Title: A Football Friday
Author: Heidi
Rating: T
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. If they were, I wouldn't be working in a daycare center!
Pairing: Blaine/Kurt, established couples on the show
Notes: Thanks to my good friend Cindy for reviewing this and giving me lots and lots of good ideas!
Summary: The first football game of the season always brings a little drama. Set in Season Three with Blaine at McKinley and on the football team.
Kurt sighed when he pulled himself out of bed and got ready for school. It was going to be a bad day, even for a Friday when he had an entire two days away from McKinley High School to look forward to.
Breakfast…
"Excited for the game, Finn?" Burt asked as he dished up more of the scrambled eggs and fresh fruit salad Carole had prepared that morning. She'd told him that everyone needed to eat a good, healthy breakfast, even more so on game days.
"Yeah." Finn barely had time to answer between bites. He'd never admit it, but the fruit salad that had been Kurt's favorite and definitely become his as well.
"Is Rachel wearing your jersey?" Carole asked carefully. She had no idea what her son and that girl finally had going now. Sometimes, it was easier just not to know some things.
"Yeah. She told me she was color-coordinating her outfit today to match." Finn mentioned between bites. He was glad his mom had made a big breakfast on a game day.
"Anyone can color-coordinate red and white, Finn. Even Rachel Berry." Kurt snarked and stabbed his fruit salad a little harder than necessary.
Carole and Burt exchanged a parental look of concern and worry. "Is Blaine starting tonight?" Burt asked, watching his son's reactions carefully.
"I think he is, but he wasn't exactly sure." Kurt answered honestly. He and Blaine really didn't talk about football that much.
"So, are you color-coordinating for red and white, too, Kurt?" Carole asked with an amused smile on her face.
"No, why would I?" Kurt asked, glancing down at his outfit of black skinny jeans and long-sleeved white shirt.
"I just thought you'd be wearing…" Carole trailed off, vaguely uncomfortable with the conversation that she'd brought up.
"Hmm?" Kurt turned his attention to his step-mother when she didn't finish her sentence.
"Nothing. You'd better get ready to go before you're late." Carole quickly changed the subject, sparing a glance at the clock.
Burt and Carole watched the kids leave for school in their own respective cars since both boys complained too much when they were forced to go in the same car.
"Carole, what was that with Kurt?" Burt curiously asked, confused by his wife's earlier conversation with his son.
She ducked her head and glanced away in embarrassment. "I just assumed that Kurt would be wearing Blaine's jersey and when I realized he wasn't, I didn't want to make Kurt uncomfortable by putting him on the spot."
"Oh. I had forgotten about that little ritual." Burt thought back to how proud he was of his girlfriend, Kurt's mom, wearing his football jersey on game days. "I don't know how to deal with this situation, Carole. I think I am completely out of my depth on this one."
"Just be there for Kurt, when he comes to you to talk to you about it. I think Kurt's going to need his dad for this one." Carole hesitantly suggested, even if Burt thought she would be better equipped to handle this situation.
ZZZZ...
The hallways of McKinley were alive with the usual excitement of it being Friday and of course, the first game of the season was also contributing to the excited feeling. Kurt sighed as he walked down the hall, seeing the numerous girls in football jerseys. He couldn't help but feel hurt that he wasn't able to participate in the ritual.
"Dude, what is your deal?" Puck sidled up Kurt at his locker between classes.
"What are you talking about Puckerman?" Kurt snapped.
Puck leaned against the locker and crossed his arms over his chest with an amused smile. "You weren't even listening to the teacher last period. What is up with you?"
"Nothing." Kurt didn't want to talk to Puck. In fact, he really didn't want to talk to anyone at that moment or for the rest of the day.
"I know there's something wrong with you when you don't bitch at me for calling you dude." Puck smirked because he rarely saw Kurt this riled up.
"Just leave it alone." Kurt slammed his locker shut and stormed down the hall.
"What is his problem?" Puck asked Finn, who'd walked up to the two boys shortly before Kurt stormed off.
Finn just shrugged his shoulders as they watched Kurt stomp down the hall. "Kurt's been in a bad mood since he got up. I don't know what his issue is."
"I bet I do." Puck grinned when he'd made the connection. It was like a light bulb in his head had gone off and he was feeling quite proud of making the connection before Finn had figured it out.
"So tell me because I have no idea." Finn glared at his best friend who was looking way too self-satisfied with himself.
"It's the first Friday football game. His boyfriend is on the team and he's like obligated to show up at the game." Puck shrugged, wondering if Finn would get where he was going with the conversation.
"Kurt loves Blaine. He would show up at the game without being asked." Finn knew it wasn't over the football game.
Puck shoved Finn a little harder than necessary as they walked down the hall, so they wouldn't be late to Biology. "It's the jersey, Finn. Who's got yours?"
"Rachel." Finn quickly answered, feeling proud that the love of his life was wearing his jersey.
"And Lauren has mine, so why doesn't Kurt have Blaine's on?" Puck left the question out there.
Finn completely realized in that moment what was wrong with Kurt and why he'd been acting like he had. "Damn it. This sucks."
"So, who's going to remind Blaine what he's done wrong this time?" Puck asked with a bright smile. Since Kurt's boyfriend was at McKinley, they'd all had to remind him of what it was like in a public school and Blaine had taken it all in stride with a smile on his face.
Finn smiled. "I have the perfect person."
ZZZZ...
"Blaine." Rachel smiled at him when she finally found him alone at his locker.
"Hey, Rachel." Blaine nodded to the girl.
"We need to talk." She crossed her arms across her chest and fixed him with a look.
Blaine had seen that look on her face before and he was suddenly feeling a lead weight in his stomach. "All right. About what?" He asked, carefully, since he wasn't sure how this conversation was going to end, especially with that look aimed at him.
"We have traditions at this school and you are in violation of one of them right now." Rachel gently said since Finn and Puck had given her strict instructions on what to tell Blaine.
"Sorry, Rachel. I was in private school for two and a half years. I'm a little rusty, so please enlighten me what I am screwing up." Blaine had known going back to public school wasn't going to be easy, but he really hadn't expected it to be this hard.
"It's a Friday and there's a football game tonight." Rachel started slowly, not wanting to spook the boy in front of her who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else in that moment.
"Yeah, I have my jersey on in name of supporting the school spirit." Blaine pointed to the cheap polyester jersey. His father hadn't been expecting his son to be wearing a football jersey and had fought with him that morning over it, so it had already been a banner morning for him.
"Honey, it's not what you're wearing." Rachel smirked at him and took his arm gently to turn him in direction of their other friends at their lockers. "It's what your boyfriend isn't wearing."
"Huh?" He was confused.
"Blaine, look at the following people; Lauren, Mercedes, Santana, Britney, Tina, Quinn, and myself. What do we have in common that we're wearing?" Rachel shook her head, waiting for Blaine to take them all in.
"You're all wearing football jerseys…" Blaine slowly processed it in his head.
"That have our boyfriend's names on them. Now, look at your boyfriend and what is he missing?" Rachel pointed to Kurt who was standing at his own locker, looking completely alone.
"The second jersey I was given. I wondered why the guys and Coach Beiste kept giving me odd looks." Blaine suddenly put it together. "Damn it."
"The day isn't over, Blaine. You've got plenty of time to get Kurt into your jersey or out of it, if you prefer." Rachel fluttered down the hall with a wide smile.
ZZZ...
"Hey." Kurt nodded at Blaine when they caught up after fourth hour. It sucked not having all their classes together, but they had enough together that one or two classes apart wasn't that big of a deal.
"So, the girls explained to me your school traditions about the football game days." Blaine shrugged. "I'm sorry I didn't know earlier, but it's been so long since I've actually been in a public school."
"It's okay, Blaine. I understand why you don't want me to wear your jersey." Kurt's tone was defeated. He'd hoped to get through this day without having to deal with this.
"Excuse me?" Blaine was totally confused by Kurt's reaction.
"You're worried about getting beat up again. I get it, Blaine, so there's nothing for you to feel bad about. I know you're just protecting yourself. It's okay that you don't want me to wear your jersey and call attention to ourselves." Kurt turned his face away from Blaine so he could compose himself. It wouldn't do to show his boyfriend just how upset he was over the jersey.
"Kurt, it's not that…"
"If you think school is bad with the hate, just wait until the game tonight. It's a hundred times worse because this is a small town and everyone comes to the game. You don't want your boyfriend wearing your jersey in the stands. I get it. It really is okay. I can handle it, Blaine." Kurt smoothly lied. He didn't want to handle this; he just wanted to be like everyone else with a boyfriend on the team and able to proudly wear his jersey.
"I just didn't know the traditions, Kurt. I want you to wear my jersey and to hell with what everyone else thinks." Blaine rested a hand on Kurt's shoulder.
"I'm okay, Blaine. It's a stupid tradition here, and I already know having a boyfriend on the football team is going to be different for me and not being able to wear your jersey is just one of those things I have to accept and deal with." Kurt shook his head. "I've got study hall. Talk to you at lunch."
ZZZZ...
Lunch…
Kurt grabbed what passed for a fruit and vegetable tray and made his way outside to the courtyard. Even a cool day in the sunshine was better than being trapped inside the cafeteria where the jocks tended to congregate and with it being a Friday game day, he was sure it would be worse than usual. It seemed his girlfriends also had the same idea to eat outside and enjoy the day.
Mercedes was the first to speak. "So, where's your boyfriend?"
"He's inside eating lunch with the guys." Kurt answered. "You know, we don't have to spend all our time together. You and Sam don't spend every minute together, either, Mercedes."
"Okay, okay. Why are you so pissy today? It's Friday and it's a game day." Mercedes brightly smiled. She was wearing her boyfriend's jersey and it felt amazing.
Kurt flinched and looked away when he saw how happy Mercedes was to be wearing Sam's jersey and he wished he could know that feeling. "Nothing, Mercedes." Kurt brushed it off. "Just a long week."
"Sorry, sweetie." Mercedes gave him a warm smile.
Inside the cafeteria, Blaine was totally getting grilled by the boys.
"Why isn't Kurt wearing your jersey?" Puck demanded to know. "Dude, you were supposed to take care of that. Why the hell do you think we sicced Rachel on you earlier?"
Blaine glared at Puck. "Yeah, thanks for siccing Rachel on me. I really appreciated that."
"Whatever gets the job done, dude, and you didn't answer my question. Why doesn't Kurt have your jersey on?" Puck repeated his original question.
"I offered, but Kurt thinks that I didn't give him my jersey because I didn't want to call attention to us." Blaine felt incredibly guilty that he hadn't given Kurt his jersey the night before.
"And you told him that he was wrong, right?" Sam interjected into the conversation, wondering why they were even having this conversation.
Blaine shrugged. "I tried, but Kurt kept pushing it off."
"Then try harder, dude." Finn paused from shoveling food in his mouth. "This is Kurt and we all know how he is."
"Just how is he, Finn?" Blaine gave Finn a hard, unreadable look.
Finn shrugged his shoulders. "He takes things a lot harder than the rest of us. To him, it's just not a mistake, it's a slight and the jersey dude? He's going to think you're embarrassed about him. Don't you know that by now?"
"I'll deal with it, Finn." Blaine plainly said. He was determined to make this up to Kurt, no matter what it took.
GAME NIGHT…
"Kurt?" Burt looked at his son who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else tonight.
"What dad?" Kurt paused from buttoning his jacket. The night had turned a lot cooler than he'd expected and he'd stay warm if he had to be at this game.
"Where's the jersey?" Burt uncomfortably asked the question that had been bothering him all day and even more so now that they were in the stands for the game.
"Excuse me?" Kurt's voice was icy.
Burt heard the ice in Kurt's voice, but chose to press on. "Isn't it a school tradition for football players to give their second jerseys to their…dates to wear to the game?"
"It is." Kurt acknowledged with a nod and kept his eyes focused on the football field where the guys were warming up. He couldn't keep a smile off his face as he found Blaine out there.
"So where's your jersey with Blaine's name on it?" Burt was curious when Kurt hadn't shown up after school with a jersey to wear at the game that night.
"I'm not about to bring more trouble to any of us and Blaine didn't want to give me his jersey until the glee club ganged up on him. I don't want it out of pity or guilt."
"More trouble?" Burt's eyes darkened with anger.
Kurt turned to look at his father. "Dad, this is Blaine's first game for McKinley. Look at the stands, it's full of men whose sons are on that team. Blaine shouldn't be hassled because I wanted to wear his jersey like everyone else who has a boyfriend on the team. I'll get over it…besides, I know the rules are different for us and I accepted that a long time ago."
"Kid…" Burt really didn't know what to say to his disappointed son. It hurt him that Kurt and Blaine couldn't do what the other kids did.
"Let's just watch the game." Kurt sighed as he heard the whistle blow to start the game.
ZZZZ...
After the game, Burt stood outside the locker room with other parents and friends of the players. He was close enough that he could keep an eye on Kurt who was a little ways away from him. Burt pushed down the anger when he heard a few of the fathers comment about Kurt. He chose to ignore the looks that were aimed his way.
"Great game, guys." He said enthusiastically said to Finn and Blaine when they came out of the locker room.
"Thanks Mr. Hummel." Blaine smiled, appreciating that someone gave a damn. His own parents hadn't bothered to show up, not that he'd even expected them to, but it would have been nice to know they cared about him. "Where's Kurt?"
Burt waved his hand. "Over there talking to the girls talking about something."
"Thanks."
ZZZZ...
Blaine walked over to where everyone was standing. "Hi."
"Hey." Kurt beamed at his boyfriend. "Good job tonight."
"So, you guys coming?" Puck asked, wiggling his eyebrows at them.
"Where?" Kurt was curious when Puck asked them.
"To the team's after party where we're actually going to celebrate a win for a change." Puck was actually surprised that they had something to celebrate and it felt good.
"Of course, we'll be there." Blaine answered for the both of them as he threw an arm over Kurt's shoulder and walked them to the parking lot.
ZZZ...
It was too quiet for Blaine in the car and he approached the subject that was weighing on his mind.
"You totally don't want to go to the party, do you?" Blaine finally decided to confront the tension in the car.
"I didn't think you could tell." Kurt was sarcastic.
"So, what's the problem with going to a party to celebrate?" Blaine didn't understand why Kurt wouldn't want to celebrate with him and his friends.
"Drinking football players don't exactly make me feel safe. These are the same guys who loved to throw me into the dumpster when they were sober. So, blame me, if I don't want to see what they're capable of when they've been drinking." Kurt snapped angrily, knowing that he wasn't angry specifically at Blaine.
"We won't go then." Blaine replied, respecting Kurt's wishes.
"No, you should go, Blaine. You need to bond with the team." Kurt shrugged. "Don't change your plans for me. I understand that you need to do this and spending time apart won't kill us. It's probably good for us to have time apart."
ZZZZ...
At Home….
Carole and Burt looked up from their cuddled position on the couch to see Kurt walk in the door and hang up his jacket wordlessly.
"No party, Kurt?" Burt was genuinely concerned to see his son home this early without Blaine or Finn with him.
"Blaine went, I didn't." Kurt said, exhausted. "He just dropped me off."
Carole quietly slipped from the couch upstairs, feeling like this was a private conversation for Burt and Kurt.
"Why didn't you go with Blaine? The two of you don't spend much time apart." Burt asked.
"Blaine needs to bond with the team and he can't really do that with me around. He blends in and I stick out. I understand, dad. It's just one of those differences I have to get used to. We both know we need to do things separately at times." Kurt admitted, knowing his words wouldn't do anything but worry his dad.
'Kurt…" Burt hated hearing his son say those words. "I…"
"Don't, dad. I'm going to bed." Kurt really didn't have the energy for a lengthy discussion.
ZZZZ...
Saturday morning dawned too early and too bright for Kurt, who dragged himself through breakfast with his dad and Carole before heading out to the garage with Burt. Finn was apparently still in bed.
"Kurt, do you want to talk?" Burt asked, awkwardly standing in the doorway to the office where Kurt was inputting paperwork to the computer.
"Not really." Kurt didn't want to have this conversation with anyone, especially his dad, who would try to act like he understood, even when he couldn't.
Burt shook his head as he watched Kurt hit the keys a little harder than necessary and went back into the hub of the garage to work.
Kurt heard the door shut behind his dad and he breathed out a sigh. He threw himself into the pile of work on the desk so he didn't have to think about yesterday's ridiculous jersey debacle. He also wouldn't allow himself to think about next Friday night and all the worries with it being an away game. There were only so many things he could worry about and right now, his biggest worry was trying to read his dad's sloppy handwriting.
At three o'clock that afternoon, Kurt was finally finished with the paperwork from the week and sighed. His dad had wisely left him alone for the day so he could work in peace and it was nice to avoid another awkward conversation.
Now, he was planning on going home and throwing himself into homework and not thinking about Blaine. He wasn't sure what to say or even how to deal with his boyfriend and that was an uncomfortable feeling for him.
"Kurt, you have a visitor." Burt couldn't keep the smile from his face as he stood in the office doorway, watching his son clean up the desk area.
"Who is it, dad, because I'm not really in the mood to see anyone right now." Kurt snipped, a little meanly.
"Get out there and find out." Burt practically had to shove his son out of the door.
Kurt's heart jumped when he saw Blaine leaning up against his cherry red Mustang convertible, looking delectable in soft jeans, a well worn long sleeved shirt, and designer sunglasses. He idly wondered how he'd been so lucky to find and get to have Blaine Anderson in his life. "Hey."
"Hey you." Blaine smiled at his boyfriend. "You done for the day?"
"Yeah, why?" Kurt asked, surprised that his boyfriend had shown up at the garage of all places.
"We really need to talk. I thought you and I could go for a drive and get away for a while." Blaine hoped that Kurt would want to hang out after yesterday.
Burt, who had been shamelessly eavesdropping on the private conversation, spoke up before his son could say one word or make up some stupid excuse. "Go have some fun, boys. Kurt, you know when curfew is." He shoved Kurt's bag and jacket into his hands and gently shoved him in Blaine's direction.
"That really sounds like a good idea." Kurt smiled, slipping his jacket on and walking over to the car.
ZZZZ...
After driving for a little while, Kurt turned to his boyfriend. "Where are we going?"
"Someplace only I know about. I didn't want us to be interrupted by anyone." Blaine replied, turning down a small, unnoticed road.
Kurt suppressed a smile as Blaine turned off the car and he realized where they were. "You brought me to Lake Lima?"
Kurt watched as Blaine grabbed a blanket from the backseat and spread it out on the ground for the two of them. Kurt stiffly sat down on the blanket and looked out over the lake.
"Listen, I know you don't want to hear this, but I am sorry about yesterday. I need you to tell me what your public school traditions are. I count on you and our friends to help me out with this kind of stuff. I'm still learning and you have to be patient with me." Blaine could only hope that Kurt would forgive him for yesterday's mess.
"And I'm sorry I was a jerk to you about the jersey." Kurt honestly felt bad that he'd shut Blaine out.
"So is this problem solved then?" Blaine asked with a smile.
"Yeah, it is."
"Good, then we can take advantage of this alone time to just make out." Blaine gave a creepy looking leer at Kurt.
Kurt couldn't help but laugh at Blaine's leer. It was just too funny to see his boyfriend trying to give him a creepy leer.
"So, I want you to make me a promise, Kurt." Blaine said, seriously.
Kurt nodded and waited for his boyfriend to continue. The day was coming to an end and the darkness was starting to encroach on them, but it felt like nothing else in the world could touch them at that moment, when there was a faint trace of sunset light in the sky.
"I want you to promise me that you will wear the Anderson jersey for all games, from now on. I love you and I don't want to hide our love because people just don't understand it."
"Even though it's cheap polyester. I can make it work." Kurt's mind was racing with the possibilities of putting together Friday game day outfits. He might even have to go shopping.
Blaine laughed and pulled his boyfriend in for a kiss.