A/N and disclaimer – I DO NOT OWN GLEE! I wrote this because Will Schuester deeply annoys me with his boybandishness. I love Kurt and I wanted to contribute to the growing number of fics where Will gets a dressing down. I would like to thank Hug-a-Pug for her help with various ideas and excellent bitchiness.

000

Will Schuester liked to think he made his parents proud. He had certainly felt that way during the Acafellas craze, and while they had liked Terri, Will had a feeling his mother was rather pleased with the divorce, although saddened by the lack of a grandchild. Will knew he often made horrible mistakes (Emma was a prime example), but he was a man who watched enough Sesame Street in his life to know the basic life lessons. (Unfortunately he had a habit of preaching and then forgetting). His mother had told him to never judge a book by its cover, and his father had stated the same lesson in a short blunt sentence that rang in Will's ears as he watched Kurt Hummel walk away from his door. When you assume, you make an ass out of you and me.

It had started on a boiling day in what was the middle of a heat wave. The blinds were pulled semi-shut to keep out the blazing sun, and all the windows were wide open in the small, choir room. All the school kids had opted for the classic shorts and t-shirts, meaning even letterman jackets were abandoned in locker rooms. Rachel had forgone the long socks, jumper, and dolly shoes, trading the latter clothing for flip-flops that made horrible smacking sounds. The other Glee Club members were using the noise as a warning bell for her madness. While Will had tried to remain a presentable teacher, by the time Glee came about he had lost his tie and shirt and was left in his undershirt. He noticed with awe that Kurt had not changed a thing about his normal attire; in fact, he looked the least melted, dressed in his usual skinny jeans and jumper-tie combo. He was even getting attention from the ladies, if you could call being used as a pillow by both Mercedes and Tina – who had given up on all movement – attention. Brittany also appeared to be immune to heat (not that her cheerio outfit was made for warmth) but, even when all the others had given up on dance routines, she continued, occasionally bringing either Mike or Santana into her little routine.

"OK, guys, I think we should leave it here for the day," he called, gathering up the Spanish papers that he had been working on and ignoring the half-hearted "woos" from the Glee Club as they trudged from the room. He raised an eyebrow when he spotted a familiar name amongst the papers, and Will called out to the person in question as he was about to leave.

"Kurt? Can I speak to you for a moment, please?"

"Yes, Mr Schuester," Kurt replied, a delicate eyebrow raised in expectation. Will could detect a slight amount of impatience, which probably meant Mercedes was outside waiting for a shopping trip.

"I've noticed that you've signed up for extra Spanish lessons, and I wanted to ask why. I mean, you have one of the highest grades in my class. Heck, I know you've been tutoring Finn and Brittany, mainly because Brittany has stopped doodling and Finn has actually started writing whole sentences instead of just writing "hola" whenever he gets stuck... but that's not the point. Are you not happy with what you're learning?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Kurt replied, touching his hair tentatively. "I just felt my grade could use a small amount of improvement. Spanish is one of my better subjects and I need top marks to average out my lower grades, like gym." He shuddered at the mere idea of sweat. He had showered more than was healthy for his skin when he had joined the football team. The fashionista gave a tight smile before turning and leaving the room, grabbing Mercedes from her place at the door on his way.

000

"Maybe you're just imagining it?" Emma Pillsbury piped up as she filed her perfectly sanitised nails. Her eyes flickered up to the man pacing in front of her; he had arrived half an hour earlier and begun his usual rant about his current issues. As much as it pained her to admit it, he still held a strong place in her heart. She also had to admit that now she could see beyond his 90's boy band look, she could see (and hear) that he was more than a little whiny at times.

"Emma, everywhere I turn he is there! He is spending more and more time in the Glee Club room, he's spending extra time in Spanish, and yesterday I found him in the rafters of the auditorium."

"Well, Will, maybe you just have to think about it logically. Most boys have a large amount of male friends and role models. Kurt spends most of time with girls, and despite having a good relationship with his dad, he doesn't spend a lot of time with guys expect the few guys in Glee who he rarely speaks to."

"I don't quite understand..."

"You're a young man who is actively involved in music, often stands up for his beliefs, and apart from arguments with Sue, generally gets on well with his life. He obviously sees you as a role model and admires you."

"So he likes me?"

"Yes! Wait... what?"

"Thanks, Emma, this chat really helped."

And just like that was gone, leaving Emma with an unexpectedly sour taste in her mouth. Toothbrush in hand, she made her way to the teacher bathroom down the hall, hoping Will wasn't going to do anything he couldn't fix.

000

As the week progressed, Will began to notice that Kurt was spending more time around him in school. As a result, he spent more and more time avoiding the boy; hell, he had even jumped into Sue's office one time, although he would not make that mistake again, seeing as Sue had looked a little too happy to see him and had proceeded to grab a pair of scissors from her desk pot. He was roused from his musings in the choir room by the door banging open and then being slammed shut as a harried figure raced into the room. The figure slid down the door so he was no longer visible through the window before straightening up and moving further into the room. The figure looked up and appeared immediately relieved at the sight of his teacher.

"Mr Schuester," he breathed, "I'm glad I found you. I was working with Finn on our Spanish and there were a few words that I didn't understand, and the internet, I'm afraid, was not very helpful this time." He began rustling around in his messenger bag, searching for the necessary folder.

"Sorry, Kurt, I'm rather busy at the moment. Why don't you ask Mr Phillips?" He quickly excused himself and rushed from the room, leaving his young student alone.

"Oh... OK then." Kurt quickly made his way over to far side of the piano. Cringing a little at the thought of dust and dirt on the floor getting onto his outfit, he sat down nonetheless, ensuring he was out of sight of the door. He could stay here until Glee started.

The rest of the week went very slowly. As Friday rolled around, the Glee Club was more enthusiastic than ever. Their good mood was partly down to Quinn, who, after suffering minor brain freeze from a grape slushie which she claimed made her baby squeal, had thrown her drink in anger, hitting Dave Karofsky in the back of the head and causing the corridor to roar with laughter. They had gathered for Glee after school, as usual, when Kurt came in carrying a large box.

"All right, people, it took me a long time to make a large enough quantity for all of you." He sent a thin smile around the room, ending with Mr Schuester. He set the box next to the teacher on the piano before opening it up.

"The famous Hummel brownies; low fat and drug-free. Sorry, Noah." The group giggled as they recalled how Puck had let slip his success behind the cupcake – although most of them had been angry at the time. "I promise they taste just fine, and they are perfectly suitable for pregnant people." To Quinn, he added, "I know how fussy you are with food at the moment." He picked up a brownie with a baby blue napkin and offered it to the closest person, Mr Schuester. "Brownie?"

000

Later that night, Mr Schuester was slobbing in front of his TV. A mindless talent show glowed from his screen as overenthusiastic people jumped for a chance in the spot light. His mind turned back to how he had left Kurt alone this evening. Why was he running from this? He had had students with crushes on him before; he had even had Rachel Berry as a pseudo-stalker, which had been terrifying. He resolved to speak to Kurt first thing on Monday about it before things got any more awkward. He was distracted by a banging on his apartment door. He switched off the TV, scrambled to his feet, and jogged over the door. He let out a troubled sigh at the sight of Kurt Hummel in the corridor. Before he could speak, the boy rushed through the door. A sleeping bag dumped was inside before he turned to face his mentor.

"Sorry, Mr Schuester, I know it's a lot of trouble, but I need a major favour from you. You see, Dad is away for the weekend – fishing, too much dirty water for me – but, anyway, something happened at home, and I was wondering if I could crash on your couch for the night–"

"Wait... what?"

"–and I would go over to Mercedes', but she's got 'family-time' tonight, and I don't want to intrude, and you do live the closest to me–"

"Kurt! No!" Will interrupted, breaking the self-proclaimed soprano from his rant.

"Why not? It's just one night, and it's not like I'm Finn or Puck who will eat everything in your fridge."

"Because I know why you're here! Miss Pillsbury told me."

"Told you what?"

Will ran his hands through his hair irritably; he did not want to have this conversation at that moment.

"She told me about your feelings for me. And I understand that things have been difficult for you lately, and I'm a young man, and we share common interests, but..."

"Dear God, you're arrogant!" Mr Schuester stopped short, surprised by the anger rising in the normally calm teen. "You... you think I have a crush on you? Of all the half-assed ideas you could come up with, you picked that one!"

"You have spent the majority of the last two weeks following–"

"FOLLOWING YOU! I've been hiding from those jerks Karofskyand Azimo! I don't know if you've got this yet, but they rather dislike me. While their IQs are dangerously low, they aren't entirely stupid. They're not about to stuff me in a locker if a teacher is in the same area."

"But the brownies..."

"Were for the group! Rachel decided baked goods were good for morale. We even used that stupid hat of fate. I didn't realise chocolate offended you!"

"You put them next to me," Will protested weakly.

"Well, that's perfectly alright then." The angered teen rolled his eyes, his sarcasm biting in his words. "I apologise. I forgot that the flat surface that is the piano was too close to your personal space. Next time, I'll balance them on Quinn's baby bump!"

The teen angrily picked up his bags and went to open the front door, giving his teacher a glare that could silence Rachel Berry as he spat out his goodbye. "I really thought you were different, Mr Schuester, but you're just as bad. You assume that the moment that I'm friendly that I must have some ulterior motive." He sniffed. "I always go to you because you give the best advice... and do you know why I come to you for Spanish help? Mr Phillips refuses to acknowledge me! But, of course, you wouldn't notice things like that, would you?" He went to slam the door behind him but a large hand kept it open.

"Kurt..."

But he was already gone, stomping down the corridor, leaving Will with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

When Will woke the next morning, he was struck by the thought that he had never asked Kurt why he needed a place to stay. He knew Burt Hummel was often away with fishing trips or auto shows and such... so why was this time any different?

Curiosity got the best of the teacher. He grabbed the keys for his rust-bucket of a car and drove to the Hummel residency. His stomach clenched at the scene. The majority of the front windows had been smashed, the lawn furniture was reduced to charred wood and ashes, and disgusting words had been spray painted along the walls. Amongst the chaos was Kurt, dressed in his garage overalls, trying to power clean the walls with a high-pressure washer. A bucket of soapy water and a scrubbing brush at his side as well. Will felt sick, realising he had left a child alone to deal with this just because he had made such a wild assumption. Hands in pocket, he strode up to Kurt.

"Anything I can do to help?"

The boy looked up, surprised. By the looks of it, most of Kurt's original anger had left him, leaving him with disappointment, but he gave a tight smile before replying.

"Could you sweep up the glass inside please? And fix the lock on the door?"

Will nodded, glad to at least have the chance to make it up to the teenager. Grabbing a broom, he resolved to make sure this never happened to his countertenor again.