When Kurt finally leaves the bathroom stall, after all his tears are dry and he has a plan to make amends to Blaine, it's time to move to his first real class, Algebra 1. Math isn't his favorite subject, but he does well in all of his classes so he's not worried. What Kurt is worried about is if Blaine will be in any of his classes today. A part of Kurt wants Blaine to be in his classes, but another part of him is scared. He has a plan to apologize, but doesn't know how to approach Blaine or how he will react to his apology. He has never felt so horrible for yelling at someone. The feelings Kurt is having are usually saved for his dad. When Kurt yells at Burt it's usually due to frustration, but he always feels horrible immediately after because he cares about him. However, Kurt knows nothing about Blaine and has no idea why he feels so strongly. Maybe it was the way emotions showed so clearly on Blaine's face, especially in those beautiful, dreamy hazel eyes. All Kurt could see was hurt and pain. He knows Blaine is new, maybe Blaine needed a friend just as much as he did, and Kurt just ruined the new kid's first day…great.

Kurt enters the math classroom and begins looking for the curly head of hair and hazel eyed boy, but no one in the room fits Blaine's features. He next finds the face of his interpreter and sits in the seat positioned in front of her.

"I'm sorry for my outburst earlier, and leaving you in the class room." Kurt signs to her.

"No worries," she signs "My brother is deaf; he also got annoyed at people for not understanding him. I understand. And by the way, I talked to your dad after he hired me, but I never got a chance to introduce myself to you Kurt. I'm sorry I was late to your homeroom so I couldn't tell you my name. I'm A-N-D-R-E-A." Andrea then shows Kurt her sign name which is the sign for smile with an A. Kurt then showed her his sign name which is the sign for eye with the sign for K because of Kurt's beautiful blue eyes. His mother always talked about his eyes and how when she was unhappy all she needed to do was look at Kurt's eyes to smile once again. Kurt thought it was the perfect sign name for him.

Algebra class began when a large woman who, in Kurt's opinion, had the most horrid dress on in the entire world, and what looked like a permanent scowl. Her face was a little scary, but her voice was warm and welcoming. She introduced herself as Ms. Peabody. She handed each student a syllabus and passed out their textbooks. Ms. Peabody then stood at the front of the class and informed them that they weren't going to start their first lesson today. Since they were freshmen, she wanted to get to know them better. When Kurt saw that signed to him he became nervous. When teachers wanted to know them better that usually meant students spoke in front of the class, said their name, and usually some interesting fact about themselves. Kurt hated having the class's attention on him. He preferred invisibility. This day keeps getting worse, if that was even possible. They were given a take home pre-test so she could determine what they remembered from middle school, then pointed to a kid in the back of the class to begin the introductions. Kurt watched his interpreter as his classmates introduced themselves one by one, and as expected everyone had to say their name and a fact about themselves. Usually he sat there without knowing what any of his class mates were saying, but now with his interpreter, he could understand everything. He quite enjoyed it. This one girl was quite interesting. Kurt knew of her, Rachel Berry, but to him, she seemed quite annoying. Her mouth always moved so fast. He didn't have any interest in her at all until she said a fact about herself, she had two dads. He never heard of anyone having two dads. He thought he was the only gay person in Ohio. "Maybe she would be a good friend…" Kurt thought. Introductions continued through each row until Andrea told him it was his turn. Usually the teacher made him stand in front of the class and write on the board about himself. It was always mortifying. But now with Andrea, he was able to stay in his seat. He had to think real fast about what fact he would use. He didn't want to go with the obvious "I'm deaf" response. Kurt then settled on one of his passions as an adequate reply. Kurt lifted his hands to begin to sign.

"Hi, I'm Kurt Hummel. I like to play piano."

Kurt saw Andrea's mouth finish his sentence for him, and immediately after he was finished she began signing something to him that Rachel Berry was saying. He was shocked, but interested.

"How can you play piano when you can't hear?!"

Kurt became a little irritated, but calmed himself and was patient. His dad would always say most people are ignorant and he should be patient. Kurt just decided to respond kindly but sincerely.

"I can feel the vibrations. Each note feels a certain way. If I play a wrong note I feel it."

"Are you even any good?"

Kurt took a deep calming breath before responding to this blunt girl. "I honestly don't care if I'm good or not. I love to play. I play for myself. I love the way music feels. My teacher says that I'm one of her best students though."

Rachel must have begun to speak again but Ms. Peabodyquickly cut her off mid-sentence. When the bell rang, Kurt couldn't get out of his seat fast enough. He's never had a conversation with one of his classmates, and never has he had so much attention on him in a class. It was frightening to Kurt, and unwelcomed.

Kurt found his next class, US history. The teacher had his back turned to him when he came in, but Kurt could tell he was an older, short man with greasy gray hair. His dress shirt was tucked into his pants in a sloppy manner; it was a wrinkled mess as if it had been sitting in a laundry basket for weeks. After his assessment of the man Kurt looked again for Blaine, but didn't spot him. He took his seat again at the end of the front row. He didn't know what to do about Blaine or if he would see him in school again, but Kurt needed to be prepared just in case. So, Kurt wrote a quick note:

Blaine,

Sorry about the way I acted earlier. That wasn't nice, and I'm truly sorry. Can we start over?

Sorry again,

Kurt

It seemed like a stupid note, but he didn't know what else to do. Hopefully it would be enough.

Andrea joined him a couple minutes later. This teacher, Mr. A, thankfully skipped introductions and began teaching. Kurt watched Andrea, looked at his pre-made notes, and wrote more notes where it was necessary. Soon enough, class was over and it was time to join the herds of unruly students for lunch in the cafeteria. After too many bad experiences at lunch, Kurt usually went to the library alone where it was peaceful. But he didn't know where the library was. McKinley was so different from middle school. He was determined to survive the first day in the cafeteria. Maybe he could find that Rachel girl. She didn't seem too bad even though she was rude. He also rationalized that it would be a good opportunity to see if Blaine was in his lunch period. Andrea signed to Kurt that she would be back after lunch and Kurt was left alone to walk to lunch.

Entering the cafeteria was intimidating. There were so many kids there. Kurt could see all the students talking; some looked like they were yelling at each other. He could imagine how loud this place was. Kurt stood at the entrance assessing his environment. He looked for Blaine first since he was a high priority in his mind. At first, he couldn't spot him. It looked like he was never going to be able to talk to Blaine again. Kurt made a horrible first impression. He needed to make things better. He kept looking, wishing and hoping to spot him through the large amount of bodies occupying the cafeteria. Finally, Kurt found Blaine sitting at a table by himself at the corner of the cafeteria. He quickly made his way towards him hoping no one would bother him and draw attention to him. When he made it to Blaine's table, Blaine didn't notice him at all. Kurt took a moment to take a calming breath to control his nerves while he went unnoticed. The only person he's ever apologized to was his dad, and Burt was obligated to forgive Kurt since he was family. Blaine didn't have to be nice to him or be his friend. He didn't like the prospect of being rejected.

Kurt waved his hand to grab Blaine's attention. Blaine looked surprised, shocked, and wary that Kurt approached him. He quickly placed the folded paper that had his note on the table in front of Blaine. He carefully picked it up and read it. He then turned away from Kurt. Kurt felt a sudden pang of hurt in his stomach and was about to turn away when Blaine turned back towards Kurt with a pen in his hand. He wrote back to Kurt and handed him the note which read:

Would you like to sit with me?

There was no "I forgive you" or "Let's start over" or "No, I'm sorry I was a jerk first." Kurt ignored his inner thoughts as he was sure they were going to get him into trouble again. He needed to be patient with Blaine. He really wants a friend. Maybe high school could be different even if there were still bullies. Kurt nodded his head at Blaine and took the seat across from him. Kurt went into is book back to pull out his lunch and a notebook and pen. Kurt wrote to Blaine:

Do you mind if we write to each other? I know it's annoying and if you don't want to write that's fine. I can read your lips.

After Blaine read the note he wrote back. I don't mind. I guess I should apologize too. I've never met someone who is deaf. I don't know how to act.

Kurt looked a little confused but responded back quickly. You don't have to act like anyone or anything except for yourself. I want to be treated like you treat everyone else. I want to be talked to. I don't want you to talk to someone as if I'm a child who doesn't understand. I have my own mind. I don't need anyone acting differently for me.

OK Kurt. I understand. Let's go back to the beginning then. My name is Blaine.

Hi Blaine. My name is Kurt.

Do you mind if I ask you how do you sign our introductions?

Kurt smiled a little. No one had ever asked that. This is the farthest he's ever gone in a conversation. He began signing very slowly.

My name is B-L-A-I-N-E. Kurt waited for Blaine to imitate the signs. He fumbled a little, but to Kurt it was very cute and endearing. Kurt made a few corrections for Blaine so he could spell his name correctly.

Blaine wrote: Now how do you sign your name Kurt?

K-U-R-T, but my family uses my sign name. Kurt quickly showed Blaine his sign name and waited for Blaine to sign back to him. Kurt couldn't help but feel happy. No one had ever been so patient with him except for his dad. Blaine was so charming. When he finished the sign Blaine smiled so big his eyes crinkled a little. Kurt had never seen anyone so beautiful before. He decided to continue this conversation.

Tell me something about yourself.

What would you like to know?

Anything. Your family? Favorite color? Hobbies? Interests? Anything you want to tell me.

Blaine smiled again after he read the note and began his response. Hmmm… Anything huh? Let's see… Well, I have an older brother. He's 10 years older than me and lives in California. I don't see him much. I love my parents, but they're always away on business. Favorite color: Green. Hobbies/Interests: I enjoy singing and playing piano. They have a glee club here and I want to join. I'm auditioning later today. I also enjoy boxing. What about you? Tell me about yourself.

Kurt thought about it for a moment not knowing what he wanted to exactly disclose to Blaine. He finally decided to just give the basics until he knew Blaine better even though Blaine did give personal information, Kurt wasn't ready yet.

That's cool that you box. That may come in handy in this school. I live with my dad. We're close. My favorite color is blue. We have something in common. I like to play the piano.

Blaine seemed interested in what Kurt was telling him, writing quickly and enthusiastically back.

I like blue too. Your eyes are a very beautiful blue. I bet anything blue you wear, makes them even more gorgeous. I would love to hear you play piano sometime. If you are will to play for me that is…

Kurt blushed and blinked a few times after he read what Blaine wrote. Did Blaine just tell him that his eyes were beautiful and then used the word gorgeous? Was Blaine even gay? Oh he really hopes he's gay. Blaine is gorgeous. Not just his eyes, but everything on or about him. Kurt bit his lip not knowing if he should cross this bridge with Blaine, but he couldn't help his curiosity. He needed to know if Blaine was gay. Kurt has always been the only gay kid, and because of that he kept his sexual attraction to himself. He knew what the mindset of the idiots in this town was. Kurt took the chance and asked the question to curb his curious mind.

Sorry, if this is crossing boundaries, but are you gay? You don't have to answer if you don't want to.

Blaine looked at Kurt and looked like he was thinking about if he should answer the question. Kurt became a little nervous while Blaine wrote back.

It's OK. I don't mind. To answer your question, yes, I am gay. I've always been. That's not a problem right?

Kurt looked shocked. Does Blaine really think he's straight? He knows he's not out, but it doesn't stop people from just assuming.

No, no! Not a problem at all. I'm gay too actually. I've never told anyone that before. People just look at me and call me a fag anyways.

People are douchebags. You mean, you haven't even told your dad that you're gay? I thought you guys were close.

We are close, but I don't know how he would react. He's a very manly guy. Loves sports, is a mechanic, and so on. He probably already knows. I mean, come on and look at me.

Then you should tell him if you think he already knows. I think he would appreciate you confiding in him.

Have you told your parents?

Yes, I told them this summer. My parents weren't excited at first, but my mom said that her and my dad still loved me and would be there for me. My dad never talked to me about it, but he still treats me like he always has so I guess I can't complain.

Kurt just nodded his head. Maybe one day he can tell his dad, just not yet.

Kurt is startled out of his thoughts when he sees Blaine and everyone else starting to move and file out into the hallways. Before Blaine leaves, Kurt grabs his attention again and writes a note.

I enjoyed talking to you or I mean writing to you. What class do you have next?

Blaine responds, Biology

Me too. Do you want to walk there together?

Blaine nods at Kurt and he packs up his notebook and forgotten lunch and walks out with Blaine. They walk together silently since it's pretty much impossible to write and walk at the same time. It's not uncomfortable though. Kurt glances at Blaine every so often. Blaine catches Kurt looking at him and laughs when he sees Kurt blush. They sit next to each other once they make it to the biology classroom. There's about 5 minutes before class is supposed to start so Kurt proceeds to pull out his notebook again, gather courage and write to Blaine.

Thank you for forgiving my actions earlier today. You're really nice. I have ALS as my last class so you're probably not in it. I would like to get to know you better if you would like. You can text me sometime if you want… 614-555-8990. Oh and make sure you don't call because, ya know, I won't be able to hear you ;)

Kurt places the note on Blaine's desk just as the bell rings and the teacher begins to talk. Kurt has to pay attention to Andrea as she signs to him, but he spares a quick glance to Blaine and notices a slight smile on his face. Kurt is paying attention to his teacher and Andrea as well as the pre-made notes trying not to miss a thing. He barely notices Blaine tossing a note onto his desk. He opens it as discreetly as possible to read the note.

Yea, I am taking French next. I would love to text you. My number is 614-555-7835 ;)

Kurt can't help but blush at Blaine's response. Blaine actually wants to get to know him. He may actually make a friend this year, or maybe Blaine can be more… Kurt certainly wouldn't mind. He can't help thinking about how good Blaine and he would look next to each other. Or how perfectly their hands may fit together. Or how Blaine's lips would feel on his lips or his neck or anywhere on his body. Kurt has to shake the thoughts out of his head. His face feels flushed and his pants are feeling a little uncomfortable. He can't have these thoughts in school especially not right next to Blaine. Kurt notices the bell to be ringing as the lights on the wall flash. Everyone gathers up their belongings and head out the door. Blaine waves good bye to Kurt as they go to their respective classes.

Kurt and Blaine don't see each other for the rest of the day, but Kurt's mood is lifted. When Kurt comes home, Burt notices Kurt is unusually happy when he unpacks his school lunch in the kitchen, but he doesn't get a chance to say anything. Kurt hurried to his room.

In his room, Kurt begins unpacking his school books and lays out his homework from the first day. Kurt sighs, why do teachers have to give homework on the first day of school? How annoying. As Kurt begins his Algebra pre-test he feels his phone vibrate with a text message. When he looks at it, he's happy to see it's from Blaine.

Hey Kurt. Is it just me or are you also surprised at the amount of homework we have on the first day?

Kurt chuckles. Yea. I feel swamped already. It's going to be a tough year.

Kurt and Blaine continue to text back and forth until Burt tells Kurt dinner is ready. Kurt tells Blaine he'll talk to him tomorrow, and heads downstairs feeling extremely happy. The first day started bumpy and downright horribly, but talking to Blaine made Kurt so happy and at ease. He finally didn't feel different when he was with him. Kurt did something he never thought he would do on the first day of school. He made a new friend.

Kurt entered the kitchen and sat at the table with his dad. His dad ordered pizza tonight, not feeling in the mood to make anything.

How was your first day of school Kurt? Burt signs

Kurt can't help the smile that forms on his face. It was good actually. He surprisingly had a good day after the bullying incident with Karofsky and the outburst with Blaine. Burt noticed his son's reaction and decided to get to the bottom of Kurt's mood.

I can tell. Make a new friend?

Sort of… maybe… yes? Kurt didn't really know how to answer the question. Yes, Blaine and he had great conversations. Kurt, honestly, really liked Blaine, but could he consider Blaine a friend yet? He didn't know.

Oh? How do you not know? Burt replies.

We only wrote to each other a little. It's hard to have a long, in-depth conversation writing down responses. Also, we only have lunch and a class together. Kurt decided to leave out the incident in homeroom. Everything was fine now. His dad didn't need to know.

Well, if that's the case, invite him over after school on Friday. He can have dinner with us and the rest of the evening you guys can get to know each other better. Burt smiled at his son. He could see how happy he was. Although Kurt was the toughest kid he knew, Burt knew he needed a friend.

Dad, it's probably too soon to invite him over. We just met.

It's not a date Kurt. Burt stated nonchalantly It's never too early to hang out with a new friend.

Kurt's eyes went wide after what his dad said. Did his dad really know he was gay? How could he mention something like that so calmly like he didn't care? Kurt's heart pumped hard, he didn't know how to respond to his dad. Should he just ignore it? Kurt raised his hands again shakily, nerves taking over his control over his body.

What did you say? Kurt asked

You saw what I told you Kurt, what's the big deal? Burt looked like he didn't understand why Kurt was all the sudden nervous.

Kurt responded, You know that I'm gay?

Burt looked a little taken back. So that's why Kurt was nervous. Of course he suspected Kurt was gay. He was his son. He could always tell he was different than everyone else since he was three years old. Burt and his wife never cared that their son was different. They loved their son. Burt thought carefully before answering his son. Your mother and I always suspected. We never cared that you were different. We knew we would love you no matter what Kurt, and after her death and our world was transformed, my love for you is the only thing that has been constant.

Thank you Dad. Kurt had tears welling up in his eyes. He doesn't know why he ever thought Burt would act differently towards him. His dad is the only person after his mom died who has always supported him, loved him, and provided every opportunity to make his life as normal as possible after the accident. Kurt stood from his chair and hugged his dad. He felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. Yes, he didn't plan on telling his dad that he was gay anytime soon, but it didn't matter. His dad knew and he still loved him. His life didn't have a dramatic change. Everything was still normal.

Kurt returned to his seat at the table to finish his dinner. He and his dad didn't communicate for a few minutes before Kurt decided to sign to his dad. Thank you for allowing Blaine to come over on Friday. I would love to get to know him better.

Burt smirked at his son. If he didn't know any better, Kurt may have a little crush on this Blaine guy. Is Blaine good looking?

Kurt blushed yet again and chuckled at his dad's question. After the conversation Kurt had with his dad, he couldn't help giving an overly honest answer to his question. Good looking doesn't even describe Blaine.

Burt laughed at his response. It had been awhile since he'd seen Kurt so happy and free. If this was because of Blaine, then he would gladly welcome this boy into their home. I look forward to meeting this boy Kurt.

After dinner Kurt excused himself to finish the rest of his homework. When he finished, he did his nighttime regimen and hopped into bed more hopeful and excited about school tomorrow. He struggled falling asleep, too excited about the next day. He couldn't wait to invite Blaine over to his house tomorrow. He was so drawn to Blaine. Kurt wanted a friendship with Blaine. Sure he was very attracted to Blaine, but let's be honest, he's deaf. Anything more than a friendship would be very hard on Blaine. It's hurtful for Kurt to acknowledge, but it's the truth. He's believed no one will ever want him because he's deaf. Everyone has always seen him as the deaf kid, not as Kurt, the kind, shy, and musically talented person. There are no guarantees Blaine won't be the same as all the rest. No, Kurt won't look for more with Blaine. Friendship is all he needs.