Once again, thanks for all the reviews/alerts/favorites, you guys. You have no idea how much they mean to me.

Note: This chapter takes place during Kurt's freshman year. The show never specified how old the characters were and what grades they were in (except for Rachel, who was a sophomore in the Pilot and Blaine, who we learned was a junior). So, I'm going to go with the assumption that Kurt was a sophomore like Rachel when he joined glee. There's going to be a reference to Finn and Puck and a brief scene mentioned in the episode, Ballad (a flashback of Kurt's if you remember). But just keep in mind that this is before Glee and New Directions, okay?

-.-.-.-

Kurt stood in front of his closet and surveyed all his clothes while he tried to find the perfect outfit to wear. Tomorrow was his first day of high school and he wanted to make a good impression. He wasn't sure who he was going to impress—if middle school is worse than elementary, then high school should be even worse—but, he still wanted to look good. He had already picked out an outfit earlier today, but the more he looked at it, the more he thought it wasn't going to work out. It was probably just his nerves getting the best of him, but he didn't mind; he liked putting outfits together.

He made seven different combinations before he decided on an outfit. Once that was out of the way, he went to his backpack and reorganized his things. It was nearing midnight and he should probably be going to sleep, but he was too excited—or was it anxious?—to go to sleep. It was another thirty minutes before he seated himself on his bed and tried to relax. He laid down, pulled the covers over himself, closed his eyes and willed sleep to come, but it was evading him. After a few minutes of tossing and turning, he sat up once more.

He reached over to DVD player, that always sat on his bedside table, and brought it over to his bed. He bent over and reached for the boxes that were always under his bed. Over the years, he had sorted the videos his mom made into categories, and marked the boxes with each one so finding them wasn't too hard. He opened the box and pulled out the case marked 'When you get to high school'. Kurt had never been too sure when exactly she meant for him to read it, but he figured now was as good a time as any.

"Hello, Kurt" His mother's smiling face greeted him. "You're in high school now. I can't believe how much time has passed. High school is going to be a very trying time for you, son. You're going to be faced with problems—that's just a part of high school—and some of them may be easy to solve, but there are going to be a few that will be a bit hard. I'm sorry I can't be there to help you with whatever problems you may face, but your father is there and even if he doesn't seem like the type to sit and talk, he will listen to you and help you if you need him to. All you have to do is ask.

"You're going to meet a lot of people in the four years that you'll be there. You may find the people who become the best friends you'll ever have, but you will also find people who you don't get along with; there may be people who go out of their way to try and make things hard for you. But, no matter what happens with those people, I want you to remember this: what those people say or think about you, it doesn't matter; all that does matter is what you think about yourself.

"High school is filled with so many different types of people, so many different cliques. Some groups are going to think they are better than others and go out of their way to pick on people who are different from them. It may not sound too nice, but that's just how high school is. It was like that when your father and I went to school, and I'm sure it hasn't changed or will ever change. So, don't let what the other groups say to or about you bother you too much. And, try not to be too hard to the people in other groups. I say this not because I think you're going to go out there and pick on other people, but because I know that sometimes, we just can't help it and it happens"

His mom shrugged and gave him a sheepish grin. Kurt couldn't help but marvel at how smart his mom was. She had made this tape years ago, but he still saw how it applied to his life right now. It was amazing how she was able to predict these things. It was kind of unnerving that she sort of predicted his bullying predicament, but then again, she had always been the one who comforted him whenever he came home crying because the kids picked on him.

"Also," Elizabeth Hummel got an expression on her face that said she just remembered something. "I know that most kids wait until junior or senior year to worry about colleges and what classes they should take and what kind of grades they should get. But, the earlier you start making plans, the less you worry as the time approaches. You've always been a bright boy, Kurt and I know that class-wise, you'll do just fine. But, try not to get too far behind. You've always been ambitious and the type to stop at nothing until you're where you want to be. So, I'm sure I don't have to worry about your grades slipping. You don't have to be a straight A student; I just want you to make sure that you always do your best. That's all that matters to me."

"I love you, Kurt; always and forever. Don't ever forget that."

"I love you, too, mom." Kurt whispered into the empty room. He put the DVD and the player away and went back under his covers; he had a big day tomorrow.

-.-.-.-

After school, Kurt went to his dad's shop to help out. When he turned fourteen, his dad though he was old enough to help out at the shop, and Kurt spent his entire summer working there. Although working with cars was a messy job and coveralls were unattractive, Kurt loved working there. Oddly enough, he actually liked fixing cars. There was something about it that was oddly calming. Now that he started high school, he only helped out on the weekends and after school when he didn't have anything to do.

He put his bag in his dad's office and changed into some coveralls so he wouldn't mess up his new jacket. He went out into the shop and saw a car that needed its oil changed. He told one of his dad's workers, a man named Steve, that he was going to handle it. The man, nodded and went back to the car he had originally been working on. Kurt had a smile on his face the entire time he worked. He hummed to himself and didn't even wince at the slightest when he got oil all over his hands. He was in too good of a mood to care right now.

The reason for his good mood was a tall jock named Finn. Kurt had been walking down the hall on his way to his Spanish class when a guy in a mohawk had knocked into him and pushed him into the nearby lockers. He had looked up to glare at the guy who did it, but stopped when he saw the other boy that was with him. The taller boy had stopped the guy with the mohawk looked like he was scolding him. He turned around and gave Kurt a small smile and nodded at him before walking off.

Kurt later realized that the tall boy who smiled at him was in his Spanish class. He had never noticed before because the boy—Finn, was his name—always sat in the back and Kurt never had a reason to turn around and look back there. For the remainder of the day, Kurt had kept his eye out for Finn. He knew that it was silly, because he had never spoken to Finn before, but he found himself attracted to the boy. There was just something about the boy that was very...cute.

The good mood stayed with him until he got home. His dad had asked him over dinner what all the smiling was about, but there was no way he was going to tell him about a crush he had on another guy. There was no way his dad could understand. After dinner, he went straight to his room and sat on his bed. He pulled his pillow to his chest and gave it a hug. He had been smiling all day and he was pretty sure his cheeks were going to be sore tomorrow. He wanted to tell someone about his crush, but didn't exactly have any friends he was close enough to tell, and there was no way he was going to tell his dad.

He found himself wishing that his mom were here; she would have loved to hear about this. And that was when he remembered. He went reached for the box he labeled 'For Certain Moments in My Life' and looked for the video his mom had called 'When You get your first crush'. He let out a triumphant 'hah!' when he found it and returned to his seat on his bed. He reached for his DVD player and placed the DVD inside.

"Your first crush! That must be exciting," His mom's excited face just made him smile even wider. He knew that going to her would have been the best choice. "I wish I could be there to see who the lucky person is! But, whoever it is, I'm sure they're pretty cute and a wonderful person."

Kurt giggled with his mom. Finn was cute; in a oblivious jock kind of way. And wonderful—it may not be the right word to describe Finn just yet, but that was because he didn't know him too well. But, he knew for sure that Finn was a great guy. Finn was the only jock who hasn't bullied him. Sure, he was always around whenever the jocks pulled pranks on him, but it didn't look like he was into the prank. He was probably just there because his stupid jock friends made him do it. And, he did scold that guy with the mohawk for bumping into him and smiled at him as an apology.

"I remember my first crush. It was a guy who sat next to me in my history class. He had the nicest blue eyes and the cutest dimples. Oh, I must have made a big fool of myself so many times while I was trying to get him to notice me. That was one thing I learned about crushes growing up. You can't help but want to get them to notice you and are always trying to impress them"

He stopped to think about that. Had he done that? He thought to the time that he had spent near Finn today in Spanish class. A blush crept onto his cheeks when he realized that he had. Before today, he only spoke up in class when the teacher, Mr. Shuester, called on him. Today, he had been offering answers to everything. He had hoped that Finn would notice how smart he was.

"I'm not going to tell you not to try and get your crush's attention, because I did the same exact thing when I was a kid. But, just try to be careful, okay? Sometimes, when we like someone, our emotions get the best of us and we end up doing things we don't exactly mean to do. You may just end up getting hurt if you push too hard, baby. Just keep that in mind, okay?"

-.-.-.-

So, no angst in this chapter, again. I guess I've been in too good a mood lately. Lol. But the next chapter may be when I introduce the glee club.

Also, do you guys have any super sad songs you'd be willing to rec me? Sad music helps me write sadder stuff. Haha.

Sorry if this chapter isn't what you expected. Feel free to throw in stuff you want to see. And let me know what you think :D I've love to hear what you have to say.