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Kurt sat across from the three handsome boys nervously, he didn't think about what would happen if he got caught, but there was only one thing he couldn't stop thinking about.
“Is it normal for your glee club to break out into song without fear of harassment?” Kurt blurted out.
The boys looked a bit taken aback. “Yes, here at Dalton, we have a strict anti-bullying policy that is stringently enforced.” The no-nonsense Asian boy, Wes, responded.
“Are you dealing with bullying at your school?” The boy who introduced himself as Blaine and had so boldly held his hand, leading him through the halls, asked.
Kurt didn't feel comfortable talking about his bullying with strangers, but he could talk about the crap the New Directioners have to put up with.
“Yeah, our school is filled with neanderthals who think singing and dancing is too gay and should be trashed.” ‘Sometimes literally,’ he thought ruefully, face twisting in a slightly unpleasant way as he recalled the dumpster tossing.
Blaine, seeing the darkening of his face, asked the other boys if they wouldn't mind giving them a moment. “No problem. It was interesting meeting you, Kurt.” David said with a friendly smile, while Wes gave a companionable nod in farewell.
“Kurt, I know what you're going through. It's part of the reason I'm attending Dalton, I was bullied out of my old school because of my sexuality. The one thing I know that I regret is not standing up for myself and just running.” Blaine earnestly spoke.
Kurt couldn't help but be a bit drawn to this nice stranger, especially when his friends either don't know or choose not to notice the bullying he was enduring. Kurt and Blaine spoke for a few more minutes before exchanging numbers and promising to stay in touch.
•
Walking through the school double doors, Kurt felt his phone vibrate. Pulling it out and seeing the single word text from Blaine saying courage was nice and put a small smile on his face. Blaine seemed sweet, if a bit naive, and would make a nice friend. Especially since Kurt didn't have any openly gay friends within a drivable distance to hang out with.
The thing was that Kurt had no issue standing up for himself, but he also knew how to pick his battles. A confrontation could get out of hand too quickly for his liking. It was the only thing his boyfriend and their mutual friends made him promise, to never allow himself to be alone with his bullies. There were too many horror stories about gay boys being bashed or killed for him to truly think about confronting his tormentors.
Putting his phone back in his pocket, he took a deep breath. He had another day to survive at this sham of an educational institution.
•
After the 3rd body slam into a locker for the day, Kurt was very grateful for the bell signaling the end of the day. Thankfully, today was not a day Glee met up and Finn had football practice, so he could go straight home.
He didn't waste any time crossing the parking lot and leaving the minute he had his baby engine on. Driving down the road en route home, he heard his phone buzz. It was a toss-up whether it was his boyfriend or Blaine. Blaine had sent a few more one-word texts of similar strain as his initial one to his bemusement. He wasn't yet sure how he felt about it, but he appreciated the support.
The trip to Dalton had other positives than just making a friend. He was intrigued by their anti-bullying policies and looked up their website. While clicking through their pages, he came across their scholarship page and realized that the spring term scholarship deadline was in 5 days. After today, he was sure he would be turning in an essay for the possibility of financial aid. The tuition price was not something the Hummels could afford at this time. Especially, with his dad’s hospital bills, they just finished paying off.
Dalton had 3 different scholarships they offered: an essay, a financial hardship, and an academic one that was dependent on receiving one of the other two awards. While they needed a budget to stay in the green, they also did not need government assistance, which disqualified them from the financial hardship scholarship. The essay would be read and voted on by a committee, and 10 people would get a partial scholarship. If he were able to get the essay scholarship, he would receive the academic scholarship, as he exceeded all the requirements. With both of them, he would be fully covered for the cost of the school.
He would work on it the rest of the week and turn it in on Saturday evening. If this goes his way, he'll know if he was chosen to be awarded by the 15th of December. He'll keep quiet about it until he knows for sure if he'll be able to attend.
Walking into his house and walking into his room, he settled at his desk. Powering up the computer, he brought up Dalton's webpage and navigated to the page he needed. He didn't look yesterday at the topic for the essay, but reading it now, he knew he had more than enough to pull from.
"Write an essay about overcoming adversity in your personal or academic life, and the lesson it taught you. Ha, I have more than enough adversities to choose from." Kurt muttered to himself. Pulling up Word, he got started.
•
Kurt had forgotten about the application with all the craziness of life and the never-ending drama that was Glee. Between getting the best substitute and Mr. Schue's unfortunate return, putting together a wedding for his Dad and Carol, the various relationship problems that always seem to exist in Glee, hanging out with Blaine, and Sue taking notice of his bullying problem, he hasn't had the time to think about it.
But when he looks at his email, he can see the word Dalton in an official-looking email. Closing his eyes and breathing out slowly, he steels himself.
“No matter what this says, I'll be okay, I made it 17 years, and I can survive one more if I need to.”
Clicking on the email, he read the words “We are pleased to present Kurt Hummel with a scholarship award based on his essay submission, along with the academic scholarship for academic excellence that we hope to see continued in our halls.” The rest of the words blurred as his eyes filled with tears.
‘He did it. He did it, he wouldn't have to cover in McKlenly’s hallways in fear of letterman-jacket wearing Neanderthals come next term.’
There were so many people he had to inform, but right at that moment, all he could do was cry in sheer relief of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.