned forward and whispered in his ear.

"You might want to dispose of that. The D.S.s are nicer then the D.I.s but they still won't take kindly to such leisurely activities."

"Right." Finn quickly shoved the magazine into the space between the bench and the window, then leaned against the back of his chair in relief. He looked over his shoulder at his savior and saw an astonishingly tall girl with red hair. "Um, thanks"

"You're welcome." Her breathy voice confirmed that she was indeed the whisperer.

"Do you have a copy of The Soldiers Handbook? I'm sure that would make more productive reading." She gave him a small smile.

"Yeah, I think my brother packed me one. " Finn smiled back before rummaging around until he found the papers Kurt had printed off and bound together. He turned back to the girl triumphantly. "What's your name by the way?"

"Lucile, but I prefer to go by Cile. How about you?"

"I'm Finn, Finn Hudson." They shook hands and then spent the rest of the drive discussing The Soldiers Handbook.

They stood up and Finn started as he realized she was taller than he was. She. Was. Taller. Than. He. Was. He nodded dumbly. She smiled.

"Hope to see you around Finn Hudson."

Rachel arrived at her and Kurt's room to find the boy Kurt had stood up for standing in the middle of the room while Kurt stood in front of him holding up an outfit to see how it would look on the guy, setting it down, picking up another and setting it down too. Indeed there were dozens of outfits strewn across the floor.

"Kurt, what is going on?" Kurt whirled around.

"Oh, hi Rachel. I was just saving Will's wardrobe. He's the new friend I was telling you about?"

"Oh, right." Rachel squinted at the two boys. Everything seemed platonic but still, she didn't like Kurt spending time with a guy. "A boy?" Kurt gave her a confused look.

"Well, yeah. What's your point?" Rachel shook herself. I'm sure Kurt knows better than to cause a repeat of Chandler-gate

"I don't have one, never mind," Kurt returned his attention to the clothing on the floor.

"Here," he piled several outfits into the guy's arms who, Rachel realized, hadn't said a word the whole time, "this should last you a few days until we can go shopping. The Will bore the clothes away happily. Kurt carefully packed away the rest of the clothes. "If you need the bathroom you should use it now. I have my over-the-phone-skin-sloughing date in fifteen minutes." Rachel smiled to herself as she hurried into the bathroom to complete her night-time needs – she never should have doubted Kurt for a moment.

One of the perks of living with Kurt was his understanding when it came to her skin-care routines. She remembered distinctly the fight she and Finn had had over her lengthy time in the bathroom. Kurt on the other hand was if anything shocked by the lack of time spent caring for her skin. Lecturing her on the importance of morning skin-care, and three-step routines. He stared at her wonderingly has she exited the bathroom with two minutes to spare. This time he didn't lecture though, for once he was glad she was hasty. He needed to talk to Blaine.

Kurt dialed Blaine and waited nervously as for him to pick up. He didn't have to wait long, the first ring was cut off by the sound of Blaine's voice.

"Kurt! I can't know how much it means to me that you find time in you're busy schedule for me. How are things? Any new friends?"

"Well, I certainly have a new enemy." Blaine felt his eyebrows lift.

"Ooh an enemy."

"Yeah, his name is Stephen and he is like a fashion-conscious combination of Jesse St. James and Sebastian Smythe." Blaine grimaced. Then realized Kurt couldn't see him.

"Urgh. But, fashion-conscious you say?"

"I know! You wouldn't think we'd have tons to talk about but he's just awful. Oh, and get this. He was picking on this kid. And, you know how I feel about bullying, so I told Stephen off and stuff. And the boy he was picking on is like, my only new friend." Blaine flinched. A boy? His new friend is a boy? Oh no. I knew it. I'm doomed.

"And he is just, not fashionable. I mean, I've seen worse… but god I've seen better. So I'm helping him find new clothes and stuff. But isn't that weird? After performing, style is pretty much my passion. And my only two friends at NYADA simply don't comprehend it. Ah, well. I have you and at least Will seems willing to take my constructive criticism to heart."

"Will?"

"The boy I told you about."

"Right." Blaine's chest tightened and his mind started whispering dozens of scenarios to him that all ended with him losing Kurt to this Will, and often his sanity as well.

"Rachel though, hopeless." Kurt rattled on un-aware of Blaine growing increasingly depressed and hopeless on the other end of the line. "Do you know she only moisturizes once a day? And it's not even the basic three-step regimen either. Also, she never sloughs her skin. Never! I mean…" Blaine tried to smile as Kurt ranted about Rachel's lack of care for her looks, but all he could see was Kurt getting married to Will – who Blaine pictured as tall, straight-haied, and devastatingly handsome – while Blaine was drug off to the nearest asylum. Clutching the bubble-gum-wrapper promise ring Kurt had so carelessly discarded - "Blaine? Blaine are you there?" Blaine shook himself.

"Yeah, right here."

"Are you okay?" Kurt knew him too well. Then again, maybe Kurt noticing he wasn't all right meant Kurt still cared enough to notice. Maybe the end of the world wasn't named Will.

"Look Kurt, can I ask you a question?" He could hear the surprise in Kurt's voice when he answered.

"Sure Blaine, What is it?"

"This Will character…" He didn't even have to finish the sentence.

"WHAT? Nonono. Blaine, Honey, we're just friends. We aren't even that close. I don't even know if he's on our team. And it wouldn't matter if he was because I. Love. You. Understand? And I'm not going to leave you for some New York City sweetheart. I promised remember? Besides even New York boys could never measure up to you. You've got nothing to worry about.

Will lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. I should have known. Of course I guy like that would be taken. And the way he talked about him I don't see him breaking up with the guy. And the guy would be crazy to break up with him. What was the guy's name? Oh, right, Blaine. It would be impossible not to know his name the way Kurt went on about him. I didn't even have to ask if he was single, or who the guy in the picture was…

Will had arrived at Kurt's dorm as planned. Kurt looked him up and down and immediately started whipping clothes out of his closet. He arranged them into dozens of combinations and then began to hold them up to Will. That's when he began talking.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Will? Boyfriend?" Will couldn't believe his ears, was Kurt Hummel asking him if he was single?

"No, neither, never, no."

"That's too bad, I'm sorry." Okay, that's not the reaction I was hoping for.

"Do you?" Well that broke the ice. Kurt's face took on this dreamy smile. Will felt something inside of him crumbling to ashes.

"Yeah, yeah I do. His name is Blaine – isn't that the loveliest name? - That's his picture on the wall over there. He's still a senior in high-school now, but he's coming here next year. We're going to rent an apartment together because NYADA won't let us be room-mates obviously. I mean, as long as, he doesn't, change his mind or something." Yeah, don't see that happening. What guy would change his mind about living with Kurt Hummel?

"He'd have to be insane." Kurt gave him an odd look as he held up yet another outfit.

"Well, that's um, sweet of you but, uh-" Oh no! Did I say that out loud? How much did I say out loud?

"I just mean- you seem like a nice guy- I mean helping me out and all-" Kurt gave him an understanding smile. Though of course the fact that he thought he understood made him a bit oblivious, but it was a sweet sort of obliviousness.

"I get it I get it. No need to ramble." Kurt went back to arranging outfits.

"What's he like?" The question that was part jealousy part curiosity, part hope and part dread escaped before he could think twice about it. Kurt sighed in happy reminiscing. Will's heart plummeted and his stomach clenched in dread.

"Well he's a little bit shorter than me, as you can see in the picture, he's rather hot. He has the dreamiest voice and isn't too bad at dancing either. He's, I wouldn't say he's fashionable, I'm the fashionista, but he's well dressed." Will was losing hope and gaining despair with every sentence. "He's usually charming and courteous. He can have a temper occasionally and he and alcohol do not go well together, but he can be very brave. He jumped in front of me one time when this guy was throwing a slushy at me. It turned out the guy, his name was Sebastian, had put rock salt in the slushy. Blaine had to have surgery and was bedridden for two weeks." Will sighed. Great, the guy's a hero, I'm doomed. "He thinks he's not romantic but he is. He can just be a bit oblivious sometimes. And can give the impression-" Will began to tune Kurt out because all this perfection was too hard to handle. He glanced over at the picture again and felt rather in-adequate next to this pedestal of perfect-boyfriend-for-Kurt-ness. Kurt had just paused in his stream of Blaine-praise to make a tough call about an outfit when the brunette girl who had bumped into Will that fateful day he'd met Kurt, walked in. She gave them an odd look before asking what was going on. The girl – Rachel apparently – had continued to give the two of them weird looks right up until Kurt piled some clothes into Will's arms in an obviously dismissive way. It was time to leave. It occurred to him that Rachel might think there was something going on between them. Calm down girlie, his hopelessly hook on that guy in the blazer, no worries.

Now back in his dorm Will rolled over onto his stomach. He hooked his toes onto the edge of the bed, lying sideways so his upper torso hung off the edge enabling him to reach the nightstand. He fumbled in the drawer before hauling himself un-gracefully back onto top bunk. But he'd retrieved what he'd wanted. Clasped in his hand was his beloved blue notebook. His parents had bought it for him to take notes in, but it had quickly turned into his best friend and he wrote all kinds of things in it. Flipping past numerous ramblings he paused at a blank page. Pulling a pencil out of the spiral binding Will scrawled a heading adoringly across the top.

Reasons Why I Love Kurt Hummel

He stared at it a moment. Is that really how he felt? Did he love him? He closed his eyes for a moment picturing Kurt. His chest began to ache, his stomach tied itself into knots, his torso felt like it was being filled with lead. Yeah, I love him.

1. He's gorgeous

2. He's kind

3. He notices things other people don't… He's perceptive.

4. He's got these eyes I can't even begin to explain using in-adequate things like words.

5. He's so good with clothes, something I can never get right.

Will could have continued on for a while, but he had homework so he set the notebook aside and a got up to retrieve his backpack.

I've been doing a lot of research on boot camp and boy, I'm having a really hard time imagining Finn in such an environment. And I certainly can't imagine him thriving or being happy. It sounds kinda demeaning. and certainly doesn't encourage individuality.