AUTHOR'S NOTES:

So, I just recently read a story with a similar theme (Kurt and Dave switching roles) but I wanted to do something different. Instead of basically just switching their characters over, I'm going to keep their characters the same (Kurt's still a snooty fashionista and Dave's still a lumbering jock) but just switch their roles. I think it'll be interesting.

Thanks and enjoy!

(BTW I do not own Glee. If I did, it would probably be a bit better than it is.)

Dave wasn't sure how much more he could stand.

He roamed every single hall of William McKinley High in complete and utter ifear/i. Sure, Hummel wasn't the kind of bully that followed you home after school and beat you up in the alleyway behind your house; he was the kind of bully that drove this spike of fear and self-loathing further and further into your temple with sharp and terrible words until you finally slit your wrists to rid yourself of the plaguing thoughts of "you're not good enough!"
But Dave liked to think he was stronger than that. He liked to think that in a fight, he would win against Hummel, but he knew that he would never have the balls to do such a thing.
So, for now, he'll tolerate Hummel because it's all he could do. He knew if he were to tell on the bully, something really terrible would happen, because even though Hummel couldn't hurt him very effectively, he definitely knew people who could. Dave wasn't going to risk that.

The terrible thing was, Hummel was so light on everyone else bullying-wise, but when it came to Dave, he spat the most terrible insults and hounded the larger boy every single day, almost all day. Dave wondered if this was because of his sexuality. He had been out to the school for about a year, but it was only after he admitted that to everyone that Hummel started picking on him. Dave always caught the smaller boy fixing his hair in the reflection of a window or how his eyes linger longingly at the fashionable girls at school. Dave hasn't figured out if it's because he wants to fuck them or be them. Perhaps there was something Hummel was hiding, too. He was dating that Mercedes girl but that relationship seemed flimsy and shallow. Hummel never held her hand and they mostly just talked about musicals they liked and men's fashion trends.
And perhaps what happened next proves that my theory was correct.

The day didn't really seem all that different. I went to all my regular classes and I endured Kurt's homophobic taunting and finally the day was over and I had decided to stay late to practice a little bit alone. I was at my locker when I heard the click of fancy shoes. Closing my eyes, I hoped that it was a girl and not Hummel. Just my luck.
"Hello, Karofsky."
I pursed my lips, ignoring him.
"What? No response today? Not like there's ever a response. You just keep silent like the icoward/i you are. That's probably why you don't have any friends, because you're too much of a fag to man up and actually talk to human beings. Is that it, iDavey/i?"
Now that teachers weren't around, the bully was free to use that cursed word. One of the few things that got under my skin was that word.
"You know what, Hummel," I spun around, facing the slightly shorter boy. He had his arms crossed and a terrifying smirk on his lips that would probably haunt my nightmares for a week or so.
"You think you're so awesome and smart when you make fun of me, but the only thing you're doing is trying to make up for how terrible you feel about yourself! I see it every day. You're always so isad/i, like you're about to cry until someone comes along and you have to force yourself to look happy. But you know what? You know what I think? I think you're even more of a coward than me, because I can be me. I can stand here and tell you right to your face that I am a iHUGE/i homo and I am damn proud of it! What in the hell can you say about yourself that's not a total lie, huh? You're just a scared little kid who can't handle how extraordinarily idifferent/i he really is!"

Before I could even turn to leave in an angry huff, Hummel had thrown his arms around my neck and pulled his face to mine, closing that million mile gap between us with a passionate, desperate kiss that was so intense that I couldn't do anything for a while. When he finally let go, releasing my neck from it's hold, he leaned up again, pressing our lips together in a much sweeter, much more chaste kiss, one that I felt like he needed more than anything.
After the shock wore off, I shoved him off, satisfied at his long stumble backwards, almost into the opposite wall.
"So you are gay." I murmur, my hand over my mouth. He looks at me desperately, his head shaking back and forth, regret and anguish in his eyes before darting off down the hall, looking more scared than I ever have.

That was the beginning of the two most miserable months of my life. After that incident, Hummel ignored me for a little while, maybe two or three days, but then his bullying was back full force. There were a few nights that I actually had the razor at my skin, but I was too much of a coward to push it in.
At some point, he walked up to me, poked me hard in the chest and hissed: "If you fucking tell ianyone/i, I'll kill you." and his voice was so sincere and full of detest that I didn't come to school for a few days after.
Finally, though, I confronted him again.

"Hummel," I called down the empty halls. He was hurrying out after a Glee practice, trying not to catch me after school alone. He halted and I could see his hands tighten around his satchel strap. He took a second before turning around, a terrible glare contorting his face. "What?" he hissed, as if he had been interrupted from something incredibly important or interesting.
"Look, about... iwhat happened/i-"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Hummel, you're going to have to-"
"I don't have to, not with you, faggot. You'll probably try to convert me, seeing how much you obviously think I'm hot."
I give him a look. "iYou/i kissed ime/i. Right, Karofsky?"
Honestly, I was a little stunned. He really expected me to play along?
"What? No! Of course I didn't! Just because you bully me relentlessly doesn't mean that I'm going to just roll over for you. I'm not your bitch, Hummel."
The boy watched me for a second, his expression softening then hardening then morphing into some confusing mixture of the two.
I could tell that he didn't have anything to say to me, so I approached him slowly, cautiously, letting him know that I wasn't going to try to attack.
"Look, I know you're struggling with this right now, and even though you've done nothing but hurt me, I'm going to be the bigger man and offer my assistance. If you ever want to talk... about ianything/i... just call me, okay?" I say softly, simultaneously righting my number on a receipt in my pocket and handing it to him.

He looked at it for a moment before pursing his lips and glaring at me so terribly that I wasn't sure what to think. "Don't try anything with me, Karofsky. I don't want to end up like you." his tone was snarky but the quiver at the end betrayed him.
"What? Out and proud of myself and honestly loved by my friends?"
It took Hummel so long before he turned to leave, but not before I caught a nearly whispered "Yes."