Rating: M for later chapters

Warnings: Angst, language, violence, and sexual scenes

Summary: AU Kurt transfers to Dalton a year early after being bullied out of McKinley. He falls in love with Blaine, the lead for the Warblers who happens to be straight. Things change when they try out for RENT and start spending some time together...

Author's Note: Alright, so I'm not too sure how this is going to come out. I'm new to the whole AU category and Klaine, but I thought I'd give it a try. The idea popped in my head, and you know how vicious those plot bunnies can be. Also, don't worry, the other chapters will be longer. This one's short since it's a prologue.

Seasons of Love

Kurt loved walking down the halls alone. There was something about the peace and quiet that relaxed him. He could hear the click of his designer shoes echo down the halls and he knew he was alright. Kurt sighed happily and stopped in front of his locker; he just had to grab his French book.

But then an extra two sets of footsteps broke the silence. Kurt glanced over to see Azimio and Karofsky. Oh, God, they must have just gotten out of football practice. Kurt clutched his French book to his chest and shut his locker. Straightening up, he looked at both of them, and tried to look them in the eyes. They lumbered up to him, the same dumb smirks pasted on their faces. "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing, just you out of the school," Karofsky said, going to high-five Azimio. Their comebacks never were that witty, though they seemed to disagree. He just had to get out of here before they tried to stir up more trouble. Kurt began to take a few steps backwards, but Azimio's hand shot out, grabbing his shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked. The smirk was gone and he suddenly looked more intimidating.

"I'm –" Kurt said, faltering. His grip was really strong; it hurt. Kurt tried to nudge his shoulder and shake him off, but Azimio just held on tighter.

"See, we just don't have room for fags like you." His hand formed a fist, and before Kurt could comprehend what was going on and try to block it, it rammed straight into his stomach. Kurt doubled over, tears forming in his eyes. He couldn't breathe.

"We'd just be doing the school a favor," Karofsky added, shoving him into the lockers. Kurt heard a smack as his French book fell to the ground. His arms automatically went up to block his face as he saw Azimio start swinging again, and he felt something rock-solid bash into his arm. Kurt cried out, trying to push the tears back. He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't going to cry. He wasn't going –

His head slammed against the lockers as Karofsky shoved him again. Everything seemed to flash momentarily ad he started to feel dizzy. "Stop, please…" Kurt begged, trembling. It hurt like hell. He felt the pain trickle down, spreading from where they hit him. And his head felt like something scraping outward with an ice pick.

"Fag…" Azimio grabbed his arm, his fingers wrapping around it in a python-like grip, and he twisted and pulled. There was a crack, and the rest of the pain suddenly seemed trivial. Kurt screamed as he felt it blossom. His arm was starting to throb. The pain pierced through him and it felt as if someone was driving a nail through him.

"Oh, shit…" They started to back away. Kurt felt a bit nauseous and dizzy. In fact, things were starting to get blurry or fade out around the edges. His arm was broken, and the rest of him simply ached. He looked down and saw something white sticking out of his arm. Kurt gagged.

"We gotta get out of here." That was Karofsky. "If someone finds us…" There was a pause and then Kurt was slammed against the lockers one final time. "Later, loser." He slid down and closed his eyes.

KBKBKBK

Kurt slowly opened his eyes. Everything around him was white and smelled sterilized. It took a moment to focus in, but then he saw his dad sitting to the side in a chair. He seemed to be asleep. Kurt shook his head. There were other people here too. He looked down at his arm; it was in a cast.

"Kurt, are you okay?" He turned his head and saw Mercedes coming closer.

"I'm at the hospital," Kurt said, feeling somewhat dumb. After all, he was just stating the obvious. "Why am I at the hospital?"

"I should've come with you to get your books," Finn said, coming forward. Actually, the majority of the glee club seemed to be here. The only people who weren't appeared to be Quinn, Santana, Brittany, and Puck. Kurt felt touched that they all cared enough to be here.

"They would've just beaten you up too," Kurt said, although a part of him wished Finn had. Maybe they would have backed off like usual. At least he wouldn't be here right now.

"No, really," Finn said, looking guilty. Kurt felt slightly better when Finn's hand rested on his shoulder, and he managed a small smile.

"But what happened? I mean, after I passed out…"

"Well, I thought I heard something," Mike said. "Matt and I went to check it out. You were screaming pretty loud."

"I don't remember…"

"You were passed out when we got there."

"Oh." Kurt almost felt ashamed.

"We'd better call the nurse and wake up your dad," Mercedes said, giving Kurt's hand a reassuring squeeze. Pulling away, she stepped toward the door, calling out, "Nurse Nancy!"

The nurse came into the room, and Kurt looked up to see Carole standing at the glass outside of the room. So, Finn's mom was here too. He didn't know what this many people cared about him. He felt his face burn as he blushed.

"I'm glad you're finally awake, Mr. Hummel." The nurse beamed at him, and looked at the people in the room. "Maybe it'd be best if you leave. I'm sorry." People nodded and mumbled agreements.

"See you later Kurt," Mercedes said, giving him a supportive smile.

"I'm glad you're okay," Rachel added. Even she seemed sincere, and it certainly was touching to see her worried about someone other than herself. Had that even happened before? Everything was always about her problems – solos and lack of appreciation.

Still, the room emptied.

"Kurt…" Kurt turned as his father's voice rung out. He only had a moment to brace himself before he felt a light hug. His dad was careful to avoid his cast. "I'm so sorry Kurt. Those sons of bitches are going to be expelled, I promise. We're –"

"I think you should calm down for a moment. They'll be plenty of time to – err – catch up, but first I need to see how Kurt feels," the nurse said, gently placing and hand on his father's shoulder. His dad immediately nodded and backed up, although Kurt could still tell he was angry from the way his hands reached for his cap and wrung it.

"What happened to me?" Kurt asked as the nurse finally looked satisfied and leaned back toward him.

"Well, you lost a lot of blood. You hit your head pretty badly. And, as you can probably tell, your arm's broken. The bone pierced through the skin. Your radius just snapped."

KBKBKBK

Kurt paced back and forth across the room. "I can't just leave!" He tugged at his scarf with his free hand. He couldn't just leave McKinley.

"It's not safe there. Principal Figgins said that he couldn't expel those kids. I think they're blackmailing him. I'm not going to be a goddamn idiot and send you back there. Look what they did to you." Kurt flushed. His clothes were hiding it, but in addition to the broken arm and the stitches in his head, he had bruises all over his body. A bit of foundation had been useful enough in hiding the one on his cheek.

"What about glee club? They need twelve members."

"And they'll find someone else." His dad sighed and continued wringing his cap. He'd been doing that a lot recently. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? This is stupid. You can't even afford this Da –"

"Dalton Academy. Carole's helping pay for it."

"I don't want her help. And neither should you. She's not my mom!" Kurt shouted, feeling tears start to form behind his eyes. "So, it doesn't even matter what I want?"

"She just doesn't want to see you get hurt again. I can't do it myself, and she came up with the idea. Look, you'll be safe there, I promise." He avoided Kurt's eyes. Kurt could tell his father felt guilty, but it was hard to feel bad when he knew he'd be leaving everything he'd worked so hard for behind.

"And what if I'm not?" His reoccurring nightmare flashed before his eyes – complete strangers beating him up. No one there would know him. No one would try to stop them. They'd just laugh.

"I don't know, Kurt. I just don't know."

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