Sometimes, days at Dalton were almost unbearable for Kurt.

Yes, Kurt loved Dalton, but he missed New Directions.

Sometimes Kurt would sit in one of the comfortable couches in Dalton in the various rooms here and there, which were mostly used to study or hang out in free-periods, and just imagined what his friends back at McKinley were doing. Rachel would be demanding a solo or bossing everyone around. Mike would be dancing with Tina. Artie would be rapping. Brittany would be talking about rainbows to Santana, who'd just smile at her. Puck would be talking about that girl he hit on last night. Finn would sit there, looking confused at Sam who'd be talking Na'vi to him. Quinn would be shaking her head at Puck. Mercedes would be the fabulous diva she is, yelling "oh hell to the no!" when she doesn't agree and demanding tots and Lauren would be eating and making comments.

He missed them greatly. He raised his head and stared at the clock. Warblers practice would begin in ten minutes. New Directions practice started ten minutes ago.

Everyone at Dalton was nice and accepting, but it was a little disappointing to him that there were so few out-gay guys at Dalton that he knew of. He expected that he and Blaine wouldn't be the only gay Warblers, but as far as Kurt knew, they were.

There was one great benefit from his stay in Dalton. Kurt was becoming more and more secure; he no longer jumped when he heard lockers being slammed, he no longer kept shooting glances behind himself frequently, he no longer had to worry over being slushied.

The first week at Dalton was difficult, however. He wouldn't have made it if it weren't for the Warblers. It amazed him that they all cared for him one way or another just a week after he came to Dalton. When he first saw the Warblers when he was a spy all he could focus on was Blaine. When he first met David and Wes, he liked them instantly. But when he first went to a Warblers rehearsal, he began disliking them. As much as it ashamed Kurt to admit to himself, they appeared to him as cold, posh rich kids who looked down on others and didn't have a humor.

The day after the first choir practice Kurt had with them, the Warblers immediately started to try to bond with him. In only a day, they managed to change Kurt's views about them. He spent most of his time with Blaine but he didn't share many classes with him. He shared history with three Warblers. Once he walked into the lesson, they waved at him and told him they saved him a seat. Two of them spent half the lesson making Harry Potter puns while another one called Flint took notes in the form of a comic strip. Kurt had to keep himself from laughing out loud several times because of Flint. It was interesting to see how well he could draw Stalin mocking Hitler and yelling at Lenin for calling his mother a bad name.

Once the lesson was over, Flint went out of his way to check Kurt's time table and find a few other Warblers who shared that lesson with Kurt. When Kurt asked why he was doing this his response was "Being the new kid sucks, I know. I just want to do what I wish had been done to me at my old school. I want to make you feel like you belong."

They finally caught up with two other Warblers who were pulling books out of their lockers. One of them, a short brunette called Nick, gently closed his locker and introduced himself to Kurt with a handshake. He pointed at the blond guy a few feet away, Jeff, and introduced him as well. Nick and Flint began talking about something Kurt had no interest in and began looking off into the distance. He heard a locker being harshly slammed behind him and he jumped.

"Ugh! I can't find these stupid questions, I give up!"

Kurt let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding in and closed his eyes. He told himself over and over again in his head that Dave was nowhere near him, he was at Dalton now and he was safe. He kept them closed for a moment before realizing the three Warblers had gone quiet. He opened his eyes and found them all staring at him with different looks. Jeff kept looking around him, trying to spot something, fearing that he had done something wrong. Nick looked at him with concern. Flint had his eyebrows raised, looking confused. The bell rang, saving Kurt from having to explain.

The lesson he shared with Jeff and Nick and four other Warblers was a bit awkward. He got along well with a Warbler called Trent and spent most of the lesson working on questions with him, but throughout the entire lesson, he could feel Nick's eyes on him.

For the entire day, he kept looking around corners and behind him, in fear that Karofsky would suddenly appear with a slushie and a knife, charging at him. And through the entire day, Nick kept watching him. Nick tried to approach him twice but Kurt always managed to avoid it. He knew there was something bothering Kurt, but Kurt didn't really want to talk about it. Especially not to a guy he just met.

He stuck close to Trent and Flint through the day. It was on Monday, which was the only day he and Blaine only shared one class. He met Blaine during lunch and in that only class, but that was it for the day. From the first time he met Blaine, he knew he'd fall for the guy. He was so… so perfect. He was everything Kurt wanted in a boyfriend. There was flirting between them and Kurt knew he was on a good roll falling for the other boy.

He had been planning to meet up with Blaine after school to go and get some coffee. They'd decided to meet up at the exit of Dalton. He was heading towards it when Flint caught up with him.

"Hey, Kurt, what's up?" He asked

"Nothing, simply just waiting for Blaine to finish English."

"Ouch. Well, you've probably got to wait a little longer. His English teacher usually makes his students stay a little bit longer than they're supposed to. Anyway, I'm heading out with a few Warblers, I'll see you later."

A few seconds after Flint had left, Kurt's phone began to vibrate.

Sorry, he's keeping us a bit late. I'll meet u asap – Blaine

Kurt smiled a little and sent him back.

It's ok, I'll be in the common room closest to the exit – K

Kurt sat down at a small table and pulled out his math homework. He had only been working on it for a few minutes when a bag was slammed on the table, making Kurt jump. He looked up from his homework to face the person. Nick stood there, watching him with a warm smile.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked. Kurt just shook his head and pretended to get back to his homework.

"Look… I've been wondering ever since we met at the locker, is everything alright?" Nick asked.

Kurt closed his math book and turned to face Nick. "Honestly? No. I'm not alright. And before you ask, no, I don't want to talk about it."

Kurt turned around and put his books in his bag and faced Nick again. He was silent and he looked out of it, almost as if he wasn't there mentally, and his expression was slightly pained. Kurt was silent for a moment, hoping Nick would snap out of it soon and leave.

"I know what it's like." Nick murmured. He wasn't properly facing Kurt and he still had that mentally-out-of-it look. "I know what you've been through. You're at Dalton now, Kurt, you're safe here. Hold on."

Kurt opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted.

"Hey Kurt, Nick, sorry how late I was." Blaine said as he came through the door. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No, I was just leaving." Nick said and stood up.

This happened a few months ago and Kurt was still rather curious of what Nick meant. He wasn't sure if Nick knew his story or not, he had yet to ask Blaine if he had told him. Hold on… What did he exactly mean by that?

Kurt felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and scooped it out.

I miss you. We've got to meet soon. How's this weekend? – Merc x

Kurt felt his eyes sting a little. It had been a long day and he missed New Directions a lot. Just getting that message from Mercedes made him feel like crying.

I miss you too. Tell ND I miss them for me. This week sounds good – K

He held his cell phone in his hand, staring at Mercedes' message.

We all miss you a lot, boo. – M

"Everything alright, Kurt?"

Kurt snapped his head up and stuffed his phone in his pocket. Nathan walked towards him with a grin and sat down next to him.

"You miss your old school, don't you?" He asked.

Kurt chuckled. "God, no, not the school. Just the Glee club."

Nathan sighed. "Ah, I guess we suck that hard, then." He laughed and clapped Kurt's shoulder. "Warbler practice is beginning soon and I don't want to get lectured again by Wes for not arriving on time. He acts more like a mother than my mother does."

Being in Dalton was calming. There were no fights in the hallways, no one getting bullied or slushied and no pranks with serious consequences. It was a perfect place in Kurt's eyes, almost too perfect to be true.

And Kurt was right. The mellow atmosphere that roamed around Dalton and the Warblers was about to drastically change.