In the noisy train on the way back to Bushwick, Kurt's heart was pounding. How was he going to explain everything to his dad? And was his dad's health even stable enough that Kurt should try?

Would Kurt upset him? Would it be too much for Burt?

He stressed, and he worried, and then Kurt got an idea. Once he was safely inside his apartment (and blessedly alone since Rachel wasn't home yet) he picked up his phone and sent a text to his stepmother.

Can I talk to you privately?

Of course, Carole answered. Can I call you now?

Yes.

"Are you okay?" Carole asked when Kurt answered the phone.

"Yeah," he said, his pain heavy in his chest. "I don't want my dad to hear you. Where is he?"

"He's out playing poker. He won't hear anything. And Finn and Sam are gone too. "

"Good. Well…I… I'm having a hard time with something. And I really need to talk to my dad. But I feel like if I upset him, he'll…his heart….I don't want to risk upsetting him if he's not strong enough, you know? I mean between his heart, and the cancer, I just feel like I shouldn't bother him. But I really need to talk to him. I mean, you're a nurse. What do you think?"

"Well, he is going through treatment for the cancer, but his heart is stable now, and he gets checked out at the hospital a couple times a week. And if something is that important, he would want to know. Maybe if you tell me a little bit more I can help you."

"It's Blaine. I..." Deep breath. "I know you guys love Blaine, but…. I've been keeping some things from my dad about him. Things Blaine does that really hurt me. Things that are just…not okay."

"Kurt, are you safe? Do you feel like he's a danger to you?" Kurt could hear the shift in Carole's voice, as she switched into professional mode. Kurt wondered how often she had to ask that question in the emergency room, and he shuddered.

"Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm safe. He…we… God this is so embarrassing. You really don't mind if I talk to you? You're not going to be very proud of me."

"Kurt. I love you. And you can tell me anything you want. It's pretty hard to shock me, honey."

Tears were slipping down his cheeks now.

"Well, dad doesn't even know that the reason we broke up is because Blaine cheated on me. And then we kind of hooked up again at Mr. Schue's wedding.

And…and..IwasdrunkandIdon'trememberwhathappened."

"I'm sorry?"

"I was drunk.' Kurt said, speaking more slowly. "I woke up in bed with him and I don't even remember what happened. And when I got home I had some bruises on my arms. And there was another time he kind of hurt me, by accident. I don't think he could ever do it on purpose.

And there's other stuff. I really wish I could talk to my dad. I miss him," he said, his voice breaking.

"Oh honey. Of course you do. It's okay," Carole said soothingly. "I am so sorry you've been carrying all of this by yourself.

Did your dad tell you we have to be in NY later this week?"

"Really!?" said Kurt, weight in his chest feeling just a little bit lighter.

"Really honey. There's a big arts fundraiser in the city and Burt is speaking at it. We should be able to see you Saturday morning for a few hours. Would it be better to talk about this in person?"

"Oh my God, Carole, you have no idea. Now I'm crying because I'm relieved," he sobbed.

He thought he heard a little sniff from Carole but he wasn't sure.

"So how do you want me to handle this with your father?" Carole asked.

"Hmm. I guess just tell him I want to talk about some problems I'm having with Blaine? And just leave it at that for now?

Oh shit, Rachel's home. I have to go. Thank you so much," said Kurt.

"No problem honey. And if you ever need me, you know you can call me, right? Day or night, three in the morning, I don't care. I'm here."

"Thank you," Kurt said gratefully, before saying goodbye and hanging up.

He felt a little lighter.

Fortunately he could hear Rachel talking on the phone as she walked in, which gave him a little time to pull himself together before he spoke to her. As much as he loved her, he really didn't want her in his face until he had calmed down a little.

I need a hug, Kurt texted to Adam.

You've got one! Are you okay?

Yeah. Dad coming to visit this weekend. That will help.

more hugs! coffee tomorrow afternoon?

YES. 3 ish?

Sounds good.

Goodnight, Adam.

Sweet dreams, Kurt.

That night he dreamed about a sweet little bird and bottle of glue and a boy in a blazer. And when he woke up, he wondered when it was going to stop hurting.

But the morning was sunny, and heading off to class, he started to feel a little more hopeful.

In his Shakespeare class, Kurt paired off with Tommy to rehearse their bit from A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was a really fun scene. Tommy was Oberon, King of the Fairies. Kurt was Puck, his young servant who helped his master stir up trouble with magic spells, turning the young man Bottom into a donkey-headed creature, and then using magic again to cause the queen to fall madly in love with the poor ass.

At least that's what Kurt thought the scene was about. The words were complicated, but Kurt loved getting lost in the beautiful language and the humor of the scene.

And thankfully Tommy wasn't hitting on him today or groping him.

Kurt's next class was Costume Design. As soon as everyone was in their seats, Professor Norris addressed the room.

"Good morning everyone. NYADA is holding auditions for A Midsummer Night's Dream next week. We are looking for more help with the costumes. If any of you are new to NYADA and have any costume design experience, could you please raise your hand?"

Kurt's hand shot up

"Kurt Hummel?" the professor asked, consulting her class list.

"Yes, I'm Kurt. I designed the costumes for my show choir back home and for our musicals too. And I recently completed an internship at the Vogue web site with Isabelle Wright. I would love to help."

"Very nice, Kurt! The signup sheet is on the bulletin board out in the hallway."

After class, Kurt was signing up on the bulletin board when two other students approached him.

"Kurt?" asked one, a girl with long sandy curly hair. She was dressed in a loose, comfortable sweater, a flowing multicolored hippie skirt and soft leather boots.

"Yes?" Kurt answered, surprised.

"I'm Erin," she said, holding out her hand. "And this is Winston," she said, gesturing to a striking-looking Asian boy with cheekbones to die for, jet black hair in gentle spikes, and the lean, elegant body of a dancer. He was dressed in black skinny jeans and a black hoodie with a white zipper.

Winston and Kurt checked each other out for a moment and then Kurt shook himself and returned his eyes to Erin's.

"Why do you look familiar?" he asked her.

Erin's smile was mischievous. "I'm in that picture of Adam that Tommy put on your Facebook page. You know, the one where he's all shirtless and gorgeous?"

"Oh my God, yes! That was so embarrassing! Nice to meet you. You too, Winston," said Kurt, shaking both their hands.

"I'm signing up for costumes too," Erin continued. "And I'm also auditioning. Professor Norris lets us work on the costumes for our class project if we want to, so it leaves plenty of time for both."

"Me too," said Winston. "Erin and I were both in The Taming of the Shrew last year and we're both auditioning again. You should too!"

"I don't know," Kurt said, remembering his disastrous audition for West Side Story, and the laughter of his teachers when he tried to do Shakespeare with Rachel.

There was an awkward pause before Winston said, "I'm starving. Who wants lunch?"

Soon Kurt was chatting away at a lunch table with Erin and Winston about Shakespeare and dancing and NYADA. They almost seemed like old friends.

Winston was carrying a pile of flyers for an 18 plus dance night coming up, held by the NYADA Gay Straight Alliance at a nearby night club. "Are you going?" Winston asked Erin, as he was also shooting a quick questioning glance at Kurt.

"Kurt, I don't mean to be nosy, but I'm just going to be direct," said Winston. "Tommy implied on Facebook that you and Adam were together, and I don't want to presume anything, but these nights are so much fun. Do you want to come with us? I mean, you don't actually have to be queer to go, but I…."

"That's okay," Kurt answered with a small laugh. He felt like he could talk to Winston and Erin. "Yes, I'm gay. And Adam is great. I've been on one date with him but that's it. I recently came out of a horrible nasty breakup and I'm not ready for anything serious. "

"We meet here on Saturday night at seven and there's a van that takes us over to the club," Winston continued.

"Here, give me one of those," said Kurt, grabbing at the flyers. Winston laughed.

"I'll be there too," said Erin, smiling.

"I'll think about it. And thanks," Kurt said before they all headed off to their next classes.

When it was almost three, Adam was waiting for Kurt in the campus coffee shop when he got a text from Erin.

Met the famous Kurt today. Nice guy. Such sad eyes though!

And just then Kurt walked in.

Adam stood up to offer Kurt a hug.

And Kurt squeezed Adam back.

Hard.

"Everything okay?" asked Adam.

"Yeah, I'm okay" Kurt said, ending the hug and sitting down with his coffee. "I talked to my stepmother about Blaine a little. I'm psyching myself up to tell my dad everything on Saturday."

"Really? Wow. Is that scary? I can't imagine talking to my dad about that kind of thing."

"My dad is amazing. My stepmom is pretty great too, I have to admit. I've been wanting to talk to my dad about this for a long time."

"So," Kurt asked, "what's new with you?"

"Well actually, I need to talk to you about something. I hope this isn't too awkward."

Shit, what now, thought Kurt.

"So. Before I met you I made a date to go to a wedding. With my old boyfriend, Stavros."

"A wedding. You're kidding," said Kurt a little sharply.

"Ironic. I know," continued Adam. "Once upon a time we were serious, and now we get together occasionally when we're both single. And he asked me to go to his sister's wedding in Philadelphia. And I said yes. It's on Saturday.

Now if you and I were in a relationship, nothing would happen, but to be perfectly honest…" Adam paused.

"Something is going to happen," Kurt said gently.

"Probably. "

And the pain in Kurt's chest got a little worse.

"Are you okay, Kurt? You look really sad today. I mean you did when you came in."

"Yeah, I'm okay." Kurt attempted a small smile.

Adam smiled gently back, searching Kurt's face with concern.

"I've been really hurting today about all this crap with Blaine.

Stavros is a cool name," Kurt said, trying to think of something positive to say.

"He's Greek."

"Can I ask you something?" Kurt said. "Hypothetical question. Just out of curiosity, what would have happened if we were together now?"

Adam looked surprised. He sipped his tea and continued. "I still would have gone I guess, but I wouldn't be staying with him. I'd get a hotel or something. I was close to his family once, and his sister sent me an invitation of my own.

Maybe I would have asked if I could bring you. But even if we were together, this was planned before I met you.

I'm not in love with him anymore. It was great once. It ended."

Adam shrugged.

"It wasn't really that dramatic at the end. We just kind of….faded out. But he's still my friend. And his sister and I were close once, so I'm glad she invited me, you know?"

"How long ago did you break up?" asked Kurt.

"Almost two years ago. The end of my sophomore year."

Kurt nodded and took a sip of his coffee. He didn't really have much else to say, so he just sat for a moment. "So tell me about your day," Kurt said quietly.

Adam took a sip from his cup. "Well my Adolescent Psych class was really interesting today. We were talking about….Kurt, what's wrong?"

All of a sudden Kurt was dizzy. His conversation with Carole the night before, along with dreaming about Blaine, had both upset him and he hadn't slept much. He had powered through his classes, but suddenly it all caught up to him. He felt sick and the room was spinning. Apparently it showed, because Adam was moving to the chair next to him and putting his arm around him.

"Dizzy. Didn't sleep much last night."

"Look, I swear I'm not trying to hit on you Kurt, but we're right near my building. Do you want to take a nap for an hour or two? I can do my homework while you sleep. I'll behave, I promise."

Adam put his hands up in a position of surrender.

Kurt thought for a minute. "That actually sounds really good. And I have to meet Tommy in your building to practice in a couple hours anyway. As long as you know I just want to sleep," Kurt said, looking firmly at Adam with a challenge in his beautiful eyes.

"I know," said Adam. "Let's go."

Kurt was stumbling by the time they got to Adam's room. Fortunately there was no one in the hallway to make fun of him or think he was drunk or something. They dropped their bags inside Adam's tiny single room and Adam quickly straightened out the blankets and pillows on his bed.

Slipping off his boots, Kurt hesitated a moment before taking off his striped pullover too. It was the shirt he was wearing when he had asked Adam out on the stairway, and the horizontal zipper at the throat would scratch his neck if he slept in it.

He lay down on top of the covers, shivering a little in his undershirt and jeans until Adam tossed him another blanket. Kurt snuggled up under it, turned toward the wall on his side, and planted his face in Adam's pillow, letting out a sigh.

His eyes closed, Kurt heard Adam moving around the room, pulling out his desk chair, moving books around.

"Adam?" Kurt asked quietly.

"Yes love?"

"Could you hold me?" Kurt asked in a very small voice.

"Yeah," Adam answered softly. "Of course. Just let me set my alarm first so we don't sleep too long."

Adam climbed in behind Kurt, wrapped him in his arms, and in seconds Kurt was snoring, his mouth open, his hair mussed. He was beautiful.

Tucking his face into Kurt's warm neck, Adam soon followed him.