Kurt had really missed Dalton. He had missed the safety of not getting beaten up on a weekly basis that apparently national titles in football and cheerleading couldn't bring. He missed the Warblers. Although at first glance, they seemed rigid to the point of uptight, they really weren't. They were just as much of a dysfunctional family as New Directions was, with the added bonus that they all lived on the same hall. This meant that random gatherings, such as the midwinter pool party in Dalton's heated pools where Kurt was now, occurred fairly often.
Kurt was back at Dalton. After the bullying escalated again, minus one Neanderthal in Narnia, Kurt had to transfer back. Thankfully, Dad and Carol had come into a bit of money recently, so the tuition wasn't so hard to pay this time. The transfer had only finalized in the last week. This pool party was actually held to celebrate Kurt's return.
Most of the boys were in the pool. Wes and David had left to raid the kitchens for snacks, Blaine was in the bathroom, and Kurt was just lounging on one of the pool chairs. Other than that, all of the Warbler boys were in the pool. They wondered why Kurt wasn't joining them, but it was the twins that did something about it.
Thad and Chad left the pool and stood in front of Kurt, effectively breaking him out of his reflective trance. "Why aren't you swimming?" Chad asked. "We want you to have a good time," That continued.
"I'd just prefer not to ruin my designer shirt. I value the time when I can wear normal clothes, and water would just ruin it."
Thad nodded at Chad, and the two lifted Kurt's shirt off of him, fully ready to push him into the pool. Until, that is, they heard a collective gasp, followed by Blaine running up and pulling Kurt into a seemingly shielding hug.
"What's the big deal?" Thad asked. "Did we do something wrong?" Chad asked. "We were just going to throw him into the pool." "We've thrown everyone else in." "What's going on?" Their ability to finish each other's thoughts was so spot on that even Kurt giggled into Blaine's chest.
"Blaine," Kurt said softly, "it's okay. They would have found out anyway." Kurt pulled out of Blaine's hug and stepped timidly from behind him. Not only did he have his scars, his body was covered in a multitude of colors; black, blue, green, yellow, even some red on his upper arms from what looked like fingernail shaped scabs. "I know that I've told some of you that I left McKinley because of academics this time. I'm sorry to whoever I said that to; it was a lie. Most of this is from the homophobes at McKinley. I led the football and cheerleading teams to victory at nationals, but I still wasn't good enough for them. Please don't judge me for not defending myself. That just generally led to more bruises. I look like this because I didn't fight back; it made fights end quicker. The only things not from this bout of homophobia are the scars on my chest. They've been there since two days before my first Dalton transfer. I have come to accept them as a part of me now. However, if they make anyone uncomfortable, I will put a shirt back on."
Kurt ended his spheel and looked at the boys, his second family, timidly. He wasn't completely sure how they would react. There was an awkward silence that spanned a few minutes, until a voice rang over the silence. "They mock you, Sir!" Everyone rolled their eyes, and the air was suddenly filled with voices.
"We're fine with how you look!"
"If they ever come here, they will wish they'd never been born!"
"Keep the shirt off, I'm sure Blaine likes it off better!"
"You're our Kurty whether you like it or not!"
Everyone was talking over each other, trying to talk over each other, so no one paid much attention to the location of the twins. Suddenly, Kurt was pushed into the pool. He came up quickly, and looked for the culprits that had pushed him in. It turned out, he didn't really need to search at all.
"Consider this a welcome back," the twins shouted, both cannon balling in at the same time. Within minutes, all of the boys were in the water having fun.
Kurt felt arms around him, and a pair of lips nuzzled themselves right up to his ear. "I'm so proud of you." Blaine turned Kurt around and kissed him, ignoring the catcalls of the other Warblers. "And by the way," he whispered, his breath hot against Kurt's skin, "you are SO going to show me that cheerleading routine sometime soon."
If anyone reading is an artist, and wanted to create a picture of this scene, feel free; I'd love to, but can't draw to save my life. I might add some more Blaine Wevid close friendship. I need ideas, so review please.