1.1 The First Time

"I take it you're having trouble at school…"

Kurt was never really good at asking for help. Not explicitly, anyways. He never uttered the phrase, "I can't do this on my own." His pride wouldn't allow it. He was a Hummel, dammit, and no one pushed the Hummels around.

But good god, surely someone would have noticed by now.

Was he really supposed to believe that everyone at McKinley magically turned deaf when Azimio and his goons screamed "Fag!" down the halls? Or that everyone just happened to look the other way when Karofsky shoved him face first into the lockers? Or maybe everyone thought that Kurt enjoyed the daily dumpster dives, and that's why they refused to say anything.

Sure, his friends in New Directions could commiserate to an extent. After all, they had endured the humiliation with him. They had an inkling of what he was going through. However, there was one huge difference between them: at any point, they could quit the glee club—though he prayed they never would—and their lives would go back to normal. No more name-calling. No more slushies. Just… normal.

But Kurt… he could never be "normal."

His blue eyes met hazel as he quietly admitted, "I'm the… only person out of the closet at my school…"

It's not like he could just quit being gay.

Even through all of the insults, all of the physical abuse, he had still been proud of who he was. He had never tried to change himself (well, except for that whole Mellancamp phase—and to be fair, that wasn't meant to appease anyone but his own father). He was proud. He was confident. He was strong. He just was.

But that didn't always make it easier. If anything, it made him a bigger target.

He just wanted to scream at them. To tell them that they were wrong. But every time he tried, he froze.

He would have thought by now that someone would have the decency to stick up for him. Someone. Anyone.

"And nobody seems to notice," he admitted softly.

Kurt's pride screamed at him to be quiet. Why would this kid who he only met a few days ago be interested in his life at all? It wasn't his problem. He was probably just being polite before he brushed him off and left him to fend for himself.

"I know how you feel."

Bile rose in Kurt's throat as he tried desperately to hold back the tears threatening to transform into body-aching sobs. His eyes focused on the ceiling briefly, before concentrating back on the boy in front of him.

"I got taunted at my old school and it really… pissed me off. I even complained about it to the faculty, and they were sympathetic, and all, but you could just tell that, nobody… really cared. It was like, 'Hey, if you're gay, you're life's just gonna be miserable. Sorry. Nothing we can do about it.'"

Kurt's grip on his coffee tightened.

He knew.

He knew.

For once, Kurt was having a genuine conversation who knew exactly what he was going through.

And while there was a small warning voice screaming in his head that this person was the enemy, that voice was losing strength, because for once, glee club didn't matter that much anymore.

"So I left. I came here. Simple as that."

Kurt deflated. That was it. There was no hope for him, unless he abandoned everyone in New Directions and came to this school.

The prospect seemed less than ideal.

Blaine continued when Kurt kept quiet. "So you have two options. I mean, I'd love to just tell you to come enroll here, but tuition at Dalton is kinda steep…"

Yeah, not really an option for me.

So what was the second choice?

"Or… you can refuse to be the victim."

Kurt blinked. He had never thought of that being an option before. Sure, he was confident in who he was, and he was proud, but he never kidded himself into thinking that he could go toe to toe with one of his tormentors.

"Prejudice is just ignorance, Kurt, and you have a chance right now to teach him."

Kurt's eyes bored into Blaine's, begging for more advice. Eventually, he voiced the only word ringing in his ears.

"How?"

"Confront him. Call him out." Blaine was getting worked up; Kurt knew what he wanted him to do. Maybe he couldn't throw Azimio or Karofsky into the lockers, but damn, he could fire back verbally quicker than the both of them combined.

"I ran, Kurt. I didn't stand up. I let the bullies chase me away, and it is something I really, really regret."

Kurt could tell. Blaine almost couldn't keep eye contact with him, he seemed to regret it so much.

Blaine sat back, relaxing his shoulders that had been so tense just moments ago. "That's just me, though. I can't tell you how to live your life. But maybe… maybe you can learn from the mistakes that I've made."

Kurt nodded, dumbly bringing his coffee cup to his lips. He swallowed thickly before meeting Blaine's eyes again. "Thank you," he supplied quietly. "For the first time… I feel like someone's actually listening to me."

Blaine smiled.

Did my stomach actually just do a back flip?

The nervous smile that he returned confirmed his suspicions.

"Well, I glad I can be of some help. I remember my old school, how hard it was to go through it alone…" Blaine furrowed his brow as he pulled out his phone. "What's your phone number, Kurt?"

Kurt almost choked on the last sip of coffee he had left. Blaine chuckled. "I just figure that if you need to talk again, it'll be easier to just call or text, rather than trying to hunt you down two hours away."

Kurt smiled again nervously before they exchanged numbers. Kurt sighed, looking at the new contact in his phone, a feeling of relief rising in his chest. "I just… I don't know what to say." He looked at Blaine again. "Thank you. Again."

Blaine leaned over the table and placed a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Really, Kurt, it's not a problem. Anything I can do to help, I'm glad to do it."

Kurt smirked. "I'm going to hold you to that."

"I expect you to."

They sat there for a few more moments, talking lightly about the weather, school (but staying away from the topic of glee club), before Blaine mentioned that he had Warblers rehearsal soon and he had to get going. He offered to walk Kurt to his car—an offer that normally Kurt would have refused… but truth be told, he didn't want to leave just yet, and he would take every moment he could get with his new friend.

Blaine saw Kurt to the parking lot. "I think I can handle myself from here," Kurt supplied, not wanting to come across as completely helpless.

"It's been a pleasure getting to know you, Kurt," Blaine said as he stuck his hand out for Kurt to shake.

"Ditto," Kurt replied. His smile faded, only slightly, as he searched for the right words to end with. Blaine beat him to it.

"If you say 'thank you' one more time, I'm going to take my number back," he said through a smirk.

Kurt chuckled. "Well, fine then. I guess I'll just leave you with a, 'talk to you later,' then."

"I'll take that." His eyes grew serious. "And I mean it – call me if you need anything."

"I will." He let go of Blaine's hand and started backing away towards his car. "I'll see you around!"

"You better!" Blaine called back. He didn't go back inside until he saw Kurt get in the car and actually pull out of the parking lot.

The two hour drive back to Lima was so much easier than the same drive he made earlier that day. Because for the first time in a long time, Kurt had something that had been forgotten long ago.

For the first time, Kurt had hope.

Author's Note

Why hello, Fanfiction. It's been a while.

So this is my first Glee fic, and my first fic on here in like... four years? So please, be gentle. I'm getting back into the swing of writing again, and trying to get a grasp on the characters is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I apologize if this was a bit on the boring side; I promise it will get better. This story is going to be a series of 24 one-shots, focused on Kurt, heavy emphasis on Klaine (although I have a few chapters concerning Kurt's relationship with Karofsky - NOT Kurtofsky... I don't ship those two). I found a table on LJ called the "24 Time Table," and it prompted a few ideas in my head, which I fleshed out into 24 different ideas. It was serious business, yo. There were highlighters involved.

Long story short, I am starting with Kurt and Blaine meeting, so the first few chapters are going to seem somewhat repetitive - scenes from the show told from another point of view. But things will take on a life of their own once I get past the first few chapters. Like I said, it's really just trying to get a good handle on who I'm writing about here.

A few thank yous are in order. First off, a big thanks to Keitorin Asthore, who inspired me to write my own fanfiction by writing hers (and allowing me to collaborate with her on one of her best pieces, Knife Going In). She's one of my best friends and I would not be writing if she wasn't. Another big thanks goes to I Spiked the Ice Cream, who is my sister and is so freakin' excited about this story - it makes me wanna write more RIGHT NOW. And finally, to aspiringtoeloquence, whose story Truth, Love, and Evolution has definitely been inspiring me to write some wonderful Klaine of my own, and who has been encouraging me to get my ideas out there.

And thank you, of course, for reading. The prompt for the next chapter: Time stops.