AN: Ellery makes a brief reappearance in this chapter. He wont be a big plot point though, just another part of Kurt's daily life. Hope you enjoy it! Hopefully I caught all grammar or spelling errors, if not I sincerely apologize!

Disclaimer: I don't own glee.

Ch. 22. Road to Sectionals

After having lunch with Blaine and assuring him that he would be fine returning to school and that he would stay away from Karofsky so that he didn't have to worry, Kurt's day hadn't been all that different from every other day. Boring, filled with classes and homework that could have been more difficult. He'd gone through the motions, gone to his detention, gone home and gone to bed.

His detention with Sue had been a bit unnerving; she'd berated him for once again not bringing his problems to her and asked him if there was anything he needed to report. Kurt hadn't even considered telling her the truth. Instead he shook his head and shrugged. "Nope, nothing to report." She'd then told him that for his detention he would have to either rejoin the cheerios and be off the hook, or he could spend detention with Ms. Pillsbury helping her organize and scrub clean her office for two weeks. He'd chosen the latter and of course she'd thrown a fit and kicked him out of her office.

Blaine had texted him encouraging things all afternoon and Kurt had continued to assure him that he was still fine. He must have told Wes too, because the other boy had been texting him too. Their protectiveness and worry for him warmed his heart, and he fell asleep that night feeling like if he told someone that he was okay it might not be a complete lie.

Glee club the next day was ridiculously awful on the grand scheme of awful rehearsals.

"I need everyone to focus," Mr. Schue said loudly. "We need to work on a set list, and I'd like to feature some voices who haven't already sung for us in a competition."

As expected, that did not go over too well with one Rachel B. Berry.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Kurt took a discreet picture of Rachel with her mouth taped shut later and forwarded it to all of his Dalton friends.

To: Wes, Blaine, David, Jeff, Nick

This is what you have to look forward to at Sectionals. Be afraid. Very. Afraid.

He smirked as he zoned back into the conversation.

"Would anyone like to volunteer or try out for a solo?"

Kurt would, Kurt would like to volunteer for a solo.

"I gots dibbs Kurtie-pie, don't even think about it."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Santana. Why would I be given equal chance in everything?"

She slugged him.

"Don't have a pity party over there. By the way, Coach is demanding that you show up to practice soon or she'll have to take even more drastic actions."

"Great. I'm tired," he whined at her, leaning his head on her shoulder. "Why don't you just volunteer and get it over with?"

"Because Berry's still at half-steam. We've got another 15 minutes of this, at least. And maybe you're so tired because you had a very rigorous night, what with all of those boys around. Finn tells me you stayed at Dalton last night."

He pulled a pencil from his bag and chucked it at the back of Finn's head.

"Ow," he growled, turning around to glare at Kurt. "You are so dead when we get home. You just wait."

He childishly stuck a tongue out at the boy.

From: Nick

What in God's name goes in public schools? This is freaking me out a bit.

From: Jeff

LOL. Who is this girl?

From: Blaine

Omg, that's that Rachel girl, right? So strange, public school.

PS. How are you doing today?

From: Wes
Dude…what the hell? Anyway, how is practice going?

Glee continued to drag on until it was finally decided that Quinn and Sam would have a duet, and Santana would have a solo. It figured.

Santana pinched him to get his attention and gave him a look of triumph. He responded by miming shooting himself. She smirked.

Kurt's Mass Media class was the other thing keeping him occupied this week. Mrs. Klein announced that they would be pairing up to do a project together. The project was to choose a topic that applied to their age group and write a newsworthy article on it, present it to the class, and the best one would actually be featured in the paper. He was so going to win, he decided, as he looked around at the rest of his classmates who were all ignoring the assignment and chattering away.

When they'd been paired up, he was briefly surprised to find that it was Ellery who he was paired with. He'd almost forgotten about the boy completely in the drama of the past few weeks, and was racking his brain trying to figure out how he hadn't noticed him in class when he'd known they had it together.

"Hey Kurt," Ellery said, as he slid into the spot previously occupied by Michele Bates, filling Kurt's workspace with the smell of tobacco and ink. He took a moment to be thankful she was gone too, because he absolutely hated her. She was the journalistic version of Rachel Berry- determined to outdo him in every aspect of the class. She'd told him, very haughtily, on the first day of class that she would be the next editor-in-chief, and he had better be nice.

"Hi," he said with a smile, "you know, I think I forgot that you were in this class."

Ellery gave him a quick smile, "I think I should be offended, but really, I'm just going to let it slide this time."

"Well that is just so gracious of you," he muttered.

"If," Ellery added as an after-thought.

"If?" he questioned.

"If you help me win this competition. I'm going to be on staff next year, and I'm determined to beat out the rest of this ridiculously untalented class."

Kurt actually threw back his head and laughed.

"Oh yes, I can do that," he gasped between giggles. "I think we were made to be partners! I'm going to be on staff next year too. Just imagine it, we'll have all the power in the school! Muahahaha!"

Ellery stared at him in as his faux-evil cackles trailed off.

"Okay, evil journalistic genius, what should we write about?"

Kurt paused and tapped his pen to his cheek thoughtfully. He immediately thought of Karofsky, the dumpsters, the slushies and the football team. He thought about Tina and Mike and the racial slurs they faced, he thought of Santana's reputation and Puck's and Finn's difficulties accepting themselves outside of the "popular" social scene. He thought about the schools lack of handi-capable resources and Sue Sylvester's encouragement of teenage eating disorders.

He thought of Blaine's reminder to be courageous in the face of bullying.

He thought about saying all of this aloud.

Bullying. I think that we should write about bullying and tolerance in High Schools.

But he didn't think he was that courageous. So instead he pretended he hadn't thought about any of it, and said, "Well, I think there are lots of controversial topics we could do. The problem is that we have to consider the audience- which I know, is not the right way to be a journalist, because we're supposed to present the unbiased truth. But lets be honest here… I don't know about you, but I certainly don't need to be any more unpopular. I get slushied way too often. Which again, is sort of cowardly, I know. But my Marc Jacobs collection cannot take any more hits this year. I'll have nothing left! Oh! What if we did something on fashion, or lack of fashion, or… or maybe the graduation rates and who goes to college?"

"Whoa, whoa, hold it. I'm having a hard time following your thought process. Do you always do that?"

Kurt snorted, "The rambling? Yeah, it's unfortunately a curse. You'll learn to speak my language soon enough."

Ellery just stared at him, and then rolled his eyes.

"Right, okay. No caffeine for you. What about teenage pregnancy?"

Kurt shook his head immediately, "No. No, Quinn would either never speak to me again or murder me very very slowly with her nail file."

"O-kay. Well, what if we did something on… students with parents in the military?"

Kurt gave him a searching look, and thought hard about it. Finn and his Dad came to mind, and he remembered how devastated Finn gets when he speaks of his father and how being the widow of an army officer had changed Carole's entire life.

"Okay," he said finally. "I can work with that. What type of article exactly were you thinking?"

"Excellent. I think the idea needs refining, of course. And news article, definitely. I would really love it if we could apply it to McKinley directly; I think that would make this a bit more real for some people."

"You mean if they know how to read," he muttered under his breath, offering the boy a good-natured smile.

Back in the choir room for the "absolutely necessary" after school practice later on that week, Kurt was literally swaying in the background as Quinn and Sam did their lovey-dovey duet. He was pretty sure that it wasn't what Mr. Schue wanted, but he was so beyond caring at this point. It was the end of the day, and he was a bit bitter over being overlooked for a solo again.

"Guys, get serious!" Mr. Schue said with a hint of frustration. "We have sectionals in less than a week. If you want to win, you have to practice right."

He considered pointing out the fact that maybe if they had been preparing for the competition more than 5 days in advance, they might be a bit more prepared. Just because they had won a sectionals competition by performing "on the fly" once, didn't mean that they could or would do it again. And from what Kurt knew of the warblers, they had some very big competition in the works. And that didn't even include Vocal Adrenaline.

They went on like that for two whole hours and by the time Mr. Schuesaid, "Okay, see you bright and early tomorrow for some more practice," Kurt was ready to bang his head on the nearest hard surface.

"Oh my god," he moaned to Mercedes as they walked out to their lockers ahead of the group. "If I have to hear Rachel tell Quinn that she's a little 'pitchy' one more time, I think I might punch someone."

"Kurt, I'm right here!" Rachel snapped from behind him.

"I say it with love, but sweetheart you're kind of a bitch sometimes."

"KURT!"

"Nothing wrong with that, of course," he continued without acknowledging her. "I myself am often a bitch, and there is a lot to be said for the practice…"

"Preach," Santana said as she passed them and turned the corner toward her locker, pinky linked with Britney's.

"But Rachel, you are going above and beyond. Quinn is doing really well."

"Thanks Kurt!" Quinn said with a grin as she grabbed Sam's elbow and dragged him off around the next corner to their lockers.

"Kurt, I think you're being a little unfair. Finn, don't you have anything to say about this?"

Finn shot Kurt a look and then shrugged at Rachel. "I'm sorry, but I don't have anything to say about this Rachel. You are being a little mean to Quinn."

Rachel gasped.

"Finn! You're not supposed to insult your girlfriend!"

There was a brief awkward silence where Finn looked like he wanted the tiles to open up and swallow him, and Kurt and Mercedes shared a knowing look.

"Rachel…" Finn said softly. "I think we need to talk. It's been a week and we've been acting like nothing happened."

"Come on Mercedes, let's go get coffee. See you at home, Finn."

Finn gave him a pained look.

"Yeah, later."

"Poor Finn," Mercedes whispered as they rounded the corner to their own lockers.

Kurt cast a worried look back in the direction they'd come and shrugged.

"It's not like we didn't see this coming, right? They've been off and on for a long time."

"True. Anyway, moving on. Are we going to see some of your super foxy boys at the Bean?"

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"First, they're not "my" boys. Second, I haven't made plans, so unless they decided to drive two whole hours just to come see me after school, I doubt it. Also, we decided not to see each other again before sectionals so as to avoid hard feelings."

"Boy, when are you going to get with Blaine? You like him, he has got to like you, I mean just look at the way he looks at you. Like you're the most wonderful and beautiful thing he's ever seen in his entire existence."

"He's one of my best friends," Kurt replied. "We've been through a lot together. Of course he looks at me like I'm really cool."

"You're totally deflecting," she sighed.

"Well, I've told you it's not going to happen. Not to mention the fact that Blaine has just had a horrific experience with unrequited love- something I'm not unfamiliar with and have no desire to repeat- and also, I'm still stuck on that performance. How can they even consider ever performing in public again? Oh my god."

Mercedes looks torn between giving him an annoyed look and laughing.

"Who's going to perform in public?" Puck asked as he sidled up to stand between them as were both putting things back into their lockers.

He was wearing his trademark baggy jeans, a red and blue McKinley Baseball t-shirt and a pair of hiking boots, and as he leaned back against the locker, her hitched up on leg so that it was bent and resting up against the lockers.

It was kinda sexy.

No.

No. no. no.

Kurt had to forcefully snap himself out of it.

"What do you want Noah?"

"I'm bored. I don't have anything going on tonight. I thought maybe you and me could have a little study session tonight for chemistry."

Kurt seriously resisted slamming his head against the lockers.

"Puck!" Mercedes sighed.

"Physics, Puck. And I have never known you to study in your life. I have the feeling that this suggestion of yours is a masked way either asking me to do your homework or propositioning me… and it's a bit confusing. Are you having trouble with the ladies again? Because maybe you should just go to Cheerio practice and pick someone up. I'm sure that Amanda wouldn't mind studying with you."

Puck pouted at him.

"Hummel, you're being difficult."

"Noah, you're not gay."

"That's true," Puck said contemplatively. "But lately I've been thinking I might not care. Or I just really like sex. I don't know. Everyone experiments right?"

Mercedes and Kurt exchanged a horrified look.

"Oh god, conversation over. Let's go Mercedes."

"Fine! Be a prude!" Puck shouted after them.

Kurt flipped him off without even turning around.

Sectionals came in a blur of practice, misery and missing Blaine and Wes. They had exchanged a few texts here and there and Blaine called him almost everyday to check in and see how school was going, but it wasn't the same.

It was just so stupid. Why in the world did it matter if they saw each other before a competition or not? It's not like any of them were going to cheat…or did they still think that was Kurt's intention? He sighed. No, no he had to trust that they trusted him; especially after everything that they'd been through in the last few weeks.

Heck, he was even starting to miss David and the other Warblers.

And if Rachel didn't stop pouting and trying to pretend like not having a solo was such a noble thing on her part, he might have to throw her out the back of the bus.

"Kurt, stop pouting, you're depressing me," Mercedes said from next to him where she was reading the latest issue of Teen Vogue.

"I am not pouting," he said indignantly. "I am just nervous for the competition, is all."

"Ha. What do we have to be nervous about- we don't have solos. You're just missing your Warbler friends."

She said it with a vague hint of jealousy, and he sighed.

"I also just really wish you would get it over with and tell Blaine how you feel."

"Mercedes, were we both in the same coffee shop the day he…serenaded… Jeremiah. He is definitely not interested. Not to mention, that if I did tell him how I felt there is a good possibility of awkwardness and drifting apart again. I don't want that. I'd rather just be friends than lose that. Really."

He felt a bit of déjà vu because he was sure they'd had almost this exact conversation just a few days before.

"Yeah, you're so fine with just being friends that you spend hours agonizing over what to wear when you go get coffee with him. And you know what I'm really annoyed with?"

Oh great. This was going to be a what you're doing wrong kind of talk. Couldn't they get to the competition already?

"You haven't even really introduced us. I mean, yeah we met in the coffee shop when Blaine serenaded that guy, but not like hanging out or anything. Do you not want us to meet? I feel like you're going to start spending more time with them than me."

"Oh come on, Mercedes, it's not going to be like that. Can't I have friends other than you? You hang out with Tina and Brittany without me. And Rachel."

"I only hang out with Rachel when it's part of a group," Mercedes felt the need to clarify.

"Thanks a lot," Rachel called from over the seat in front of them.

Kurt rolled his eyes and turned so that he was facing her.

"Mercedes, I'm sorry that I've been making you feel that way. I promise, after Sectionals I'll introduce you and then maybe we can all hang out afterward."

"What if they win?" she demanded.

"Well, I was planning on congratulating them…?" he said uncertainly.

"We're not going to lose," Rachel snapped through the seat.

They both ignored her again.

"What if we win?" Mercedes challenged.

"Well, I assume that they're going to be gracious. They've never been anything but."

Mercedes made a hmmph sound and sighed, turning back to her magazine.

"Fine," she said without looking up.

He sighed with relief.

"Fine," he agreed.

"Can I come?" Rachel asked, peaking up over the seats.

Kurt was going to say no until Mercedes kicked him and then looked over at Finn pointedly and then back at Rachel.

Oh right. The Break Up.

And break up they had. Their discussion in the school had carried itself over to the house and it had gotten really loud. And ugly. Finn had essentially, and rightfully Kurt thought, told Rachel that he couldn't be in a relationship with someone who had cheated on him just because she'd found out about his previous relationships when they weren't together.

But, Rachel was his friend. And while he had been trying to get Finn to talk about it at home, he hadn't really approached Rachel at all. He hadn't been sure what the etiquette was or if there was some form of bro-code he needed to adhere to.

He sighed.

"I…yes. Sure. Of course you can," he said with a smile.

"Oh yay!" Rachel says, clapping.

She then turns to Mercedes and begins happily chatting about how to embarrass Kurt.

He sighed, and pulled out his phone. Biting his lip, he drafts a new message.

To: Wes, Blaine, David

-Celebratory dinner/coffee after the competition? Winners one and all?

There- his way of saying no hard feelings regardless of the situation.

He receives three messages with confirmation, and a few more from other Warblers pouting about not being invited. He rolled his eyes.

There were a lot more people at this sectionals competition than there were at last years, and Kurt vaguely wondered if it was because one of the competing schools (like maybe the Warblers…) were actually really well liked amongst their peers.

Having that many people there to support them would be really wonderful, but Kurt was nothing if not realistic.

It was as he was standing in the concessions line to get some coffee (because he really really needed coffee) that Rachel found him again.

"Hey Kurt," she said with a slightly shy smile.

"Hi Rachel," he greeted warily.

"So," she said tentatively. "I know we haven't been very close as of late-"

"You cheated on my brother," he said tonelessly.

She faltered.

"Y-es, yes that's true. But I, Kurt, I feel awful about it. And I am absolutely not asking you to take sides- or I mean, take my side. I just want a chance to make things better. I kind of thought that we were maybe like really good friends or best friends… or something," she trailed off nervously. "I made a mistake, Kurt. I'm sorry."

"It's not me you need to apologize to," he said offhandedly as he continued to peruse the menu.

"I know," she agreed. "I'm still sorry."

He sighed quietly again and held out his hand to her without looking away from the menu.

"Okay."

"Just like that?" she asked.

"It's not going to be easy, Finn's my step-brother. But you're right; we are really good friends… or something. I'm sorry I was ignoring you."

She took the hand and gave him a watery smile.

"Full fat mocha with extra whip?" she suggested.

He actually laughed, but against his better judgment agreed. What were a few extra calories before a major competition?

It was as they were returning with their coffee to their prep room that Kurt heard someone call his name. It was Blaine. Rachel shot him a smirk and squeezed his shoulder, telling him she'd see him in the room, and not to take too long.

Blaine was alone, and walking toward him with one of those grins that nearly split his face.

"Hey Kurt!" he said as they came together. "Are you excited? I'm excited! I know we said we wouldn't see each other until after the competition, but I really just wanted to come and wish you luck, and give you a hug."

"You and your hugs," he said with a laugh. "I'm glad you found me. I want to wish you guys luck too. You're going to be great out there, I know it."

Blaine beamed at him, looping an arm around his waist and guiding him into a slow paced walk back toward the prep rooms.

"Thanks! I bet you'll be really great too! I cannot wait to see you guys up there. I'm nervous, but whoever wins will absolutely deserve it because I think we've all brought the best effort we can to the table."

Kurt considered how they'd only set their set list like four days ago, and just nodded. "Of course!"

They had reached the New Directions room fairly quickly, and Blaine gave him an encouraging grin.

"No matter what happens, it's going to be great, okay? And we are so celebrating after," Blaine said soothingly when he noticed Kurt's nerves.

"Okay," Kurt agreed with a smile. "Good luck, and see you soon."

He watched him walk back toward the Warblers' room and his stomach fluttered happily before he turned and rejoined his team.