Why Jeff came to Dalton

That one night at Scandals had been enough to convince Nick that gay bars in Ohio should really be avoided. It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed himself, or hadn't been flattered by the appraising looks he was getting from the other patrons. It was the fact that he had had to defend Jeff from someone who was old enough to be his father. That had put him off. The fact that he had basically to shout at the guy to leave them alone for the best part of twenty minutes before he finally go the hint. There was also the fact that Trent had been cowering in a corner like a frightened rabbit for most of the time. No, anytime Sebastian even suggested it could happen again, there was a no thanks from all three of them. Maybe when they left school and were at college, then it could happen again - somewhere more metropolitan like New York.

Sebastian still went, disappearing late in the evening, and returning to Dalton early in the morning, with racy tales and on more than one occasion, a hickey. He made Nick blush with his exploits, and reminded him of his own status in the relationship stakes. He had yet to make a single notch on his mythical bed post - Sebastian's must be rapidly taking on the appearance of Swiss cheese. Nick did worry that one day his friend would take things too far, end up with the wrong man and get hurt. Or catch something. Even the thought of it made him shudder. Still, there was nothing he could do to stop him on his quest.

The Saturday that things imploded started off ordinarily enough. Sebastian had wandered in to the dorms just after 3am, waking up half the Warblers in the process, and earning him an ear-bashing from Thad. When Nick went to knock gingerly on his door just after 10, and found his friend dead to the world, still fully clothed, face down on the bed. He had obviously walked into the room and literally fallen onto the bed. He smelt as he usually did when he'd been out - of cheap booze, cigarette smoke and to be blunt, of men. There was a grunt from the boy as Nick pulled the curtains open. "What time is it Duval? If you say anything in single figures I will end you - unless those figures happen to be 1 or 2..." said Sebastian.

"It's just after 10 - Thad told me to tell you to, and I quote 'get your scrawny carcass out of bed, get washed, tidy your dorm and see him after lunch'. Please do not shoot the lowly messenger."

With a groan, Sebastian pulled himself up from the bed - Nick knew it was time to leave, particularly when he saw the evidence of what he had done the night before in his hair…

Lunch had been eaten, and a cleaned up Sebastian had joined them. It was then that Nick had received the text, asking him to call Blaine at once. He was immediately curious and quickly phoned his friend. What he heard in the next two minutes chilled him to the bone. Worse still, he knew that he now had to pass the message on to Sebastian. He went firstly to see Thad, and let him know what had happened. He agreed to sit with Nick as he told his friend what had happened. He had arrived as his usual self, full of self confidence and ready to talk back to Thad. He did a slight double take when he saw Nick sitting there. Then it was time. Time to relay the message - that David Karofsky had tried to kill himself that morning. Had been found just in time by his father. Was in hospital, barely clinging to life. Blaine had found out from Kurt; he had been given the information, with the permission of Mr Karofsky, by Carole who just happened to be on duty when he was brought in. The only possible reason for his attempt - he had been outed at his new school, taunted on social media and possibly, although no-one was absolutely sure, had been insulted one final time the previous night by someone when he was out.

It was that last part of the message that made the greatest impact on Sebastian. His face had changed slowly as Nick had spoken, but that was the clincher. That was the sentence that made him horror struck. He had been the last person to speak to Karofsky before he had left Scandals last night. From what he had just heard, he was one that tipped him over the edge. For the first time ever, Nick and Thad saw Sebastian cry. That told them what they needed to know too. Nick had left Thad to try and comfort his distressed friend. He needed to speak to someone too. He needed to try and understand why someone would want to kill themselves just because they were gay. To him, it was no big deal. He knew that not everyone saw it that way, but to want to end your life? That he could not comprehend.

He found Jeff sitting quietly in one of the study rooms, a pile of books and paper in front of him. He was pretending to work - Nick had seen this before and chortled to himself. He went in and sat next to his friend, who immediately spotted his face and asked what was wrong. So he told him, every detail, including the involvement of Sebastian. "Poor guy," said Jeff, when Nick had finished. "I know that he was horrible to Kurt, but no-one deserves to feel so lost, so alone that…" He sighed, before starting again. "Kurt will be feeling so guilty if I know him right - he'll feel he should have done more after the whole Valentine's Day situation." Nick gave him a curious look, but Jeff just blushed and said "Forget that last bit. Kurt will tell you one day. Maybe. I know how it can feel though. To have everyone attacking you, and all you want is for it to stop. I trust you Nick, so maybe it's time I told you the whole story of how I came to be at Dalton. The only other person I have ever told was Wes, and he has never repeated it. I know you will be the same..."

"I first realised that I liked guys when I was in my last year of middle school. I was quite the soccer player then, and was in the school team. It was during a match that I spotted a guy on the other team. He was beautiful - a bit like Blaine in appearance to give you an idea. And let us just say that I felt stirrings - and it became quite obvious to anyone that looked that I had seen someone I liked. One of the other guys on my team noticed, and realised where I was looking. I never saw that other boy again. Mainly because I never played soccer for the school again. Because that team of boys, who had been my friends up until that point, suddenly became my enemies. There was talk in the changing room after the game, but it was at our next practice that it hit, quite literally. Suddenly I was the target for the ball; a foot would come out and trip me up as I ran; someone's arm in the end 'accidentally' hit me in the face during a tackle. Back in the locker room, the taunts began - queer, fag, homo - you know the rest. My locker was vandalised, the word fag scratched into it. For everyone to see. The whole school knew. The guys on the team were the first to bully me. They weren't the last. I tried to tell the teachers, but just as in the case of Blaine, of Kurt, they weren't interested. My soccer coach, as he cut me from the team because I was disrupting practice, told me I needed to man up."

Nick sat silently as his friend told his story. The thought that such a good, kind guy like Jeff had been subjected to such hatred made his blood boil. He wanted to go back in time to that school, to stand at Jeff's side and punch those idiots in the face for ever hurting his friend. He quietly made a promise to himself that he would protect Jeff from any bully in the future, regardless of what cost there was to him. He feared that the tale was nowhere near over, and he was right to. Jeff took a deep breath, then carried on. "At least when I left the school gates, the torment ceased. Until the day when finally, it didn't. Somebody had found out that my parents were going to be away for the day and that they trusted me enough to leave me at home, alone. They left at ten, the first of the bullies arrived at ten past. I was stupid enough to open the door… when they finally got bored and left at around one, I was black and blue all over. My nose had been punched so often that I had dried blood caked under it. My clothes were ripped and torn; my room and my possessions destroyed. So was my spirit. I thought that I had at least another six hours until my parents came home. It would be long enough. I knew where my mother kept the pills, and I knew she had some sleeping tablets. So I took them, washing them down with a swig of my father's bourbon. I just went to lie on my bed and let the darkness wash over me."

"Fortunately, my mother had taken unwell and so they arrived home just before two. To find the house in disarray, the empty pill bottle next to the open bourbon, and finally me, out cold in my shattered room. They pumped my stomach, saved my life. When I woke up in the hospital I cried. Begged the poor nurse to just let me die. Reduced my dad to tears when he heard me. To this day I have not told anyone exactly which boys came to the house that day. The school ended up punishing nobody as a result. It would have done no good anyway. They all went on to the local high school and I came here - to my safe haven. I was given a mentor in my first week - I was told everyone had one, but it turns out it was only me and Trent. He was a junior, who managed to bring me back to what I am now. Did the same with Trent. Even managed to convince me to join a gang of reprobates known as the Warblers. There are some days when I really miss Wes…"

Nick could only stare at his friend - his best friend. A boy who spread happiness throughout Dalton, was always laughing and smiling. That he could once have been so unhappy, so desperate that he would consider taking his own life broke his heart. He didn't know exactly how long he had been crying for when Jeff finished his little tale and looked up. "Oh, Nick, don't cry. It was a long time ago, and I swear to you that I would never even think about doing anything like that again. Why would I? I have a great life here at Dalton. I have a new passion - art. That was Wes as well you know. I'd always enjoyed drawing and painting; he saw that and pushed me to the Art Club. I have a talent, or so they tell me. That's one of the reasons why I have decided that I'm going to art school when I leave here. Most importantly of all though, I have a close circle of friends that gets me, understands me and cares. Especially you, Nick. You are without a doubt the best friend I have ever had - I never want that to change."

He stopped speaking, found a handkerchief in his pocket and wiped at Nicks eyes. His friend smiled back at him. "You're my best friend too Jeff. Together, we are unstoppable. I don't ever see circumstances in which that will end. You know that I haven't got much choice in what I do after school - the Duvals have been lawyers for generations, and I would like to go into law, not for the same reasons as my dad, but to help the poor. I sound so worthy when I say that but it's what I want to be - a lawyer that specialises in seeing that everyone gets their rights. So, we need to find a college that has an excellent art department and a good law school…that's if you like the idea of us going to college together…" He could tell just by looking at Jeff's face that he was all for it.

Nick made a silent vow of his own that day. That whatever happened from now on, he would be there for his friend. No matter what the situation, no matter how difficult or dangerous, he would be there, at his side. Together, they were strong, apart they were weak. He was scared of how close they had become sometimes. He could tell what he was thinking just from the look on his face. A face that he never wanted to see looking sad or broken. He cared so much for him. He knew what some people thought of their friendship, knew his father disapproved, but that didn't matter. He would always have his back, just as he knew that Jeff would always have his.

Their own future decided, they moved on to helping Sebastian. They encouraged him to go and visit Karofsky and apologise for his behaviour. They pushed him into making a call at Regionals for donations for charity; better still, to ending his battle with Kurt and accepting that Klaine was unshakeable. Having lost out at Regionals, the two friends, with Trent by their side, spent more time with him, and they all noticed that he stopped heading out to Scandals quite so often. It was still a shock when he took it on his own initiative to congratulate the New Directions on their Nationals win and organised a party. That night was a triumph - and when Wes appeared, the joy for both Warblers and New Directions was complete.

So Junior year ended on a high. Everyone was friends, more or less. No-one could have anticipated that the next few months would be some of the worst in their lives. At that point, nobody had even heard of Hunter. Soon, they all would flinch at his name….