A/N:

Oh my god, this turned out so long! Ahhh! I haven't written this much in while, eeep!

Thank you so much, you guys, for the support! It means a lot and I really hope that you like this one.

So, this is where it starts to get a little more detailed and complicated and I cannot thank my beta/editor/bff for doing this, Daniela, you rock!

Also, PurpleBombshell - I guess you'll just have to wait and read, huh? ;) seriously, your reviews make me smile.

Hope you guys enjoy!


Chapter Four

The dorms were majestic. From what Kurt could see as he was whisked through the hallways, the building was of the same old-fashioned design as the main building, but much more homey and clearly meant for living, rather than administrative and learning purposes.

The floors were covered by wall-to-wall carpets of burgundy, the staircases were wooden, and the walls were covered in blue and burgundy tapestries, matching the uniforms worn by the boys all around.

They climbed to the second floor, and on to the corridor to the right, and came to a halt in front of a wooden door with a knocker the shape of a delicately-carved brass bird. Opening it, Kurt's jaw dropped in amazement. The room was massive for a single bedroom. It was a marvelous vast room, with a big wardrobe to the left, and a queen bed tucked into a cavity in the wall on the right. In the middle, along the wall, right below the large window in front of them, stood a magnificent wooden desk with a comfy chair. The rest of the room was bare, clearly left for the inhabitant's creative decorating pleasure. Kurt's luggage was already placed at the foot of his bed. And then, Kurt's attention was diverted further to the left, where he saw another door.

'Is that a private bathroom?' he asked, hardly daring to believe it. He was sure he would be forced to use communal bathrooms with the rest of these boys, not something he was looking forward to.

'Well, of course,' said David, as though it was obvious. 'You don't pay Dalton prices just to shower and pee with everyone else, do you?' he joked, but upon seeing the perplexed expression on Kurt's face, turned serious. 'They take privacy very seriously here. So you don't have to worry about anyone harassing you at any moment.'

Kurt swallowed with difficulty. This place was incredible. How many times has he been forced to change clothes before gym class in front of the rest of the boys in his class and be taunted and ridiculed for not being as burly as the rest of those chimps? This was almost too good to be true.

'Oh, Kurt,' said David, pulling him out of his thoughts. 'Since it is Saturday, a few of us are actually getting together tonight in the student lounge to watch movies, do you want to come?'

Kurt looked around. They all seemed to genuinely want to be in his company. This was completely new to him. The boy named Blaine whom he met earlier stepped forward, holding out his hand.

'Hey, Kurt, I'm Blaine. Sorry for earlier, but I was sort of rushing to the gardens, I was late to picking the tomatoes. Um, I just wanted to say welcome, and, um, if you need anything just come by, I'm your neighbor across the hall.'

Kurt couldn't do anything except take the offered hand in silence. His mind was shut down in front of this gorgeous boy. His black hair was curly, yet gelled down slightly, but not enough to hide the curls. His eyes were a hundred different shades of gold and amber, glinting here and there in the light as he looked at Kurt with a blazing glare. His lips were pink and full, and Kurt couldn't take his gaze off of them. His skin was olive-tinted and smooth, and Kurt longed to know how it would feel under his fingertips.

Suddenly aware of his thoughts, Kurt let go of Blaine's hand, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

'Um, thank you, for showing me to my room. Um, if you don't mind I'd really like to get ready for lunch.'

The boys scrambled away, leaving David, Blaine and the Asian boy at Kurt's doorway.

'Kurt,' said the Asian boy, 'I'm Wes, I'm the Room Advisor for the junior year, so if there's anything you need, just holler, okay? I'll leave you to it.'

And he and David rushed off. Now only Blaine remained there, looking just as awkward as Kurt felt.

'Sorry about them,' Blaine mumbled, 'they're ridiculous as they come, but they mean well. Um, did you need help unpacking?'

'No!' Kurt exclaimed. Then realized what he was doing. 'Um, no, thanks. I'd just rather nobody else but me touch my clothes. Most of these things are really delicate, and I'd hate for them to wrinkle … not that you'd wrinkle them!' he wanted to die on the spot. Why couldn't he just say no thanks and shut up? He thought to himself

Blaine chuckled softly. 'I get it.' Kurt raised an eyebrow. 'No, I do! I mean, here we usually have to wear the uniform when representing the school or in class, but I'd die before letting anyone touch my regular clothes.'

Kurt smiled in relief. Glad to find someone who understood him.

'Um, I didn't want to ask anyone in case they got offended, but … is this a school for gays … or what?'

Blaine chuckled again. 'Um, no. It's not. This school just seriously doesn't let anyone get bullied … I know,' he said at Kurt's incredulous face. 'I know, I didn't believe it either when I first came here last year, but it's true. This place is amazing. And I really hope that you'll see it while you're here. Um, I'd better go. Oh, and you don't have to worry about food preparation until tomorrow evening. Since it's your first day here, tomorrow they'll order some food, but they want you to adjust to the place before they heap on you the amount of food you will prepare. Um, if you need any help at all, you can come and ask, all right? No one expects you to do everything on your own.'

Kurt nodded. Not sure what to say. He mainly wanted to be left alone to unpack and get settled into his new room. Blaine seemed to sense this and began leaving, but not before turning back to Kurt and saying, 'Welcome to Dalton, Kurt. I hope you like it here.'

Kurt set to work immediately. He took all of his shower bags into the bathroom, and nearly passed out from amazement. The bathroom was immaculate, shiny, and made mostly of marble tiles. The vanity was complete with numerous drawers, a stool, and light bulbs above a rectangle spotless mirror. The shower was large enough to inhabit two, also spotless, equipped with what looked like shower jets. There were fluffy towels in a towel warmer tucked in the corner and a little toilet as well.

Putting all of his creams and toiletries in their places, Kurt walked out and began rifling through his clothes and possessions.

He had brought everything he could from home. Boarding here meant living here, and he wanted to make the transition as easy as possible. He brought all of his clothes, his laptop, books, pictures … and then he finally found what he was looking for. His framed picture of the New Directions.

As much as his life at McKinley sucked, he will miss his old glee club. He just hoped that he would be able to see them once in a while.

A knock came at the door.

Kurt tossed around on his bed, not really wanting to wake up.

He had finished unpacking and putting everything in place, including neatly hanging up his Wicked and Rent posters, and then sat down on his new bed and was once again astounded by the quality. It was huge, soft, and luxurious to the touch, and he couldn't help but lay down on the covers, just to get a feel of how the mattress sunk under his weight.

He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillows.

Now, about an hour later, someone was knocking on his door, and Kurt was reluctant to answer. It was really comfortable here and he wasn't really prepared to deal with a bunch of hormonal boys eager to … he didn't know what.

Sure, they were gracious, excited puppies upon meeting him, but from his experience, as soon as guys got used to him, they either tended to ignore him, tolerated him, or decided he was a threat and made his life a living hell. Despite this place being a school with zero-tolerance towards bullying, Kurt took that advertisement with a grain of salt and decided to test the waters before he plunged into whatever may lay in store in this ginormous school.

But the person on the other side of the door was quite persistent. The knocks came coming until Kurt could not ignore them anymore, he has long since been aroused, but was trying to slip back into sleep, trying to block out the incessant knocking. But it was no use.

Unwillingly, he opened his eyes, got out of bed, and walked over to the door, grumbling under his breath about insensitive people.

Noticing a small mirror hanging on the wall beside the door, he made sure his hair wasn't a mess before opening the door.

It was Blaine.

He was now dressed in what seemed to be grey sweatpants, a light blue sweater that clung tight to his well-built torso, and mismatched socks (one grey, one yellow) covering his feet. His hair was tousled and he looked overly excited.

'Can I help you?' Kurt asked, raising an eyebrow. As adorable as this sight was, he did not appreciate being woken up after an emotionally-draining day. He didn't want to look too haggard tomorrow – his first day in Dalton. Despite it being a Sunday, Kurt got the impression that they kept everyone busy with chores around the campus, and he did not want to look like a wrecked mess, even if every part inside of him was absolutely devastated at being torn apart from his father because of that … Kurt shook his head. He will not think of that asshole right now.

'Um, is this a bad time? I just wanted to ask whether you want to join us in the student lounge.' Blaine looked wary at Kurt's slightly aggressive tone.

'Sorry, I'm just not really good at people skills ten seconds after being woken up,' Kurt immediately backtracked. 'Um, I thought David said you guys were doing a marathon in the evening … what are you guys doing there now?'

Blaine raised his hand and rumpled his hair slightly, and Kurt noticed that it was free of product and he looked even more adorable than ever in this homey ensemble. Oh boy, first day and he's already crushing on someone who's probably not even on his team. Why? Why must he do this to himself?

'Well, some of us just like to hang out there. There are video games, books, board games, and stuff and we usually just sit there and mingle, you know? Just thought it might be fun for you to get to know the guys before tonight.'

Kurt considered this. He wasn't too keen about being in a closed space with a bunch of guys, but he might as well get used to them if he was going to live with them.

'Yeah, sure, lead the way. I wanted to ask you a few questions anyway.'

Blaine stepped aside to allow Kurt to exit his room, turned left and led the way down the hall towards where Kurt assumed the student lounge was.

Blaine smiled apprehensively, 'Not regretting coming here already, are you?'

'Um,' Kurt hesitated, 'nor really. Just really curious about why this school invests so much in luxurious accommodation for its students. You know, the most luxurious thing we had at McKinley was a slushy machine and it was ruined for us because …' he trailed off, not really sure whether he was ready to open up to this Blaine. He didn't know him all that well, after all.

Blaine stopped in front of a door and turned to look at Kurt. 'Well, Dalton is funded by its students' families, and some of those have deep pockets, but I don't think we have a slushy machine in the dining hall. I know that some of the culinary students make a mean orange juice on the rocks,' he cracked, but when he saw that Kurt was still apprehensive, he tried a different avenue. 'So what happened to that slushy machine? Did it break?'

Kurt winced. 'Not really,' he hesitated, 'the glee club in my school wasn't that popular. Since I was on it, and since I was … well, am gay … I got double the torment from the popular kids, you know, jocks, cheerleaders, all those kids, and they threw slushies at me and my glee club whenever we didn't expect it. You have no idea how many times I had to bring an emergency outfit and towels to dry off and change because my clothes were ruined … what?'

Kurt stopped talking when he noticed Blaine giving him a strange look.

'Why didn't the staff do anything about it?' he asked, sounding genuinely confused.

Kurt laughed mirthlessly, 'You're kidding, right? Backwards Lima, Ohio, defend the dancing, singing loser club or the gay kid? Maybe in like fifty years, they'd do something, but not now. So, yeah.'

'Kurt,' Blaine looked like he was about to cry. 'Kurt, I … I had no idea … um, I just … do you mind if I hugged you?'

Kurt shrugged, assuming it was a half hug or a pat on the back like the guys in the glee club would do on the rare occasion when they would defend him from the jocks, but he was not prepared for the full-on embrace Blaine enveloped him in. It was jarring, being hugged like this. The only person to ever hug him with this much emotion behind the hug was his father, and back in the day, his mother, but never had he been hugged like this by someone outside his family. Not even by the girls. They would hug him for a few seconds and let go upon meeting him or when he was upset, but this hug was lingering, comforting even, and completely unexpected.

Kurt found himself falling into Blaine's arms, resting his head on his broad shoulder, noticing the strong muscles under the soft material of his sweater, and hummed softly, unable to help himself.

After a minute or so, Blaine pulled back, and Kurt was astounded to see tears shimmering in this those amber-hazel irises, and was even more surprised when the sight made his heart strings tug painfully, as though the mere sight was causing him insufferable amounts of grief, and he stretched out his hand to put it on Blaine's shoulder.

'Hey, are you okay? I'm sorry if I'm being too clingy, I … I'm not really used to people being so understanding and kind, and it's …'

'A little jarring?' Blaine finished for him.

Kurt nodded silently, looking at Blaine with peaking interest.

'Sorry to just spring that hug on you, I just … I couldn't bear the thought of people doing something so humiliating and … and just plain cruel, to someone else, especially someone like you.'

Kurt blushed under Blaine's gaze. 'Um, where is this student lounge? I could get lost in this maze, sometimes.'

Blaine seemed to snap out of the trance he was supposedly under, looking at Kurt so intensely, and motioned to the door they stopped by, 'It's here. Um, but I should warn you that they will try and commandeer your attention. It's like dealing with puppies.'

Yeah, but I seem to be handling you fairly well, so I think a few other puppies should be fine, Kurt thought to himself with a smirk, and followed Blaine into the lounge.


Whew. Okay. So the end is a little iffy to me, but come on - Blaine IS a puppy!

So I hope it wasn't too much and really hope to see you guys again!

As always, reviews are appreciated and very dear to my heart!

See ya