Disclaimer: Nope. It is not mine. If it were Kurt would be the star of the show, and everyone else would fall to his feet and swear their loyalty.

Title: Singing To A Different Beat

Rating: T

Pairing: Finn/Kurt

Summary: He's leaving, and for some reason that really hurt. Finn knew he wasn't the smartest person in the world. He barely scraped by in school, and so he didn't know why Kurt leaving for Dalton was so bad, nor did he understand his irrational feelings toward Blaine Anderson.

Warnings: Slash: Male/Male Relationships, Altered Glee-verse, Sexual Content, Drama, Adult Language, and other stuff I can't think of. Episodes: Furt+

Notes: All mistakes are my own. I try, but I'm not perfect. Thanks Bittersweet for your help.

1.

"A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That's why they don't get what they want."

― Madonna

It was like a very large fist ramming into Finn Hudson's stomach. All of the air inside of him disappeared, and his heart was replaced with pain.

Kurt stood there looking perfect as he ever was, not a strand of hair out of place, and he told them point blank that he was going to Dalton because Karofsky was coming back.

For some reason, it felt like the end of the world. Finn thought that things were starting to get better only for it to all come crashing down. His mom had finally tied the knot with Burt, and they had a brand new large house with their own rooms.

Kurt left after that, and everyone in New Directions were stunned especially Mr. Schuester.

"Had it been that bad?"

"How did we not notice?"

Those were some of the questions flying through the room, but Finn couldn't pinpoint who was saying what.

"Finn!" Rachel's voice cut through his thoughts, and he frowned as he stared down at the girl that he thought he loved. "Did you know about this?" she asked sharply.

"How could I?' Finn asked.

"He's totally going to ruin New Directions! Going off to the enemy!" she shrieked. "You have to talk sense into him!"

Finn stared at her as if she was Medusa with snakes for hair. He always knew that Rachel was a little conceited, but he thought she had her moments of goodness.

Finn gave her a look of disgust as Mercedes and Santana laid into Rachel. He stood, and before she could grab his arm, he jerked away from her. "Don't talk to me right now, Rachel. I don't have capacity to listen to your self-serving whining."

"Woohoo! Go white boy!" Mercedes cheered.

"Finn, calm down!" Mr. Schuester feared for their group now. "It's not Rachel's fault."

"No, it's ours," Finn said factually. "We're a group, we're his friends, I'm his family, and we didn't notice. I'm going home."

"But, Finn! We still have practice!" Rachel whined.

"Shut up, will you?" Finn snarled causing Rachel to rear back as though she'd been slapped. "I don't give a shit about the glee club right now. Get your head out of your ass for once!"

Rachel was left in tears, and no one felt bad for her.

(o)

Kurt was thumbing through a Vogue magazine, and every now and then he would text Blaine about what to expect at Dalton Academy. He was a little sad to be leaving New Directions, but his safety was more important. He was excited to be going to school with Blaine, and he hoped that he could join the Warblers.

It was early afternoon, and Burt had let him leave school early, and he was making the most of the afternoon.

He heard loud thumping on the staircase, and knew before the scent of Axe Cologne that Finn had come home early as well. He knew his step-brother would be confused, and probably upset.

Kurt twitched, but didn't look up when he heard the squeak of his door being opened. Kurt had taken to decorating his new bedroom the last two days. He had the master bedroom because it had a bathroom connected, and Burt and Carole thought it would be easier on him if he was able to have a bathroom to his self like he'd had at his old house.

He missed the old house, all the memories of his mother were there, but he knew he had to move on. Finn deserved his own room, and Kurt had to admit, he hated to share.

He felt a shadow consume him, and continued to read an article on the newest fashion on the runway. Kurt's large bed sunk down, and finally he glanced up at Finn from underneath his lashes.

Finn swallowed when Kurt gazed up at him with such an intense stare. He had always known that Kurt was an intense person.

"Why?"

"You know why, Finn," Kurt placed a bookmark in the magazine, and closed it. He laid it aside, and snagged one of his fluffy pillows and leaned heavily into it.

"We could have protected you!" Finn insisted. "I could have."

Kurt shook his head. "It's not your job to protect me, Finn nor is it anyone else's. It's something I have to do. Dalton Academy has a no tolerance for bullying."

"But, it's so far away! I can protect you, Kurt. I meant what I said. I don't give a damn about my reputation anymore!"

Kurt flicked a piece of hair out of his eyes, and propped his head up with his hand. "Sorry, Finn. It's a done deal, Coach Sylvester already sent my transcripts. She was the only one who really cared, Finn. She expelled him without a second thought. Of course the school board decides who gives a damn about the resident fag."

Finn flinched as if he'd been struck with a weight. "Don't say that," he shuddered violently.

Kurt arched a perfectly crafted eyebrow at that. "It's the way they see me."

Finn's hands clenched into his palms, and he'd had nails he would have broken his skin. He bowed his head. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Everything," Finn murmured. "For not being there, for bullying you before any of this, and - and I'm sorry for that night in the basement. God, I'm such a stupid idiot. I always ruin things, and I can never get my head out of my ass."

Kurt was shocked. He didn't know what to say to Finn, and he opened his mouth to try and placate him when his phone buzzed. He glanced over to see Blaine's name on the face.

"Who's that?" Finn asked curiously.

Kurt took the phone, and smiled a little. "One of the Dalton boys. His name's Blaine."

Finn twitched. "Oh."

Kurt didn't reply right away, and instead he put it aside. "Finn, what happened in the basement wasn't completely your fault."

"Yes, it was!" Finn argued. "No matter the situation, I never should have said that."

"It's how you felt."

"No! I - I didn't."

"I pressured you. I didn't realize that crushing on straight guys was a very bad idea. I'm the only gay kid that's open around here. I don't have anyone to talk too, or anyone to tell me what's a good idea, and what's not. I had to learn the hard way."

"I didn't help any. I hurt everyone when I did that."

"So did I." Kurt brought his nails up to inspect them so that he had something to distract himself with. "It's not your fault, and you never actively did anything to me, Finn. Hell, you refused to slushy me."

"I couldn't do that. I felt awful when you did that to yourself."

"Sacrifices have to be made to coexist in a plebeian world."

Finn wrinkled his nose as he tried to figure out what 'plebeian' meant. He figured it meant something bad, and shrugged to himself.

"When do you start, Dalton?" Finn asked as the phone buzzed again. He shot the cell a dirty look. How dare it interrupt him talking to Kurt.

Kurt continued to leave it as he reached over, and took a metal nail file from his desk. "Tomorrow dad and I are going to meet with the Headmaster to decide whether I'll be staying on campus or commuting back and forth. It's a two hour drive so we'll see what happens tomorrow."

Finn's mouth went dry. "Commuting?"

Kurt smiled light-heartedly. "Yes, Finn commuting. It means driving back and forth, and not living on campus."

"Oh," Finn blushed suddenly. He was used to being dumb, hell it was his life, but Kurt made him feel embarrassed at his stupidity for the first time in his life. "Wait!" His eyes widened as he looked at Kurt. "You mean, you'll live on campus?"

Kurt nodded. "That's right. I might do that. It'll be cheaper on gas. Gaga knows that dad's spending enough money."

"I'll never see you!" Finn was horrified. How could he protect Kurt if he was never around? The thought of never being able to see Kurt was like being slugged in the stomach once more. He did not like the feeling of that at all. His chest hurt really bad now.

Kurt paused at that. Why would Finn care? "I'll be around most weekends. It's not like I'm going to be gone forever."

"Yeah, I guess."

Finn couldn't explain why it hurt so damn much to know that Kurt was leaving. He supposed he'd gotten used to male diva's presence, and he cared so much for Kurt. He did not want Kurt leaving, but what could he say? Everything had been done, and it wasn't like Finn was anyone important. He was just connected through marriage, and nothing more.

"Good night, Kurt."

"Night Finn," Kurt waved without looking at him as he scooped up his cell phone, and Finn's eyes narrowed unconsciously when he saw the name 'Blaine' blazed across the face of the phone.

(o)

The transition from McKinley to Dalton was so much less painless with Coach Sylvester's recommendation, and it helped that Kurt's grades spoke volumes. He was ranked third in the entire school, and he was only a Junior. Mike Chang and some no name were the only ones before Kurt.

Kurt's dorm was nice and cozy. The hall that he had been placed on was for the emergency transfers, and the Headmaster had admitted that most of the ones with the single rooms had been bullied at one time or another, and it was to give them a chance to settle in before moving in with a roommate. It made perfect sense to Kurt. It was Saturday so most of the students had gone home for the weekend.

Finn had dropped all his plans with Rachel to help Kurt with the move since Burt had to work in the shop, and besides, Kurt would not let him move the big stuff. Kurt was driving and Finn was in the passenger seat. Kurt's IPod was playing through the speakers of his Navigator as they took the long two hour drive to Westerville. Kurt noticed how silent Finn was, which was odd because usually Finn a chatterbox, and he often talked about things that Kurt didn't really care about.

"Will you be home next weekend?" Finn finally asked after forty minutes of show tunes and Lady Gaga playing in the background.

"I might. It all depends on the homework, and how exhausted I am."

The country side after leaving Lima was nice since there were no red lights or stop signs to get in their way. Kurt allowed the speed to go over the legal limit since there was hardly anyone on the road, and the chance of a cop was slim to none. It was all parched fields of corn, and every now and then the smell of pig and cow farms would cause Kurt to wrinkle his nose. He could not wait to get out of cow town. He absolutely despised Ohio, and all of its backwater ways.

"Everyone's going to miss you."

"I know," Kurt said feeling a pang in his chest. "I'm going to miss them too, but I can't stay with Karofsky. You can't protect me from that. No one but myself can."

Finn frowned. "What do you mean?" He may not be the smartest, but he could hear the tone in Kurt's voice, and it sounded like - like - Finn didn't know what the word was, but it was something, and he knew that it wasn't good.

He watched as Kurt's nose wrinkled cutely. He was about to inquire further when he stopped himself. Why did he think Kurt's nose was cute? Finn glanced over at Kurt who wasn't looking at him, and his eyes fell on the boy's nose, and indeed it was - cute. Yikes, that was very weird.

"Karofsky... Finn..." Kurt looked at the lanky teen with uncertainty. "If I tell you something, will you swear on your life that you won't tell anyone?"

Finn blinked, and shook himself out of his confusing thoughts. "Of course, Kurt!"

"Seriously, Finn, I will never talk to you again if you tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

An ache in Finn's chest at the idea of Kurt never talking to him again hit hard, and the look on soprano's face spoke volumes. He was being serious, dead serious. "I swear."

"Karofsky kissed me in the lockers," Kurt refused to look over at Finn as he said it.

Finn's brain slowed way down, and that was bad because he knew it was slow to begin with. He frowned as he took in the words. "W- what? Karofsky-?"

"Kissed me."

"…." Finn was speechless. His brain buzzed, but he couldn't think right. Although, he could feel the bubbly fury rising inside of him, and he had no idea when it was the last time he felt so angry. Not even when Quinn had lied about her pregnancy, not even when he found out Puck his best friend had slept with his once girlfriend. Not even when Rachel had been infatuated with Jesse St. James. "FUCK!" he snarled, and before his fist could come down onto Kurt's dashboard, the willowy teen's hand shot out like lightning, and snatched his potentially painful fist out of thin air.

Immediately, and without prompt, Finn calmed at the soft tingling touch of Kurt's hand.

"Don't hurt my baby, please," Kurt whispered calmly.

Finn's heart raced like a jack rabbit. How could Kurt take this so calmly? How was it possible? "Kurt..."

"Don't tell anyone, especially my dad. His heart is bad enough." he squeezed Finn's hand gently, and Finn's eyes softened, but it didn't stop him from being anymore upset.

"My God, Kurt! You were sexually harassed, fuck!" He opened his hand that was inside of Kurt's, and he took the boy's long slim fingers, and wrapped them around his thicker ones. "I'm so sorry." He looked out the window as he fought the tears in his eyes. He had only ever cried twice since he'd turned thirteen. The first time was when Quinn had told him she was pregnant, and that she was the father. The second time was when he found out that he wasn't the father. But, this time, he was feeling weak. "I - I don't even know what to say to that."

"Say nothing," Kurt quipped. "It's best for everyone."

"This is serious, Kurt! Is that all that he's done?" When Kurt didn't answer, Finn squeezed his hand firmly. "Kurt... what else has he done to you?"

"He - he might have pushed me into the locker, and stole the wedding cake topper I had. But that's really it. That's why he threatened to kill me because he thought I would out him to the school."

Finn swore again. "That ass, he should not get away with that."

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, Kurt it does matter!"

"No, Finn it doesn't," he refuted. "What happened is over, and I'm off to another school. Everything is much simpler now."

"How can you talk about it so calmly?"

"It happened a few weeks ago. It bothered me, but if I lived my life always angry with people for what they do then I'd probably have a heart attack. I ignore it, and then it goes away."

"Oh, Kurt. I'm sorry," he repeated.

Kurt rolled his eyes, and nervously disentangled his hand from Finn's. He ignored the odd empty feeling that came with it. "You have nothing to be sorry about. If I don't want someone to know something then they're not going to know it."

Finn's shoulders hunched forward, and he placed his hands in his lap as he unconsciously rubbed them together. Kurt was really warm, and his hand fit nice. He didn't know why, but he knew they were nice. He'd known ever since he took the boy's hand at the wedding.

Rachel's hands were too small and stubby like, and he had to admit that Santana was right when she called her man hands no matter how mean it was. Kurt's hands felt delicate. They were like those piano fingers, and he wondered if Kurt could play the piano. There was a piano at the house, but no one ever talked about it, and Finn had never thought to ask until now.

They sat in silence, and Finn was able to get a hold of his emotions before they spilled out in embarrassment.

Kurt turned the radio up to try and drown out the awkward feeling between them just as Angel and Collins' I'll Cover You.

"I know this song!" Finn chirped feeling a little cheerful again.

Kurt blinked, and placed it on pause. "How? I know you've never seen the movie."

Finn blushed. "I have, I watched it with Rachel's dads a few weeks ago. The music is pretty good, and it's a sad movie. Turn it back on!"

Kurt was astonished, and he smiled, and turned it on, and as soon as Angel's beautiful voice filled the car, Kurt began to sing. "Live in my house, I'll be your shelter. Just pay me back with one thousand kisses. Be my lover, and I'll cover you."

One thing Kurt did not expect was Finn to pick up Tom Collins' lyrics, and he nearly swerved when he heard the Quarterback's smooth voice take over. "Open your door, I'll be your tenant. Don't got much baggage to lay at your feet. But sweet kisses I've got to spare, I'll be there and I'll cover you!"

Kurt joined in on the chorus with an airy smile on his face. "I think they meant it when they said you can't buy love. Now I know you can rent it, a new lease you are my love, on life, be my life!" The music traveled over both of them, and Kurt couldn't stop the wild smile on his face. "Just slip me on, I'll be your blanket wherever, whatever, I'll be your coat!"

Grinning, Kurt glanced at Finn with a shake of his head as he picked up Angel's lines once more. "You'll be my King, and I'll be your castle."

"No, you'll be my Queen, and I'll be your moat."

Together they sang in perfect harmony. "I think they meant it when they said you can't buy love. Now I know you can rent it, a new lease you are my love, on life. All my life. I've longed to discover something as true as this."

Then together they mashed their voices in perfect coordination with one another, and the song on the IPod, Finn leading. "So with a thousand sweet kisses. I'll cover, with a thousand sweet kisses, I'll cover you. When you're worn out and tired. When your heart has expired." "If you're cold and you're lonely. You've got one nickel only, with a thousand sweet kisses, I'll cover you! With a thousand sweet kisses, I'll cover you."

"Oh, lover, I'll cover you, yeah, oh lover, I'll cover you…." Kurt delicately laughed as he placed a hand to his chest, and glanced at Finn who was blushing furiously.

"I had no idea, Finn. You shocked me." He turned back to the road before he could slip over the yellow line. He had never imagined that Finn would ever watch RENT or even know what it was.

Finn shrugged. "It was a good movie. Although, I have to admit we sang it better together than me and Rachel. We tried it, and her voice stripped the song."

Kurt was surprised that Finn had that understanding. "There's something about Rachel's voice. She's excellent so don't get me wrong, but the fact is she sings one way, and she always sings in hopes of out classing someone else. She doesn't try to sing for fun or enjoyment, and she uses one pitch because she has been told that it's her best pitch. She would be so much better if used variety."

"I think I get that," Finn said nodding.

Kurt smiled endearingly. "What I'm saying is sometimes her voice doesn't mesh well with others. Usually, she would sound great with Contralto or Counterner, but she lets her voice get ahead, and it shouldn't be like that."

"Uhm…" Finn wished at that moment he was smart enough to know Kurt meant.

Chuckling softly, Kurt rephrased in Finn-terms. "Alto."

"Oh! I know now!" Finn bobbed his head like a bobble dog, and Kurt's laughter got louder. Finn's cheeks burned. "Sorry, we both know I'm stupid." He picked at the hem of his gray t-shirt, and yelped when Kurt's hand came out of nowhere and slapped him on the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?" he whined.

"For being an idiot. You're not stupid, Finn."

Finn snorted, and slouched. "Yeah right. I barely get C's."

"You just don't try," Kurt admonished.

That was true. "I always get distracted."

"Well, don't get distracted, and you can easily get an A, Finn."

"I don't know big words or what half of them mean."

"You don't have too."

"You have a way with words that I could never have. You can insult someone with one word. I have to stumble with the little words to get some meaning out of them."

"Does my dad use big words?"

"Well, no, but he's Burt. He's still smart."

"Exactly!" Kurt gestured with a smug smile.

Finn paused, and repeated what he said in his head. "Oh."

"You have strengths and weakness like I do."

"I've never seen your weakness."

"I don't let anyone see them," Kurt admitted. "I can't show weakness."

"Why?" Kurt gave Finn a swift look, his eyebrow arching in answer. "Oh," Finn bowed his head. "If you showed your weaknesses then school would be worse."

Kurt would have clapped if he hadn't been driving. "And you think you're stupid?"

Finn bit his lip. "I feel better, but worse at the same time." He scratched the top of his head wondering how he could feel two very different feelings at the same time.

"Don't worry about it. It's made me a stronger person."

Finn quietly agreed. A much stronger person than he, Finn Hudson could ever be.