On My Own Two Feet
Summary: In which Mr. Schue is an eavesdropper when he overhears Kurt and Blaine's conversation in the club room after Puck and Santana's fight about homos. (Heavy issues about bullying. Side story to Turning Tables. Can be read separately but you might want to read TT too to clear things up.)
WARNINGS: Contains rumors/spoilers about the next few episodes. Read at own risk.
Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Obviously.
To Will Schuester, he was never a good man of advice and while he may have a few experiences in life that he could enlighten his students with, he had his own fair share of misguided upbringings and misfortunes as well. And he had to admit, he could never find the right words to say like that of how a best friend would need one. He had direly realized this when Puck and Santana went all out of a screamfest during club and none of the things he had said to both – separately, of course – mattered afterwards. After that, none of his enthusiasm brought their game back on again… even Rachel was out of it, and that's saying something. National practice would have to wait, he decided, these kids needed a break from all their "dramedies" in life.
"…don't want you getting hurt."
Will stopped abruptly when he passed by the club room, the door was slightly ajar and voices were coming out from the dim-lit room. An hour had already passed ever since club ended. Who were these that stayed behind not even bothering to keep the lights on? He had a bad feeling that some of these kids were playing at something and the look of disappointment was already present in his face when he grabbed for the knob.
"I'm not going to get hurt, okay? We're in this together!"
Will halted.
"Not when your safety's at risk too, Blaine!"
Blaine? Kurt? Will blinked as he peered in from the small opening from the door and eavesdropped on the two boys' conversation. Kurt was sitting on one of the chairs on the lowermost level of the club room with his arms crossed against his chest; he looked upset, while Blaine was squatting on the floor in front of him in his Dalton uniform, probably trying to calm him down.
"I'm not going to let you battle this alone, Kurt. This isn't your hill to climb alone anymore." Will flinched; this was a line he had heard Kurt told him before with utmost animosity. Somehow, this time, he could hear the sincerity at the tone of Blaine's voice instead. "And it's weird considering that you're getting into trouble from your boyfriend's school – which is just a public school, by the way, not that I'm saying it's worse than a prep one – but think about what Dalton would do to you if they found out?"
Blaine only laughed at his boyfriend's ramblings, "I'm not going to get into trouble."
"You will eventually." Kurt spat, his voice getting louder, "Just forget about it, okay? Stop getting ideas out of it already! I'm fine, Blaine! I can take care of myself!"
Blaine's smile was instantly wiped off of his face, "Would you just allow me to help you for once?"
Will froze. Oh no. Screamfest part 2.
"Why are you even shunning me away? Do you find me that incapable just because I am 2 hours away from Lima? Because if this is what it is about, I'm telling you, I–!" "Who said anything about that?" Kurt exclaimed. "Well, you're acting like you're all alone in this! It's like back when you haven't left at all! You refuse to ask help! You refuse to take the help given to you!" Will noticed that Blaine was trying to hold himself back from the heated conversation, trying his best not to make the situation worst.
"Because I don't want dragging my friends along! I don't want dragging the people I love along." Kurt stressed, "Do you have any idea how the number of slushie facials escalated again ever since I came back? Everyday, Blaine. Every. Single. Day. It wasn't like this before! I remember Finn telling me it wasn't like that when I was at Dalton too! In fact, the worst slushie facial incident I have heard from them was when they attacked Artie. And that was weeks after I left."
Will's chest tugged heavily somehow. Had he failed to see what was going on with the glee club outside practice? Why hadn't he ever heard any of this from them?
"I am not ashamed of who I am." Kurt's voice lowered this time, but Will could sense the sadness at the tone of his voice too, "But it's different when people are involved because of who I am." Kurt looked away from Blaine but towards Will's direction. Will jumped and instinctively ducked for cover but soon realized that he was still face from his hiding place.
When the Spanish teacher went back to his "eavesdropping" again, he saw that Kurt was close to tears and Blaine had moved inches closer to Kurt. "Kurt–…" "– No, Blaine." Kurt sniffed, regaining his strong demeanor once more, "You've seen it. You've seen how Puck felt."
Oh. So this really was about what Puck and Santana fought – screamed – about.
"He was the one who offered help first. It was funny since he was all about forming some sort of "secret service" or something… but that does not help, Blaine. That… does not help." Kurt's voice trailed off to a mere whisper as he lowered his head, setting an elbow on his arm as he nervously chewed on his thumb. Silence slowly followed them and Will had thoughts of wanting to get away from this private moment, this wasn't really him to be snooping around his students' private lives.
But then what happened next shocked both him and Kurt when Blaine scurried over Kurt and propped his arms on top of Kurt's lap, placing his chin on top of them and looking up at his boyfriend like a pet dog.
"Like what I've been telling you over and over for the past hour… it does when we're together." The black-haired Dalton student softly cooed as he takes Kurt's hand to his and rubs tiny circles on the back of the brunet's palm with his thumb. "I know how it feels, Kurt… I've been there, remember?"
Will blinked.
"I've had friends who betrayed me and I know how it hurts. And I know that you're just hurt right now… it kinda makes you question if the rest of them are thinking like what Puck has been thinking too, doesn't it?" Will saw Kurt jump nervously, he had to admit, what Blaine said made him flinch too.
"Stop going through my head." Kurt weakly replied as he swats Blaine's hand away. Blaine only laughs as he forced Kurt's hand back to his and continues playing with it. "You need someone who will be there for you 100%... who'll never betray you… who'll never regret or question the relationship you have."
"And you have me for that." Blaine softly said as he looked up to Kurt's eyes with a small smirk. "I want to be here… I want you to want me to be here." Kurt's frown slowly leaves his face as he lowers his gaze to Blaine, his face full of guilt and understanding. "I know you, Kurt… you might seem selfish when you want to get what you want… but you're the most unselfish – if not, martyr – person I've ever met… and you know you can always be otherwise whenever you're with me."
Despite the tears that were slowly piling up at the corner of Kurt's eyes, he playfully smacked Blaine by the forehead and the latter could only laugh as he moved away from Kurt, standing up and getting on his feet. He pulled Kurt up with him, keeping their hands together.
"Everyone's taking time to get used to the fact that gay guys – or girls – exist… that means that even our friends are on the same boat." Blaine smirked sadly, "That's why you need me… the same way I would've wanted had I met you before." Kurt's mouth hung open and right before he could say anything, Blaine held one of Kurt's hands down and wrapped his other arm around Kurt, pressing both of their cheeks together, "Don't push me away…" He whispered, his voice and facial expression pained.
"I'm sorry…" Will heard Kurt say before he decided to finally step away from the scene.
He was staggering a bit when he went back to the hallway to head back to his office, heavily contemplating on what he had just heard and was already planning on what he was going to do about this situation. This has got to stop and he needed to take action towards this matter. He was a little bit hesitant, but he might want to call the entire faculty for this. Yes, including Sue, even though half of this was probably her fault to begin with, with her constant bullying on the glee kids and all.
Sighing as he locked up after seeing the sky slowly dimming towards twilight, Will Schuester made one last stroll again around the hallways to clear his mind about today's events when he came across students' voices again and walked towards it, coming across yet another classroom that had the door ajar.
"Because, here, I have friends like you."
He has got to stop snooping around like this. Nevertheless, Will peered over to what was going on and saw that Kurt was hugging someone right now beside the window. It was Santana.
"Its friends like you that make us go on with this."
Will smiled at the corner of his lips when he finally brushed it off and decided to let the kids take care of themselves. True, as teachers, they were to guide their students. But the students need to realize themselves what they are capable of. They needed to be able to stand up and walk on their own two feet.
Will trudged down the hallway, heading towards the rear exit towards the parking lot. Come tomorrow and he was going to do everything he can in his power to stop the bullying, but right now, the kids can handle themselves about the comforts that they need.
Also, it was getting tiring to eavesdrop.
End.