Tuesday is AU day! ;-)

'Why don't you go outside, Kurt, meet some people, make some friends.' Kurt barely looked up from the book his was reading when he heard his aunt speak to him.

'No, thanks,' he replied, a little cold. He heard his aunt sigh and the couch dipped as she sat down next to him.

'Kurt,' he heard her whisper. Fingers with red painted fingernails took the book from Kurt's hands and laid it closed on the table, making sure the page he was on was marked. She stayed silent for a moment, until Kurt finally raised his eyes from his lap to look at her.

'I know these past few months have been terrible for you, Kurt,' she stated ever so gently. 'And I know you feel like nothing will ever heal your heart after what you've been through in the past months. Not only losing your father, but having to leave behind all of your friends and your father's girlfriend… I can't possibly begin to understand how you are feeling, Kurt.' No, you don't understand, Kurt thought viciously, but he kept it to himself, instead choosing to stay silent.

'I just need you to live, Kurt.' The way his aunt's voice broke a little, made him shiver a little and make his decision.

'I'll be outside, aunt Helen,' he whispered, standing up. 'I'll go discover the neighborhood.' Aunt Helen gave him a small smile and petted his shoulder.

'Dinner's at six,' she yelled before Kurt closed the door behind him. There, in the warm San Francisco air, he took a deep breath and moved slowly off the porch. He took in the street around him; all perfect houses in a perfect neighborhood with perfect families, and there he was, ruining all of the perfection with his darkness. He decided to turn left and started walking.

Maybe aunt Helen was right; this walk outside definitely took off a bit of the constant pressure on his head. But it also gave him a lot of time to think, which was something Kurt had tried to avoid at all costs.

He lost his dad. His father was gone. Burt Hummel was no more… it hit him in sudden blasts in which he realized he had to live without his father. He'd crumble on the floor and sob for hours, completely at lost. Other times he felt completely numb. The fact that he was thinking about it now and he wasn't yet in a fetal position on the floor, definitely meant progress.

Hearing that he couldn't stay in Ohio was another blow to his head. All of his life he had spent wishing to everything he loved that he would get out of the cowtown of Lima, Ohio and now he wanted nothing more than to return. He missed his friends and their comfort. Right when he needed them the most, they were forced apart. Kurt looked around him and noticed with a shock that he had no idea where he was. Right at that moment a boy with dark hair came skipping past.

'Excuse me?' The boy turned around and holy fuck… Kurt was met with the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his life. Hazel mixed with green, they were, lit up by the sunshine. The boy looked at him expectantly (and a bit amazed) and that's when Kurt realized he actually stopped this boy for a reason. 'Can you show me back to my place? I- I'm new here and I've gotten lost when I went on a walk.' Kurt expected the boy to laugh at him, call him a 'faggot' and walk away but he was surprised when the boy reached out his hand for Kurt's to shake.

'I'm Blaine.'

'Kurt,' Kurt replied, shaking the boys hand with a laugh. 'So, yeah… Do you want to bring me home? I live at Helen's place… She said most people in this neighborhood would know where that is so…'

'I know where it is,' Blaine grinned. He was so beautiful and oh… He took Kurt's hand with a wink.

'Come on, I know a shortcut.'