Hello readers. I want to tell you about a wonderful person who read my story and sent me a message. She said she had recently come out of an abusive relationship and she felt she had learned a lot from my fictional flyer that Kurt found in the men's room, that I wrote about earlier in this story. I am so glad I was able to help in some small way even though I am not a counselor or a doctor or anything like that. I have permission to share this with you and it means a lot to me. Thank you so much to all of you for reading. On with the story...

Open me up and you will see
I'm a gallery of broken hearts
I'm beyond repair
Let me be
And give me back my broken parts

Be Ok by Ingrid Michaelson

When Kurt and Rachel got home they made a quick and simple dinner and sat down to eat. Kurt's mind kept drifting off while Rachel was chattering away about her day. He was absolutely exhausted from his confrontation with Tommy and still felt shaky. His heart was aching for Blaine. He felt jealous about Adam seeing his old boyfriend in Philadelphia this weekend. And he was worried about his dad's cancer.

Kurt was a mess.

"Kurt, aren't you listening to me?" Rachel cut through his mental fog.

Kurt shook himself. This was not how he wanted to spend his evening. He couldn't afford another sleepless night or his grades were going to suffer. He needed to refocus, and fast.

"Sorry. I have a lot on my mind. I need to prepare for a scene in class tomorrow."

Kurt got up and headed over to his laptop. He knew his lines cold; that was no problem. He just wanted a little more inspiration for the part he would be playing in class the next day. Kurt decided to search on line for a version of A Midsummer Night's Dream to watch.

Finally he settled on the 1935 Hollywood film starring Mickey Rooney as Puck. The actress who played Melanie in Gone with the Wind and the actor who played the lion in The Wizard of Oz had parts as well, along with James Cagney, who usually played gangsters in old films. Everyone seemed to be giving it rave reviews, and Kurt loved old classic movies, so he set the movie up to play on his laptop.

Mickey Rooney was amazing. He had so much presence for his age, such raw talent. Rooney threw himself into the part with his whole body. Despite being a teenager, he looked about ten years old, something Kurt was all too familiar with.

Kurt was swept up in the drama and the magic and the glory of Old Hollywood. The overly grand classical music was swelling. The movie was gorgeous visually, but Kurt could also laugh at how over the top it was sometimes...really campy.

And the best part was, Puck was surrounded by idiots and seemed to be having an absolute blast making fun of them. He could get into this.

When Kurt saw a group of children playing fairies, flitting through the dark spooky forest with their long white-blond hair, he suddenly realized he had seen this movie before. He remembered a day when he was a kid and he had stayed home sick from school, and had watched it. It was one of those strange magical days when time seemed to stretch on forever, as he had gotten lost in the sparkly, trippy old movie. He remembered his mom bringing him homemade soup and adjusting his blankets, her cool lips soothing on his hot forehead as his temperature went up and down.

He remembered feeling so safe and pampered and loved and realized it wasn't that different (momentary erotic dream aside) from how he had felt earlier in the day napping in Adam's arms. It was that same kind of dreamy, foggy comfortable feeling. And in the short time he had known Adam, Adam always seemed to make Kurt feel so cherished.

No. Kurt was not going to go there. Adam was probably sleeping with another guy tomorrow, and Kurt was still all mixed up about Blaine. Kurt wished he had never gone to that stupid wedding in Ohio. Why couldn't he have just stayed in New York and been happy with Adam?

What was wrong with him?

He was not going to think about it anymore. And if he needed a little comfort, that's what his boyfriend pillow was for.

The queen of the fairies, "proud" Titania, and her king, "jealous" Oberon were not speaking to each other. They were yelling accusations about lovers and affairs at each other, and they were fighting over a little orphaned human boy they each wanted to possess.

Kurt's heart ached when he remembered his Mom explaining that the fairy queen had promised the little boy's human mommy, who worshiped fairies, that she would take care of him, when his mother lay dying after giving birth to him.

His mother was a votaress of my order,
And in the spiced Indian air by night
Full often hath she gossiped by my side...

But she, being mortal, of that boy did die.
And for her sake do I rear up her boy,
And for her sake I will not part with him.

The king was furious that Titania wouldn't give him back the boy to be his "henchman." Oberon was calling Titania a "wanton," which basically seemed to mean a whore, and the queen just laughed and told her little fairy minions that she had "forsworn his bed and company." In other words, she had vowed to stay away from him.

Maybe he should tell Blaine that. Forget about telling Blaine not to call him. Hey Blaine, I've forsworn your bed and company. Cause you're a wanton. Kurt chuckled. He couldn't help but grin.

What thou seest when thou wake
Do it for thy true love take

The fairy king was instructing the boy Puck to cast magic so that the next creature the queen saw, she would fall in love with. And that was going to be a simple man they found wandering in the forest, whose head they had magically changed into that of a donkey.

That would serve Blaine right if I put a spell on him to make him fall in love with a donkey, Kurt thought. Oh wait, Sebastian is already an ass.

While the queen was singing a lullaby to the donkey and stroking his furry face, Kurt's phone rang with a call from Adam.

"Methought I was enamored of an ass," said Kurt.

"What?!" said Adam

Hey, it happens to the best of us, thought Kurt.

"Just quoting Shakespeare at you. I'm watching the old 1935 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream to prepare for my scene tomorrow.

"Isn't that a great old movie? Mickey Rooney is positively feral," said Adam with approval.

"Isn't he?" answered Kurt. "And Oberon wearing that huge crown of twinkling lights is just too fabulous to even deal with."

Adam laughed, the low, deep kind of laugh that did things to Kurt. "You sound like you're in a good mood. I just wanted to see if you were okay. "

Kurt let out a big breath.

"Thanks. Um, Adam...I need to know. How much my conversation with Tommy did you overhear?"

Adam let out an awkward laugh.

"Enough to be thoroughly embarrassed by the nice things you were saying about me," he answered.

Anyone who does get to sleep with Adam is incredibly lucky because he's so sweet and hot and just….amazing.

Kurt remembered.

"And enough to hear Tommy saying I was rubbish."

"He's an ass," said Kurt. "One I am definitely not enamored with."

Adam laughed at the Shakespeare reference.

"Are you in trouble with your boss?"

"No, no. It's not like that. Um, Kurt. I want to tell you something. I told Angela that Tommy had grabbed you. I said he had touched you inappropriately. "

Kurt went numb.

"I don't know what to say, Adam."

"I am so sorry I didn't ask you first, but the reason I did it was because...well. Can you please keep something between you and me?"

"Of course I can."

"You're not the first person who's ended up in Angela's office because of Tommy's wandering hands.

And no, it wasn't me."

"Oh, wow.

Well I guess if I can help someone else, I kind of understand. But I still I wish you had asked me first before you told her. Just don't make a habit of telling other people my secrets."

"No, of course not! And I asked Angela not to let it leave the room. And she said she was sorry to hear it had happened to you. I'm really sorry."

"Well, thank you for being honest with me about it.

Oh hold on. My dad's calling. Adam, I have to go. I guess I'll see you at Tuesday's Apples rehearsal?" said Kurt, remembering Adam's weekend plans in Philly with Stavros.

Adam hesitated. "See you then," he finally answered. "Have a good weekend."

"You too."

Kurt ended the call and called his dad back.

"Dad?"

"Kurt! Great to hear your voice!"

"Thanks Dad, you too," said Kurt, letting the comforting sound of his dad's voice wash over him.

"How's the big city treating you?"

"Fine, fine. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good right now kid. But anyway, Carole tells me you need to talk to me. Our hotel is right near your campus. Why don't you meet us in the hotel for breakfast Saturday morning and then we can have a visit and talk about whatever is bothering you."

"Sound great Dad."

Kurt and his dad finished planning the details of their visit, and told each other they loved each other, and then hung up.

Kurt got off the phone and returned to his laptop. He was exhausted, emotionally and physically, and he wanted to move on.

As he hit play, Kurt thought about the upcoming auditions for A Midsummer Night's Dream at NYADA. He remembered when he tried out for West Side Story with a scene from Shakespeare with Rachel. He remembered Coach Beiste and Artie and even Rachel laughing at him.

He really had no interest in playing one of the male romantic leads in the show after that experience.

But...

Could he be Puck?

Couldn't he?

A boyish sprite, with a crazy vocal range, swinging the pitch of his voice high and low, growling and shrieking and leaping around?

And wouldn't it be fun?

He was more likely to be cast as Puck than either of the male romantic leads, and they were so dull he couldn't even tell them apart anyway. They were also ridiculously romantic. Silly. Over the top. The play must have been the Twilight of its day.

Playing Puck though, giggling over the fools and mocking them and laughing like a hyena, would be much more fun. Sneaking around in the woods, peering from behind trees...making it all his own, not ripping off Mickey Rooney's amazing performance, but drawing on it for inspiration...

This could work.

And, Kurt thought, If I have a baby face, if I look like a little kid, I might as well milk it, right?

The credits rolled, and he shut off his laptop and got ready for bed.

After brushing and flossing and washing up and moisturizing, Kurt slipped off his jeans and stepped into a pair of pajama pants.

And if he kept Adam's big, comfy plaid shirt on when he got into bed and curled up with Bruce the Boyfriend Pillow...that was his business.

Friday morning arrived at last. Kurt had never been so happy to see the end of a week.

He was nervous about acting with Tommy after their fight, but Kurt was determined to do his best and keep their conflict out of the performance. When he got to his Shakespeare class, he and Tommy and he were up first, so there was no time to feel awkward with him. They started their scene and everything clicked. It just seemed to flow.

The acting didn't feel like something Kurt was doing. It felt like something he was allowing to happen as it moved through him. What a gift. It felt amazing. He felt high from it.

Just as Mickey Rooney had in the movie, Kurt brought all of himself into the part, his body, his voice, and his facial expressions. He poured everything he had into it.

Tommy seemed delighted and matched his energy and passion for the scene. They really worked well together. Kurt knew he was never, ever going to end up in Tommy's bed, but as performers, they had great chemistry together.

When the scene ended, the class applauded. Tommy was beaming, and Kurt was pretty damn happy himself.

"Thank you, both of you. Kurt, you were exceptional," said their professor. "You really should consider trying out for the part of Puck when NYADA does their auditions for this show.

"Thank you sir," answered Kurt with a huge smile.

After class, Kurt texted Adam.

Prof called my acting exceptional.

I have no doubt, Adam returned.

Kurt could see Adam's proud smile in his head.

Shakespeare class was followed by Costume Design and another lunch with Erin and Winston. Kurt wanted to ask them something. He felt a little shy about it, but he spoke up anyway.

"Guys, I need to ask you something. Tomorrow morning I'm meeting my dad for breakfast at a hotel near campus. And I live all the way out in Bushwick. Do you think I could change my clothes for the dance club in your dorm?"

Erin smiled warmly at him and Winston gave him a look like he thought he was delicious.

"That's a great idea Kurt," Erin said. "Winston and I both live on the second floor and that would be fine."

"I have a full length mirror!" said Winston.

"So do I," said Erin, laughing at Winston.

"I'll be home around four," said Winston. "We could all eat dinner early downstairs, and then hang out and get ready together."

"I'll be here any time after noon," said Erin.

"Thank you so much!" said Kurt. "If I'm done with breakfast early I have some work I can do on one of the library computers.

Are you sure you don't mind? I just don't want to wear what I would wear to a club, for breakfast with my dad, you know?"

Winston laughed and grinned at him. "Yeah, I do. No it's great. It will be fun. You can meet some more of the people on our floor."

"It's a date!" Said Erin.

"Could I get your numbers?" Kurt asked, taking out his phone and exchanging phones with Erin and then Winston.

"What are you doing tonight?" asked Winston.

"I'm going to have a quiet night at home tonight," said Kurt. "This week has been an absolute nightmare and it's taken everything I have out of me. And tomorrow will be a long day between an early breakfast with my family, and then the club that night."

Winston looked a little disappointed but he smiled. "I understand. See you tomorrow Kurt!"

"Bye Kurt!" Said Erin as Kurt headed for his last class of the day.

"He. Is. Gorgeous!" said Winston.

"Not you too!" said Erin.

"Hey, you know I would never move in on someone Adam likes," said Winston. "But I can still look can't I?" he said with a grin.

"Yes, Winston. Yes you can," returned Erin with a smile.

Back home in Bushwick that night, with Rachel out on a date and the apartment blissfully quiet, Kurt indulged in his favorite takeout he had picked up on the way home, and then a bubble bath. He settled down in yoga pants and a soft knit shirt in front of the TV to catch up on Downton Abbey.

When Rachel got home, she found him there asleep. She gently woke him up and guided him to bed.

She smiled at the plaid shirt she saw laying on his spare pillow. She knew it wasn't his, and she wondered whose it was and if there was an interesting story there.

"Do you need to set your alarm for the morning to meet Burt and Carole?" she asked.

"I already did. Thanks Rachel."

"Goodnight honey." Rachel dropped a kiss to Kurt's forehead and turned off his lamp.