"I didn't want a cat," Sebastian whined, dropping his backpack heavily on the floor and staring at the creature curled at the foot of his bed in disgust. "I wanted a dog, and even if I did want a cat, I wouldn't want some messed up freak of nature like that!"

"Sebastian," his mother hissed, pulling her son out of the open doorway to his room and moving him out of earshot, "watch your language, young man! And he's not a pet. He's the son of a friend of your father's. He's going to be staying with us for the weekend."

"Does he have to sleep on my bed?" Sebastian groaned. "He's going to shed on all my stuff."

His mother sighed, shaking her head in frustration.

"I want you to be extra-special nice to him…"

"Well, good luck with that," Sebastian jeered, "because I'm going over to Sean's tonight…"

"You are not," his mother said firmly. "You will stay here and spend time with our new guest."

"What!?" Sebastian exclaimed, his jaw dropping and his eyes opening wide in shock. "No! I've been looking forward to this sleepover for a week! You can't do that!"

"Sebastian," his mom started, putting her hands on his shoulders and bending a bit to look into his eyes, "it's very important that you help out this weekend. That poor boy…"

"He's not a boy," Sebastian spat back.

"That poor boy," his mother continued, her voice becoming progressively more stern, "has just been through something horrible, and…"

The musical ring tone of her cell phone cut through their conversation and she straightened, reaching into her pocket to fish the phone out. She looked at the number on the screen and frowned.

"I have to take this," she announced, her eyes flicking back to her son, "we are not done talking about this." She touched the screen to answer the call and stepped away from Sebastian to talk, "Hello…."

Sebastian peeked around the doorway to look back at the fur-covered boy lying on his bed, only the boy was no longer on the bed. He had climbed off and crawled into the corner. There he lay on the hardwood floor, curled into a tight ball, with his hands…or were they paws - they looked like perfectly normal human hands covered in soft, tawny fur – clasped over the back of his neck. The fact that he had moved meant that he heard every word that Sebastian said, and even though Sebastian normally couldn't care less, he felt like an ass.

Hybrids weren't uncommon, but they weren't really understood. No one could predict if a child in utero would be a hybrid. It happened in one out of every thousand or so births. Science hadn't been able to find any genetic links to hybridism whatsoever. So, as is the nature of human beings, since hybrids weren't understood, they were often feared. There was only one hybrid attending the private school that Sebastian went to, and even though he was a pretty cool guy (as far as Sebastian knew) no one really hung out with him.

Sebastian wondered how many friends this boy on his floor had. Probably not many if this horrible thing happened to him and he was hanging with the Smythes, considering Sebastian had never met this boy before in his life.

"Okay, okay, I'll be right there," Sebastian heard his mother say, and he knew that yes indeed they had reached the end of their discussion and no, he wouldn't be going to his sleep over. The phone beeped and the call ended.

"Alright, Sebastian, I have to get going…"

"Big surprise," Sebastian said, rolling his eyes.

His mother frowned at Sebastian, but his eyes stayed firmly fixed on the wall opposite so he didn't have to see his mother's displeasure.

"I have to meet your father and finalize some things…"

Her eyes drifted subconsciously into Sebastian's bedroom, and he knew that whatever needed to be finalized had to do with this hybrid-boy. She caught a glimpse of the boy curled on the floor in the corner. She sighed deeply, turning her eyes to glare at her son, pointing at the boy silently with an expression on her face that very clearly said fix this.

Sebastian huffed and shrugged. Why this boy was even his responsibility he had no idea. He was fourteen. What the hell did they expect him to do?

"Well, I'm going to leave you and Kurt alone while I go run some errands," she said in an unnaturally raised voice so that the boy (Kurt? What kind of a name was Kurt?) could overhear without feeling the burden to respond. "You boys play nice."

Sebastian and his mother watched the boy nod without turning his face to look at them. Sebastian's mother shook her head.

"Poor thing," she repeated, ruffling Sebastian's hair in that way that she knew he hated, and then walked off down the hall.

There they were, together but separate, with Sebastian in the hallway and Kurt on the bedroom floor, pulling himself into a tighter ball, trying to look small and inconsequential.

Sebastian waited to see if Kurt would do anything else, and after a while he began to resent feeling like a stranger in his own room. He walked inside, taking heavy strides so as not to startle Kurt. He tossed off the blazer of his school uniform, letting it land on the floor in a heap, and jumped up onto his bed.

"Well, I just got back from school," Sebastian said in that unnaturally loud voice that his mother used, "so I'm going to play some XBox until dinner." He didn't invite Kurt to play. With his friends, he wouldn't have to. They'd already be scrabbling for the controllers and arguing over which game they wanted to play.

Kurt did none of those things. He lay completely quiet and still, so much so that Sebastian stared at his back for a long time in order to catch the rise and fall that would indicate that he was breathing.

He saw the swell along Kurt's spine and relaxed, not realizing that he had been holding his breath while he waited.

"Okay," Sebastian said, dismissing Kurt in favor of playing Assassin's Creed. "I bet you don't even play video games," he continued under his breath. "You probably just play with yarn and toy mice…"

Sebastian chuckled, so he almost missed Kurt's response.

"I play XBox."

Sebastian raised his eyes slowly from the screen in front of him and turned to the furry lump in the corner that had started to unfurl. Kurt slowly sat up, watery eyes staring at the boy on the bed, his bushy tail tucked up between his legs, the end cradled against Kurt's chest by his thin arms. Sebastian sat up along with him, mesmerized by the delicate cat-faced boy huddled in the corner – the boy with the most incredible sea blue eyes he had ever seen.

"You play, huh?" Sebastian asked, scooting over on the mattress, hoping that the boy might take the hint.

Kurt watched Sebastian move over and nodded, crawling in a graceful feline way up onto the bed.

"Yup," Kurt said.

"What do you play?" Sebastian handed Kurt a controller.

"Uh…" Kurt ducked his head, looking slightly embarrassed, "I play Minecraft and Plants vs. Zombies…"

Sebastian made a pfft sound, teasing Kurt for his game selection.

"Well, my dad doesn't like violent games," Kurt defended, but he rolled his eyes to show Sebastian that he didn't share the same ideals as his dad.

"Too bad for him," Sebastian said, starting the game, "because all I have here are violent games."

Kurt chuckled, nervously picking at his tail as the opening scenes of the game began and the title screen came up.

They played quietly for a few moments before Kurt spoke again.

"I'm sorry they're making me stay in your room," he said, "and I'm sorry you're missing your sleepover."

A wave of guilt welled up in Sebastian's chest, but he had no intention of letting Kurt know.

"It's no biggie," Sebastian said. "I can go over there next weekend, I guess." Kurt bowed his head over his controller, seeing through Sebastian's lie. Sebastian chewed the inside of his cheek as he watched Kurt's face out of the corner of his eye. "Actually, my friend Sean snores," Sebastian said, "like a lawn mower."

Kurt giggled.

"Really?" he asked, lifting his head a little.

"Yeah," Sebastian continued, encouraged by Kurt's smile, "and my other friend Don, he farts in his sleep. Like, horrible."

Kurt laughed out loud and Sebastian found himself wanting to hear more of it.

"It always wakes me up in the middle of the night because it's really loud and it smells like something died." Sebastian puffed up his cheeks and blew out a vulgar raspberry through tightly pursed lips, and Kurt lost it, dissolving into a laughing fit that was part high-pitched giggles and part cat-like mews. Sebastian felt his entire chest grow warm on the inside as Kurt's eyes squinted shut and a tear rolled down his furred cheek.

"That's disgusting," Kurt gasped between chuckles.

"It is," Sebastian agreed. "So, see, I'd much rather be here playing Assassin's Creed with you."

Kurt's laughing died down as he looked into Sebastian's face with questioning eyes.

"Yeah?" he asked.

Sebastian winked.

"Yeah," he said, bumping Kurt with his shoulder. He heard Kurt's breath catch at the touch and Sebastian froze, staring into clear, strangely hopeful eyes. Sebastian swallowed, his eyes returning quickly to the screen. "Now come on. We have ships to explore!"

They played in tense albeit companionable silence, cheering when they succeeded at a campaign, and urging each other on during the battles. Sebastian stole a glance at Kurt, his pointed pink tongue caught between his teeth as he concentrated on the melee they were thrown in the thick of. Something about the way Kurt kept his tongue trapped like that fascinated Sebastian, as did the sharp tips of short fangs indenting his lower lip. He suddenly worried that he might be staring, and knew for a fact he was when Kurt growled, "Come on, Sebastian! I'm getting mauled over here and your guy isn't even moving!"

"Right, right," Sebastian muttered, going back to the game. He tried to focus on beating the three guys surrounding him, but Sebastian didn't want to go back to the silence from before. Sebastian wanted to know more about Kurt. He seemed like a cool kid, all things considered. "You know, I never said I'm sorry…"

"Sorry for what?"

"Sorry for being kind of rude earlier…" Sebastian began, treading carefully, "and for whatever happened that…you know…"

Kurt's eyes drifted down to his controller and he sighed. He didn't press the buttons or move the joystick. He just stared with a blank expression in his eyes. He seemed stuck in a thought, or a memory, but he couldn't seem to move forward now that Sebastian had reminded him of it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Sebastian asked, his voice soft in a way that even he hadn't heard before.

Kurt fidgeted where he sat, running his index finger up along the outside of the controller in his hands.

"My dad and I live in Lima," Kurt said, his tail twitching beside him, and then curling over his leg into his lap, "that's about two hours from here."

Sebastian nodded emphatically, as if the drive time between Lima and Westerville was pertinent information. He waited patiently for Kurt to continue.

"I go to public school…" Kurt spoke down to his controller. "My dad owns a tire shop."

Kurt paused.

"What does your mom do?" Sebastian asked. It was an innocent enough question…at least so he thought.

Kurt's head bowed lower.

"I don't have a mom. She died when I was eight."

"Oh," Sebastian said, so quietly he thought maybe Kurt didn't hear. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

Kurt didn't look at Sebastian, but he shrugged.

"That's alright. Like you said, you didn't know."

Kurt raised a hand to his cheek and brushed away a tear.

Sebastian saw another tear follow it, but Kurt didn't move to wipe this one off his cheek.

Sebastian's hand flexed, itching to reach out and do it for him.

"I just found out a few days ago that I got the lead in the school musical," Kurt said, a small, wistful smile creeping onto his face.

Sebastian copied that smile, but wider.

"That's great!" Sebastian clapped Kurt on the shoulder and shook him gently, trying to bring him out of his funk. "A lot of schools wouldn't…"

Sebastian stopped short, afraid of sticking his foot in his mouth again, and Kurt rushed to fill in for him.

"Not a lot of schools would," he agreed. "My school is trying to be more progressive, so they started with me."

Sebastian still had his hand on Kurt's shoulder. Since it seemed okay, he didn't want to let go.

Sebastian's smile dropped suddenly.

"But wait…" he said, "I'm confused. Isn't getting the lead in the school musical a good thing?"

Kurt nodded before he spoke.

"I thought so," he said. "Other people…not so much."

Both boys went still. Sebastian wasn't entirely sure what Kurt was getting at, but something in his chest started to hurt.

"What…what did they do?"

Kurt swallowed so hard Sebastian heard it, along with the tiny whimpers that followed as he bounced back and forth between trying to speak but also trying not to cry.

"They wrecked my dad's shop," Kurt said, his voice wavering as he started to lose his personal battle, "roughed him up a little."

Sebastian sucked in a breath.

"Oh, Kurt," he said.

"He's alright," Kurt hurried to say while he still had the strength, and to erase the sound of pity from Sebastian's voice. "He's in the hospital, for overnight observation and stuff. But I guess the guys who did it threatened me and now…"

Kurt lifted his head to meet Sebastian's eyes, the rims wet with tears he didn't want to let fall.

"Now what?"

Sebastian didn't like to press Kurt, but he needed to know how this was going to end.

He wanted to know that Kurt would be alright.

"Now we move out here," Kurt said. "Your parents are helping us find a house, and I think I'm going to your school now."

Sebastian smiled, but Kurt didn't smile back.

"That's great!" Sebastian rallied on. "Dalton is an excellent school. You'll love it there." Sebastian wanted Kurt to be excited about going to his school. It had an exceptional arts program, a kick ass choir, and best of all, a no-tolerance bullying policy. Kurt would be safe, and he would have a great time there, once he gave it a chance.

But Kurt looked less than thrilled, and it seemed that the happier Sebastian looked, the sadder Kurt looked.

"What's wrong?" Sebastian asked.

Kurt sniffled, his attempts at hold back his tears failing.

"I'm sure you go to a great school, Sebastian," Kurt explained, "but I like my school. I shouldn't be forced to leave. It's not…it's not fair."

Sebastian felt ashamed for being so happy, for thinking that going to Dalton was an equitable solution to Kurt's problem. In actuality, there shouldn't even be a problem. Kurt shouldn't be threatened for something he can't change or control. By all means, Kurt should go to the school he wants, and be in the school musical if he wants, and become the star quarterback or the Prom King, if these are things that he wants.

"I…" Sebastian felt like he should say something – something witty and smart that would make it all better, like in the end of those old 80s sitcoms on Nick at Night, where everyone's problem is solved in thirty minutes. The bullies always see the error of their ways, the community comes together in support of the oppressed, and one sage person - the one everyone should have listened to all along - says one last line that ties the lesson all together.

Sebastian searched his head for such an inspirational line, but there was none, so all he said was, "That sucks!"

Kurt chuckled, sniffling again.

"I wish there was something I could do to make you feel better," Sebastian admitted.

"There is," Kurt said.

"Name it," Sebastian said, "anything. Want to order a pizza – done. Want to slide down the bannisters – done. Need me to kill someone…" Sebastian removed his hand from Kurt's shoulder, made it into a fist, and punched into his other hand, "just tell me who."

Sebastian tried to look intimidating, but he couldn't keep a straight face, and Kurt laughed.

"No," Kurt said, rolling his eyes, "can we keep playing? It keeps my mind off it."

"Yeah," Sebastian said, "no problem."

Sebastian restarted the game, readjusting himself on the bed. He didn't know what possessed him, or why he thought he should, but right when the game started and the characters began to move, he darted over quickly and kissed Kurt on the cheek.

"Onward to glory!" Sebastian crowed to keep from turning back around and seeing Kurt's reaction, which Kurt appreciated since he couldn't stop blushing.

They played on for the next few hours, but this time they talked. Sebastian, still in his school uniform (which Kurt grimaced at, saying he found it parochial and bland), told Kurt all about Dalton – his favorite teachers, his favorite subjects, and the lacrosse team which he hoped to someday become captain of. Kurt told Sebastian about his high school, McKinley – about Glee club, the musical, and how last week his home ec partner almost burned down their station trying to make pâté.

Playing video games turned into ordering pizza, which turned into watching some lame sci-fi movie on pay-per-view, but as the night stretched on, it seemed like all the adults had forgotten about them. An exhausted Kurt and Sebastian lay side by side on Sebastian's bed to finish talking while their eyes grew heavy and everything became funny as their sentences made less and less sense.

"Kurt," Sebastian said to his new friend's serene face and closed eyelids, "I know this all blows, you having to go to Dalton and everything, but I'm kind of glad, too."

"Mmm," Kurt said back, "I'm kind of glad, too. But only a little glad…and only because of you."

"Good," Sebastian said, letting his eyes drift shut.

There was a long silence. Sebastian was sure that Kurt was asleep, but then he murmured, "Sebastian?"

"Yeah, Kurt?"

"Are you going to kiss me again?"

Sebastian's eyes opened. Kurt's stayed shut, but he was smiling.

"Do you want me to?" Sebastian asked.

Sebastian waited with his eyes open.

"Mm-hmm," Kurt said with a subtle nod.

Sebastian inched forward close enough to feel Kurt's breath against his mouth, and the fur on Kurt's body – incredibly soft and radiating heat – covering his skin.

Sebastian leaned in and kissed Kurt on the lips. It wasn't anything too ambitious, but it was nice, and Sebastian left it at that.

"Good night, Kurt," Sebastian whispered, but Kurt was already asleep. In seconds, Sebastian was, too.

When Lydia Smythe returned to her son's room, she wasn't too hopeful. The lights were switched off and the room completely dark. She cursed under her breath, sure she would find her son asleep in his comfortable bed while that poor boy was still camped out on the floor without even a blanket to cover him.

"Dammit, Sebastian," she grumbled, "I told you to play…"

The word nice never came out past her lips, lost behind her smile when she saw her son and Kurt lying in bed, face to face, with Sebastian's arms linked in Kurt's arms and Kurt's tail wrapped around Sebastian's waist.

She clapped her hands beneath her chin and backed slowly away.

"Promising," she said, patting herself on the back as she skipped away, "very promising."