Kurt woke up slowly, snuggled into the warmth of someone holding him close. It felt like a very realistic version of his many dreams until he breathed in just a little too quickly and his head began to spin mercilessly. He couldn't move for fear his head would actually explode and he wasn't sure he could even speak because his mouth was so dry that he could barely swallow. He tried moving his arm just a tiny bit in hopes that he could somehow sit up, but that hope slipped away quickly as the waves of nausea kept him from even considering that option again.
"Fancy?"
"Mmmf." Kurt filled with panic, but couldn't actually do anything about it.
"It's okay. You're alright. Well, I suppose you feel like you're dying, but you're going to live. Don't move. I'll come around and help you."
Just a minute later, some pills appeared in front of Kurt's face, along with a water bottle with a straw in it.
"Here. Open up enough that I can put these in your mouth or take them from me and swallow them."
Kurt opened his mouth. Once he could tell the pills were in, he sealed his lips around the straw and drank.
"Drink some more, if you can. It will help."
Kurt took a few more swallows. He lay as still as possible. He finally managed to form a coherent word. "Where?"
"You're in my room, in my bed, Fancy. I didn't know what else to do with you. I had to keep you safe."
"Safe?"
"Yeah. Do you remember anything from last night?"
"We won."
"Yeah, your field goal won the game last night."
"Party."
"Yeah. That too. You went to Strando's to the party."
"Dancing."
"Oh, God. Yeah, you were definitely dancing. If I didn't know you at least a little, I'd think you had exotic dancer as one of your future career goals."
Kurt opened his eyes in a flash of panic.
"Don't worry. You weren't stripping like Brittany.
Kurt closed his eyes back and mumbled, "Jello."
"Yeah, jello. Jello shots. You had at least five, maybe more. I'm not sure. But you were out of it. Those things pack a punch and all the sugar disguises the alcohol."
"No more, ever."
"Sounds like a reasonable plan. Just lay here for a few minutes. I'll be right back."
The door to the room opened 15 minutes later. Kurt opened his eyes again and was in a little less pain than before.
"I brought you a Gatorade. I know you probably don't like it, but it will help rehydrate you."
Kurt took a drink through the straw. "Thanks."
"Try to eat this. You'll feel better faster, if you can keep it down."
Kurt had closed his eyes back, but heard the plate being sat on the side table.
"I can help you sit up, if you'll let me."
"M'kay." Kurt allowed himself to be helped into a sitting position, leaning against the headboard. "Oh, God. My head."
"Yeah, you have a killer hangover."
"The jello?"
"Those were vodka jello shots. You had quite a few. I saw you down at least five in a row. That's when I intervened."
"I didn't know."
"I figured as much. You were hot and you had been dancing, but I didn't see you drinking any alcohol. Then when I saw you in the kitchen take five of those shots, I started watching you."
"Thanks."
"I would have told you, if I could have gotten close enough to you to stop you. Try to eat the egg and the banana." He handed Kurt the plate.
Kurt picked up half of a banana and attempted to take a bite. It took his full concentration to do it. He chewed it slowly and swallowed.
"You don't seem to be panicking about needing to be home."
"My dad thinks I'm at Tina's with Mercedes."
"I see."
"When is he expecting you home?"
"He usually comes home at 2:00 on Saturdays. Sometimes earlier if I've been at the shop helping him. But I would guess 2:00 today, but he won't be upset. If he wants to know what I'm doing, he'll text me. Where is my phone?"
"Right next to you on the side table."
Kurt picked it up. "I can't see clearly at all. Do I have any missed texts?" He turned the phone.
"Nope."
"Then, I'm fine." Kurt managed to finish the banana and reached for the Gatorade again. He cut the egg in quarters and took a bite. "Why are you…? Why did you help me?"
"I didn't want any of those jackasses to do anything to you."
"But you treat me just like they do. This is the first time you've said more than five words to me that weren't required of you."
"I'm sorry, Fancy."
"Why do you call me 'Fancy'?"
"Your clothes, of course. You always come to school looking like you belong in some fashion magazine. You're just too fancy and too posh for a place like McKinley, well Lima in general. You belong somewhere else."
Kurt got the rest of the egg down and took another drink of Gatorade. He put the plate back on the side table. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"I still feel like I'm missing something. You brought me to your house. You put me in your bed and slept with me. At school, you act like most of the rest of the jocks, like I have cooties and you could catch the gay from me." Kurt closed his eyes again, trying to will his headache into going away. He felt the bed dip next to him.
"I'm not sure that now is a good time to tell you."
"Well, it seems like the best time to tell me from my perspective. No one is here but us. And to be perfectly honest, if could have moved when I woke up, I might have run out of here like the bed was on fire and driven straight home. Well, assuming that my Navigator is here. Otherwise, I guess I would have tried walking to Strando's to retrieve my SUV."
"It's here. I drove it back here last night. I got a ride to the game with someone else. My truck's in the shop. Don't worry, though. I pulled your SUV into the garage, so no one driving by can see it."
"Thanks, I guess."
"You're welcome."
"Please answer me about why."
"Alright."
There was silence for at least five minutes.
"My hangover didn't give me the ability to read minds. You'll actually have to talk to explain it to me."
"I know. First I just want you to know how incredibly sorry I am for how I behaved last year. And as for telling you, I'm afraid."
"Of me? I can't even move yet."
"I've never told anyone."
"Oh. It's alright. You don't have to say anything. I'll just chalk the whole thing up to some crazy cosmic event that defies explanation. It's fine. I'll get up and get out of your house as soon as I can. I think maybe I just need a little more sleep, if that's okay."
"Um. Sure."
"What time is it anyway?"
"9:23."
"Okay. Wake me up again at 11:00, okay?"
"Sure thing, but drink some more of that Gatorade first, if you can."
"Mmm hmm." Kurt took a few more swallows and slid back down into the bed.
An hour and a half later, Kurt felt a slight pressure on his shoulder.
"Kurt, it's 11:00. I brought you a Coke this time. I'm sure you don't drink them, but the caffeine might help your headache. I'm not sure. I'll put it here on the side table. You can open it if you want it."
"M'kay. Thanks." Kurt stretched a bit and slid up in the bed, a lot less dizzy than the previous time. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Maybe?"
"It's an easy one, well for you anyway. Can you go get my duffle bag out of the back of my Navigator? I was hoping that maybe you'd let me shower and change. I really don't want to go out looking like this."
"Sure."
A few minutes later, he heard the bathroom door move.
"I put your bag in my bathroom. Do you need some help up?"
"I think I've got it." Kurt got up slowly and made his way into the bathroom.
"I put a clean towel and washcloth on the sink."
"Thanks."
A couple of minutes later, Kurt heard a knock on the bathroom door.
"I just wanted to tell you that I'll be downstairs. I just heard my dad come in. I'm going to go run interference. Just stay up here. I'll be back."
"Okay."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Paul Karofsky was standing at the kitchen island making himself a couple of sandwiches. Dave was sitting on a barstool facing him.
"So, you brought home the kicker from the football team because he took a bunch of jello shots at the party after the football game last night?"
"Yeah."
"I don't get why you're down here telling me this like it means something. You've brought home plenty of guys after sporting events. Some drunk, some not. But you're telling me this like it's important."
"Dad…"
"Just tell me. I'm here for you. You know that. I know that something's been bothering you, but I wanted you to come to me on your own. I know that teenagers don't like their parents prying into their personal lives."
"I'm gay."
"Oh. That's not what I was expecting, but okay. I'm not going to disown you or kick you out, if that's why you were so hesitant to tell me."
"I'm not afraid of you knowing. It's Mom. I didn't say anything because I know she won't accept it. She hates gay people. That's what's been wrong with me lately. Every time she's made negative comments about gay people, it's personal to me. She spoils me and loves me, but I know it's conditional. I know that the instant she finds out, it's over. I won't be her son anymore."
"I'm glad you told me. Why are you telling me now and what are you still not telling me about having the kicker here?"
"I like him. Like a lot. Enough to come out publicly so he might go out with me."
"Oh, wow. Okay. I'm assuming he doesn't know that yet."
"He doesn't. You're the first person I've told that I'm gay."
"Alright. Here's what's going to happen. Your mom is still at her ladies retreat. She won't be back until after church tomorrow. I want you to spend the day and night somewhere else tomorrow. I'll be here for dinner Monday. We'll talk more then. I'm going to go out until 6:00. I'd like to meet the boy you like. But I know that may not be possible since you don't know how he feels about all of this. But if things go well, invite him to stay for dinner. I'll get pizza and we can watch a movie, the three of us, or if he leaves, just the two of us."
"You don't hate me?"
"Of course not. I may have been a jackass when I was your age, but I've learned a lot since then. People are born gay. It's not a disease or something that can be or needs to be cured. You're you. You've always been who you are. I'm not going to disown or punish you for being yourself. I realize that your mom is another story. But if she can't be civil and love you for who you are, then she's the one that will have to find somewhere else to live until she either gets over it or you move out after high school or college. Yes, I love your mother, but if she CHOOSES to walk away from you, that is her choice. You did not choose to be gay. I love you just like I always have and I always will. I'm going to head out and give you a chance to talk to this boy."
"Thanks, Dad. I'll see you at 6:00."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Dave knocked on the door and opened it just a crack. "Kurt?"
"Yeah, I'm dressed. Come on in."
"I'm ready to tell you."
Kurt had pulled the covers up on the bed while he was waiting. He propped the pillows up, sat down, and was leaning against the headboard when Dave came back in the room. He sat down at the end of the bed facing Kurt.
He took a deep breath. "This is hard for me. I just want you to know how sorry I am for how I behaved last year. It was a stupid jock freshman hazing thing, but I should have just refused to participate, but I wasn't strong like you. I want to be part of the 'in' group." Tears were running down his cheeks. "I was trying to hide. Hiding in the crowd. I'm so sorry."
"So, you brought me here last night because you feel guilty about how you treated me last year? You were far from the worst. I mean mostly you just slushied me. Some minor name-calling. A few light locker shoves. You didn't really stand out amongst my tormentors calling attention to yourself by being the worst of the bunch."
"That doesn't matter. The fact that I did any of it was so wrong. And I'm so, so, sorry."
"You've mentioned how sorry you are several times. Is this some kind of penance?"
"No."
Kurt closed his eyes again, getting a little frustrated. "I told you that you didn't have to tell me if you don't want to."
"I do want to."
"Alright."
"I brought you back here to protect you. I was afraid of what the other jocks might do to you with as drunk as you were. I was afraid they would try to take advantage of you."
"Advantage of me?" Kurt paused. "Oh. I don't think any of them are interested in me that way."
"Being drunk out of your mind can make people do things they normally keep suppressed."
"You think one of them is secretly gay?"
"I know for certain there's at least one."
"Oh." Kurt closed his eyes again. He was feeling better than earlier, but the sunlight in the room was still a bit much.
"It's me."
"What's you?"
"I'm the one that I know for certain is gay."
"Is this some kind of prank?"
"Definitely not. I've had a crush on you since like a year ago when we started at McKinley. I was pretty sure I was gay before high school, but the first time I saw you, my suspicions were confirmed."
"Okay, so… You're gay and you have a crush on me? And you brought me here when I was out of my mind drunk to protect me from any of the other jocks who might have tried to … hurt me."
"Yep."
"That's actually really sweet. So, the insults to the way I dress?"
"Not really insults. I say them sarcastically so that no one will know how hot I think you are."
"Pulling pigtails?"
"Pretty much." He nodded. "But last night, you were … so sexy dancing. I just knew I couldn't leave you there. I don't know if there are any other closeted jocks, but I like you so much and I couldn't let one of them hurt you."
"You think I'm sexy?"
"Umm, yeah. Definitely."
Kurt didn't know what to do with the answer he got. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Do your parents know?"
"I told my dad when you were in the shower. My mom is going to flip out. My dad's going to tell her tomorrow when she gets back from her church retreat. He said for me to find somewhere to spend the day tomorrow and tomorrow night so he can deal with her reaction."
Kurt patted the bed next to him so that Dave would move closer. Once he did, Kurt reached out his hand and offered it to Dave. "I'm sorry."
Dave took his hand. "No reason for you to be sorry. You didn't make her a bigoted homophobe. That's what's caused me so much stress and made me such a pain in the ass more than anything. She's always spoiled me rotten. I'm an only child. Once I got old enough to realize that I really didn't like girls the way I was supposed to and that guys made me feel that way instead, I knew that my time with her was nothing but a farce, but it's hard. I do love her and I want her to still love me, but she won't. But I can't keep going the way I'm going. I'm not that guy that I see myself becoming."
"What do you mean?"
"If I keep this up, keeping all of my disappointment and anger inside, and bullying people, I'm going to turn into … I don't know. I just don't want to be that guy."
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah. You're 16 like me, I'm assuming. You have time to change."
"I know I'm big and chubby, and I'm not good-looking like you. And I'll understand if you aren't interested in dating me. I mean just because I'm the only gay guy you know, doesn't mean we have to date. But can we at least try to be friends?"
"I'm not sure who told you that you aren't good looking, but they were lying."
Dave blushed.
"And I'm not opposed to considering dating you, but I'm not sure that we have anything in common at all. We have to at least enjoy talking to each other or something. Otherwise, all we'd do would be make out."
Dave swallowed hard at the thought of making out with Kurt. "Um. I like to read. I'm not actually a dumb jock. I know I portray myself that way, but I'm in Pre-calc and Chemistry this year."
"I see. I'm in Algebra 2. I took Algebra in the 8th grade."
"Me too, but I took Geometry and Algebra 2 both last year."
"I'm in Spanish and French. No time to take two math classes last year. What's your GPA?"
"3.9. I got a B+ in French both semesters last year."
"You've done an amazing job of pulling off the dumb jock façade."
"Thanks, I think."
Kurt laughed. "Oh, God. My head. No laughing."
"I like your laugh." David squeezed Kurt's hand.
"So, if we talk more and decide that we think we have enough common interests to give this a shot, are you going to stay in the closet? I'm not sure how I would deal with that, but I know for certain that you'd have to give up bullying people. High school is this really short period of time that feels like forever while we're living through it, but it's really not. And you did already say you don't want to keep heading in the direction you're going."
"I don't. And I will come out, if you decide that you're willing to give me a chance. I'll even join the football team to make sure none of them come after you for 'turning me' or whatever stupid thing at least one of them will say."
"You're on the hockey team. The puckheads clash with the football team all the time over who's top dog."
"Like you said, in less than three years, no one will care who was the top dog."
"The jocks are likely to take it badly and torment you."
"If you'll go out with me, it would be worth it."
"You're serious?"
"I am. But be honest – if you don't think you could ever like someone who looks like me, just tell me now."
"You're cute. And I love the muscles. I'm definitely into the muscles. I know, very shallow of me, but you asked me to be truthful. I'm not into porn at all, but I have a stack of vintage muscle magazines that I like to peruse frequently."
Dave laughed. "Seriously? Vintage muscle magazines?"
"Yep. And your arms would fit right in." Kurt turned a deep red from blushing so much.
"I see." Dave blushed again.
"Obviously, I'm behind in the development department and who knows if I'll ever catch up. High voice, no facial hair, things like that. But my dad took me to an endocrinologist to make sure everything was okay when my voice never dropped. I definitely have an age-appropriate sized … you know."
"I know. I've seen."
"How?"
"I may have hung back and spied on you in gym class last year, once or twice."
"You perv," Kurt laughed. "Oh, God. No laughing. Well, it's definitely not fair that you've seen me undressed and I haven't seen you."
Dave blushed again. "You want me to get undressed?"
"You need a shower, don't you?"
"Yeah."
"So, just leave the door open and I'll perv on you from here. Nothing up close and personal."
"You're serious?"
"Well, fair's fair."
"Okay." Dave moved to get up to go shower. He went to his closet first to grab some jeans. He grabbed underwear as he passed his dresser. He went in the bathroom and left the door open and got undressed and got in the shower, his face flushed from knowing that Kurt was watching him. Barely more than five minutes later, he got back out of the shower, dried off, and got dressed. He shaved, brushed his teeth, grabbed his sweats on the way out, and dumped them in his hamper. He looked over at Kurt.
"You're not chubby. You just wear clothes that are unflattering to your body type. I could help with that."
Dave laughed. "I'm sure you could, Fancy, but I'm not sure that my allowance could take a shopping trip with you."
"Oh, you'd be surprised. I might look like a million bucks, but I shop on a shoestring budget."
"Well, then, maybe I'll let you take me shopping. I just wear whatever my mom hangs in my closet. Since I never had any interested in attracting girls, I never cared how I dressed. But I could be persuaded to change my look."
Kurt smiled at him. "Your arms are amazing."
"And your ass is fantastic."
Kurt turned red.
"You started it," Dave laughed. He pulled a shirt out of the closet and put it on.
"I think you're wearing the wrong size."
"Well, if you decide you want to date, one of our dates can be a shopping trip to get me a new outfit."
"Mmm. Bribery."
"Is it working?"
"It might be," Kurt smiled.
Dave sat back down on the bed next to him and took his hand. "This okay?"
"Yeah. I'm scared that you'll break my heart, that this is some kind of joke, that you'll turn on me, and everyone will torment me even worse."
"I can see how you'd be scared of that. I'm scared too. I may be big, but that doesn't mean that I'm not afraid of the jocks finding out. Azimio and I have been friends since kindergarten. I already know I'm going to lose my mom. Losing him too would be really hard. It's scary."
"I lost my mom when I was 8. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love."
"I didn't know."
"I figured you didn't. We never went to school together until last year. Are you sure you want to date me bad enough to face all of the crap that's going to happen at school? You're going to get slushied."
"Honestly, I'm more concerned about what they'll do to you since some of them are dumb enough to think you can turn people gay."
"Yeah."
"If I could get Z on our side, it would make a big difference."
"I can see that. New topic. Back to things we have in common. Do you like music? Do you sing?"
Dave blushed.
"You do. You sing?"
Dave nodded.
"Sing for me, please?"
"Can I just sing along with something?"
"Sure. I don't expect you to have backing tracks and something prepared."
"Give me a minute." He got up and looked through his CDs and put one in. He sang along with the whole song.
Let me go home.
It'll all be alright.
I'll be home tonight.
I'm coming back home.
"Oh, my God. You're a crooner. Your voice is gorgeous."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"I love the feeling in that song. I want to feel that. I want to have someone to go home to someday. I don't want to date girls that I'll never be attracted to. I'm torn when I listen to that song because coming out is so scary, but staying in the closet is killing me too."
"Come back and sit with me, please."
Dave sat on the bed next to Kurt again.
Kurt picked up the Gatorade and drank more of it. "Do you like old movies?"
"I do. You can take some more pain killers." Dave offered him two more from the bottle he had put on the side table on his side of the bed.
Kurt took them and swallowed them. "Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"What about musicals?"
"I like the old ones that I've seen on DVD. I've not been to a live show anywhere."
"Would you go?"
"With you, I would."
Kurt smiled and offered his hand to Dave again, who quickly took it.
"My dad wants to meet you. He's coming back at 6:00 with pizza. He said we can watch a movie together and eat the pizza. If you'll stay, I'll let him know what you like on your pizza so he doesn't get something you'll hate."
"I know you've already come out twice today, but how would you feel about going with me to the shop and telling my dad?"
"Scared, but I'll do it as long as it's just the three of us."
"I don't want to lie and sneak around behind my dad's back anymore. It's been just the two of us for 8 years. If you're serious about us dating, at least he has to know, even if you don't come out to anyone else at school. I want him to allow me to come here and allow you to come over."
"Okay."
"Only if you're sure. I don't want to pressure you. You can think about it if you want, but I won't lie to him. I can just head over there and tell him the truth about last night without naming you. And just so you know, I've never come out to my dad either. I mean, everyone knows, I guess. But I've never actually said the words to him."
"Do you think he'll be okay with it?"
"I do. There's still that small voice that says he might not be."
"Before we jump ahead to that, let's talk some more."
"Alright."
"Do you like any sports stuff?"
"I find televised sporting events really boring, to be honest. I don't think I would mind watching games if the team had people on it I actually knew. I'm not sure. Is that the deal breaker, that I don't like to watch sports on TV?"
"Not necessarily, but it would be more fun if you liked to do it with me."
"I would sit with you and snuggle up, well, I guess that would depend on whether you like to snuggle. But I could sit with you and read or something. We could be close, even if I don't like watching the actual event."
"Can I scoot closer? I'm pretty sure that I'll really like snuggling with you, but we could try it out for a few minutes."
Kurt nodded.
Dave scooted closer and lifted his arm to allow Kurt to move a little closer and lean in. Kurt leaned his head back against Dave's shoulder. Dave wrapped his arm around Kurt's side. Kurt reached out and interlaced his right hand with Dave's left, which was across his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. They sat that way for several minutes before either one of them spoke.
"So, what do you think?" Kurt asked.
"I really like it. You?"
"Me too. What else do you like to do?"
"Um. Camping, fishing, bowling, swimming, and my dad and I golf. That's where he was this morning. We have a boat that we could take out to the lake."
"I like all of those things, except I've never been golfing."
"Really?"
"Really. I do those other things with my dad usually. But he might be okay with me going with you and your dad or the four of us going. We don't have a boat, but my dad would love to go fishing on one. He loves Deadliest Catch."
"So does my dad."
"On the former topic of sports, I like playing sports. So, playing basketball or tossing a baseball around or playing Frisbee or something would be fine. I even own a baseball glove. I just quit trying to play with other guys once puberty began to hit everyone. None of them wanted me around in the locker room. And the guys would get really bent out of shape if I out-performed them. It was like the way guys get if a girl is better than them at some sport. It just wasn't worth the hassle."
"I can see how that would be the case. Some guys have serious issues with that. But I like playing sports just for fun too. Not everything has to be about winning and being the best at something. Do you like video games?"
"Some. I don't have an Xbox or a Playstation, which is mostly what I hear the other guys talk about. I'm not really into games where the entire objective is just to push a couple of buttons in a certain order to kill all of the members of the other team. I like puzzle-type games or games of skill and critical thinking."
"I like both."
"So, it seems to me that we wouldn't be completely bored spending time together."
Dave squeezed him just a bit. "Seems that way."
"Can I kiss you?"
"Hypothetically? Like can you kiss me if we date? Or are you asking me right now?"
"Right now."
"Okay. I've never kissed anyone."
"Me neither. But I guess I want to know if there's any spark. You wanted to know if I'd date you and if not whether we could try being friends. Kissing you seems to be a way to find out if there's any spark."
"Yeah. Okay."
Kurt turned and rearranged a bit. He moved so their lips were nearly touching. "You're sure?"
"I'm sure."
They both moved forward just the tiniest bit and their lips barely touched. They both pressed in until they were actually kissing. After a couple of minutes, they pulled back to take a breath.
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"I get all the hype about it now," Kurt said.
Dave laughed.
Kurt moved and turned so that he was facing the headboard, but still leaned against Dave's side. He leaned forward and kissed him again. Dave wrapped his arm around Kurt's back and neck to support him and kissed back.
"I'm 100% convinced we should go tell your dad."
Kurt laughed. "Is that so?"
"Um hmm." Dave leaned forward and kissed Kurt again. "I didn't think anything could be better than my imagination about doing that, but I was wrong. Completely wrong." He kissed Kurt again. "I think I could do this all day long. God, you're so hot."
Kurt blushed. The girls all called him cute and adorable, but sexy or hot wasn't something he had expected to hear about himself and hearing it shot right through him. Kurt licked at Dave's lower lip. Dave moaned and followed Kurt's lead and did the same thing. It wasn't long before they were exploring each other's mouths thoroughly. Kurt slowed them back down and went back to more chaste kisses.
"We have to cool down or I'm going to need more clothes and I don't have any more with me."
"M'kay."
Kurt pulled back a little to reach for his phone to see the time. "It's 12:30. Let's go talk to my dad. Maybe your dad would be okay with my dad coming for pizza too. Maybe they'd both feel better if they met?"
"Okay. I'll ask my dad. Why don't you grab your stuff and we'll head out." Dave texted Paul.
Kurt went in the bathroom and packed up all of his stuff and came back out.
"He said it's fine to invite him."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"I'll go in and talk to him first. Then I'll come out and get you and take you inside with me."
"Okay."
Kurt went inside and got Burt's attention and got him to go into the office with him. Kurt closed the door behind them.
"I need to talk to you."
"Okay." Burt sat down at his desk. " Are you okay? You seem really serious."
Kurt sat down in one of the chairs facing Burt's desk. "Well, something happened last night that could have ended very badly, but someone was looking out for me and I'm fine."
"Explain."
"I found out what jello shots are this morning when I woke up with a hangover from hell."
Burt laughed.
"Well, I'm glad someone sees the humor in this. So, I didn't drink any alcohol at all. I had some bottled water and a can of Diet Coke that I opened myself and never sat down anywhere to keep it from being spiked. I learned my lesson about alcohol last week."
"And you downed how many jello shots?"
"Less than 10, more than 5."
Burt laughed again. "Sorry, bud. I should have told you about those. I guess I just didn't realize that you didn't know about them."
"They were just nice and cold and I was so hot from there being so many people and everything."
"I'm not mad at you. You learned the hard way. I'm sorry about that."
"Well, no more jello for me for a while."
"Yeah, I bet not. So, you said someone was watching out for you."
"Yes, but I'll get to that in a minute. There's something else I want to tell you first."
"Alright."
Kurt leaned forward, propped his elbows on his legs, and put his forehead down on his hands.
"Hey, Kurt. It's okay. I'm not going to ground you or something. You didn't do it on purpose."
"It's not that. You came downstairs and found me and Britt and Tina dancing."
"Yeah."
"And you asked if one of them was my girlfriend."
"Uh huh."
"I lied."
"I know."
"You aren't mad?"
"Nah."
"I'm gay."
"I know. I've known since you were three. I love you just the same. I just wanted to give you the freedom to tell me when you felt comfortable enough to do it on your own."
Kurt wiped away a few tears and nodded. He took a deep breath and started to talk again. "Okay. The person who was watching out for me is one of the jocks."
"Really?" he asked in a disbelieving tone.
"Yes, really. He drove my Navigator to his house and took me in and put me to bed."
Burt raised his eyebrows.
"In my clothes, which I will add does not make you feel better when you wake up with a hangover from hell. Sleeping in skinny jeans is not comfortable."
Burt laughed again. "Sorry. Okay. So, this jock took you to his house, let you sleep off the jello shots in your clothes in a bed, and took care of you. That was surprisingly nice of him given how few of the jocks have ever seemed to be even remotely tolerant."
"I'm not going to lie and say that it was someone that had previously been nice to me, but he's never been outright vicious to me. He's not a football player, so he's not one of the ones that nailed our lawn furniture up on the roof."
"I know there are other things that go on. You just don't share them thinking that you're protecting me. You know that just makes me worry more, right? Fearing the unknown is worse than knowing what is going on."
"Sorry. I didn't think about it that way."
"I know, kiddo. You try to protect me, but it's supposed to be the other way around. Anyway, this jock that took care of you last night isn't one of the completely awful ones, but he's never been supportive."
"Right. I'd like you to meet him. He drove me here. I'm not drunk, but I still have a headache."
Burt nodded. "Fine. Go get him."
Kurt came back a few minutes later with Dave following along behind him. "Dad, this David Karofsky."
"You Paul's kid?" Burt reached out to shake his hand.
David shook it. "Yes, sir."
"Don't 'sir' me."
"Yes, Mr. Hummel."
"Have a seat, kid. And just call me 'Burt'."
"I'll try."
He and Kurt sat down facing Burt.
"So, you kept Kurt safe last night. I appreciate that."
"You're welcome. I didn't want anything bad to happen to him. I saw him down five jello shots before I could make it through the crowded kitchen to get him to stop. I hadn't seen him drink anything all night. I knew he didn't know there was alcohol in them when he downed them all in succession like that."
"I took one of each color."
Burt laughed. "I get it, kiddo. They looked good and you had no idea."
Kurt just shook his head, aggravated with his own naïveté.
"I'm glad you looked out for him."
"There's something else I want to tell you."
"What's that?"
"I've liked Kurt for over a year now."
"Liked? As in you're gay?"
"I am. I just told my dad this morning. I told Kurt about 30 minutes later."
"I see. So, when you took him home last night?"
"He was passed out cold. I carried him upstairs. I took his shoes off and put him in bed. I just kept him safe. But with as many of the guys that were drunk, I didn't want to leave him there. One of them could have … well, you know."
"I do."
"Dave and I have spent the last couple of hours talking. He asked me to date him and I said 'yes'."
"I see. Do you have anything in common?"
"That's what we talked about. We do. And his dad invited us over for pizza and a movie. This whole thing is a surprise to him. He had no idea that Dave was gay. I know I just told you today too, but you said you knew."
"Yeah. So, pizza. What time?"
"6:00."
"What about your mom?"
"She won't be there. I have to find some place to stay tomorrow during the day and tomorrow night when my dad tells her. It won't go well. She's very religious and very homophobic. She's at a ladies retreat right now. My dad said that he will side with me because he loves me and I didn't choose to be gay and that my mom is choosing to hate gay people. So, more than likely when I go home for dinner Monday night, my mom will have moved out. She will probably try to convince him to force me into some type of corrective therapy. Hopefully, my dad can prevent that from happening."
Burt gave him his phone number. "Text your address to me, so I know where to be at 6:00. Paul and I will talk this evening."
"You two know each other, I take it," Kurt said.
"Not well, but yes. He was two years ahead of me in school. We played football together for a couple of years in high school. But you know how it is – the upperclassmen don't really have that many younger friends. He went off to college and law school and got married before he moved back. I went to JC here in Lima and took over running the shop. Paul brings their cars here to get them worked on. We're long-time acquaintances for lack of a better description."
Kurt nodded.
"Give Dave your keys. I want to talk to you for just a couple more minutes."
"He still has them."
"It was nice meeting you," Dave said as he stood up to leave the office.
"Yeah. You too, kid. I'll see you and your dad later."
Dave nodded and shut the door behind him.
"You're sure about this?"
"As sure as any teenager is about having their first boyfriend. He's cute, Dad. He was really nice to me this morning. He had water and pain killers waiting when I woke up. He sincerely apologized about his past behavior. He made me breakfast in bed and gave me Gatorade and a Coke. He was really trying to make me feel better."
Burt nodded.
"And you asked if I'm sure. Think about this. I know it's a ridiculous scenario, but try hard to imagine."
"Okay."
"What if you were 16 before you had never met a straight girl? Every other girl you had met your ENTIRE life had been a lesbian."
Burt laughed.
"I know, Dad. I told you it was ridiculous, but focus. Think about it. You're 16 years old and you have NEVER met a straight girl. Not a single girl you ever met would consider dating a boy."
"I got it."
"And maybe that girl didn't seem to be a 100% match, but maybe 60% of 70% and she told you that she had liked you for a year and that you were handsome and attractive and she wanted to date you. Would you have just turned her down without giving it a try, knowing that your chance of meeting another straight girl in the next three years was really slim?"
"I get it. You've never had a chance to do the social dating that people your age do. I'm just not sure I'm ready for this."
Kurt laughed at him. "Dad, I'm 16. So, is Dave. It's not like I'm 12."
"I'm not ready for you to … I'm not ready to be the parent of an older teen. It was easier when you were 12."
Kurt laughed at him again. "If you're thinking that I'm going to run right down to the free clinic for condoms, you've gotten the wrong impression. He and I seem to have enough things in common not to get bored with each other in 30 minutes, but we'll just have to see. But oh, God, he's got the most amazing voice."
"He sang for you?"
"He did. He's a crooner."
Burt laughed. "Well, that makes him all the more dangerous. He can woo your clothes right off with his smooth voice."
"Maybe."
"Kurt Eli Hummel!"
"I'm teasing you," Kurt smirked and winked. "I need you to be an adult about this. Please, please do not act like I am your 14-year old virgin daughter who is about to be deflowered."
Burt rolled his eyes.
"I know you. You're overprotective. But I am NOT a girl. I do NOT need my virtue or virginity or whatever protected and defended by my father. This isn't some medieval fiefdom where you're guarding my innocence so I can bring a better price. If and when I decide that I'm ready to have sex with someone, I will use whatever protection is needed. I am fully aware of potential STIs and I do know where the free clinic is."
"I am not ready to have this conversation."
"Whether you're ready of not isn't my problem, you know. The hands of time don't stop moving forward because you want me to remain a child."
"I know. I really do."
"Maybe you should go down to the clinic and educate yourself if that's what makes you so hesitant to talk about this with me. I took health last year and the entire sexual health section was like two pages long and basically said 'Don't have sex and you won't get this list of 20 horrible STIs.' I haven't actually been to the clinic, but if you want to have a serious conversation about this with me, maybe you should go."
"Probably a good idea."
"Now, just so you know, I do not consider myself ready to have sex, but when that changes, it will be up to me to decide, not you. Being gay and being the smaller male in this particular relationship does not automatically make me the bottom or the so-called 'girl'. Even if I decide that I like to be the bottom, that won't make me the girl. You've seen that I am fully male."
"Yeah. I get it. I'll do my best."
"Please do. I really want to give this a shot. Maybe I'll get my heart broken. Maybe I won't. But I want to do this on my own, without pressure from you about what I can and can't do. You're not going to go all 'Open doors.' and 'He can't come over unless I'm home.' or 'You can't go there unless his dad is home.' are you?"
Burt looked guilty.
"Not happening. I came to you fully disclosing our relationship today. I came out to you and told you what happened at the party. I came clean about the alcohol incident at school last week. If you implement those types of rules, you're asking me to lie and sneak around. Do you value truth in our relationship?"
"I get it."
"Answer me, please."
"I don't want you to lie to me."
"Then don't start by implementing ridiculous rules."
"They're not ridiculous."
"They are. If I can't have him over or go over to his house unless a parent is home, then I won't get to spend much time with him. It's not like we can be like a heterosexual couple and just sit at the park holding hands and talking. We're safe in our houses. Let us be together where we're safe."
"I'll think about what you've said and we'll all talk tonight. Don't leave the poor kid sitting outside waiting for you any longer."
Kurt nodded and stood up.
"Thanks for telling me, Kurt." Burt stood up and wrapped Kurt in a bear hug. "I love you. And I appreciate you telling me the truth."
"I love you too, Dad." Kurt squeezed him back.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"So, what do you want to do for the rest of the afternoon? Do you want to go to my house? Back to your house?"
"I've never been to your house. Let's go there."
Kurt gave him directions on how to get there. He pressed the garage door opener and Dave drove in. Kurt closed it once they were in. He grabbed his bag out of the backseat. Dave followed him to the door and waited for Kurt to unlock it. He followed Kurt inside.
"My room's in the basement. Mini tour. To the left is the half-bath. To the right, the foyer and the front door." He pointed to the stairway between where they were standing and the front door. "The stairs go up to my dad's bedroom and office." He stepped through the narrow foyer into the living room. "Living room, obviously. To the right, you can see into the kitchen. In the back corner is the doorway into the dining room."
Dave nodded. "Got it."
"That door next to the kitchen leads down into the basement." Kurt led Dave across the living room and opened the door to the stairway that led down to his room. Dave followed him down the stairs. Kurt slipped his shoes off. Dave noticed and followed his lead and slipped his off as well.
"So, this is it."
"It's nice. You have a lot of room."
"Yeah, on the upper level there's a really large bedroom, a bathroom, and basically an office. It's a decent office, but really small to be a bedroom. They used it as my room until I was about 4. The doctors had told my mom that she couldn't have kids after she had tried for so long and hadn't been successful. They bought this house because they didn't need much room for just the two of them. And then I came along as a surprise. My dad had a basement and the dining room addition put on. He had an electrician and plumber do what had to be done, and then he finished the interiors of both levels himself. I helped him make a slight change before I started high school. I wanted my closet area enclosed, so we moved the bathroom door and put in a walled area across the closet, creating a walk-in closet."
Dave walked around the room looking at Kurt's stuff. "It's very you."
"Thanks. It gives me room to dance and sew and it's kind of like my own little apartment. I spend a lot of time in here."
"You don't have a bed?"
"Oh, that couch folds down into a queen-sized bed. I don't really lie around in bed much, so when my dad said it was time for a new bed, I convinced him to let me get that instead. I'm more comfortable sitting on it and reading and watching stuff, plus when it's in its couch form, it takes up less floor space than an actual bed and when it's in its bed form, I get more room to stretch out than I would on a twin bed.
"I have a TV in my room. I'm not sure whether you noticed or not. So, I end up spending most of my time in my room too."
"Your room is actually bigger than mine. I end up watching movies on my laptop a lot of the time because my dad and I don't like the same shows. Dad bought me a Wii a couple of Christmases ago, which is a lot of fun to play. I know it's not the kind of video game system most high school guys have, but I like it. It's hooked up to the big TV in the living room. I usually play when he's not home. Do you like any of the Wii games?"
"Sure. Wii Sports Resort has some fun games on it. And I love Mario games. I'd have to see what games you actually have to tell you whether I've played them and like them."
Kurt smiled. "I have Wii Sports Resort and a couple of Mario games. You can look at them when we go back upstairs. What kind of books do you like to read?"
"It depends on my mood. I like some of the popular ones like Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl, but I also like biographies. Not all the time, but sometimes. It's interesting to read about how someone lived a completely different life than I've ever experienced."
"Well, you are full of surprises." Kurt walked up to him. He put his hands on Dave's shoulders and rose up on his toes and kissed him gently. "Still interested in being my boyfriend?"
Dave wrapped his arms around Kurt and pulled him close. "Most definitely."
"Let's talk some more. If you want something to drink I have a mini-fridge in the corner over there."
"I'm fine for now, but thanks." He sat down on the couch.
Kurt sat down on the end and pulled his feet up criss-cross and rotated so that his back was against the end of the couch. "Dating me is going to turn your life on end. I'll understand if you want to change your mind and call it off after we talk and after our dads get together tonight. I can't promise I'll wait for you until after high school, but we can still be friends, even if you don't want to date after tonight."
"I know it's going to be crazy. I don't want to keep living a lie. It would be one thing if I were like a closeted loner nerd, no offense meant to nerds. I just mean that being a gay jock is really hard. Practically no professional sports players are out. So, either the gay ones are still in the closet hoping to never get outed or they gave up being a professional athlete and chose another career rather than deal with the hate."
"Do you want to be a professional athlete?"
"I don't know that I'm good enough, but I guess I had thought about being able to play hockey in college. Maybe get a hockey scholarship? But hockey's really dangerous. Having people who hate you wearing the equivalent of sharp knife blades on their feet isn't reassuring. And the rules in hockey allow players to be roughed a lot as it is. And a whole group of people being that rough intentionally all the time…" He shook his head. "I just don't know."
"And football?"
"I could play on the defensive line. I played in junior high. I don't hate it or anything. Why did you join?"
"It was stupid. I was down here dancing with Britt and Tina and my dad caught me wearing a … anyway, he came down here because the music was loud and I made up something stupid about what I was wearing because I was embarrassed and Britt said that I was on the football team and that I was the kicker since I'm so small."
Dave laughed.
"Yeah. It was hilarious. So, I got Finn to get Coach Tanaka to give me a chance. He helped me practice and I was decent at it surprisingly, considering I had never kicked a football in my life. So, when I kicked the field goal, Coach Tanaka gave me the position. And now, I'm the kicker. And most of the team is not thrilled. Maybe they'll be a little better about now that we won last night, but that remains to be seen. It could go either way. They might be happy we won and ignore the fact that I'm gay. Or if they get teased about dancing with the fairy, they can decide to make me miserable enough that I'll quit. I've found that there's a lot of macho 'pride' in making sure a 'fag' never shows up a straight boy at something manly. I mostly joined to save face. I'm not interested in being put in my place. If the team is unhappy with a gay kicker who can actually make field goals, then I'll quit the team Monday."
"I think I really need to talk to Z."
"You mentioned him earlier."
"Yeah. He and I go way back. We've been friends for like 10 years. Seeing how he takes this will give me an indication of how the whole school will react because he's at the top of the food chain. I know Hudson thinks he's top dog, and he is in a way, but he's a pansy according to most of the jocks because he doesn't really join in on the bullying."
"Do you want to invite him to your house this evening? If you told him with your dad there, maybe that would diffuse his potential anger."
"It might, at least initially. I just don't have a good feel for how he's going to react. We've never been the type of friends that ran around naked or showered together or anything. I mean, I've seen him in the locker room. And I've seen him in his underwear, but he's really not my type and he's like my brother, so it's just – no way. But I don't think he'll think I've been perving on him and threaten to beat me up for that. If anything, he'll just walk away and say he's not willing to deal with it."
"I'd be glad to offer whatever support I can, if you want me to be there."
"I'll text him and see if he can come." Dave pulled his phone out.
Kurt sat watching him. He was doing his best to hide the grin that kept trying to show itself. Dave looked up and looked at Kurt quizzically and raised an eyebrow.
"What?" Kurt asked.
"That's what I was going to ask you. You're the one staring at me and trying not to smile."
"I'm just struggling to believe that you like me. It's probably the mixture of the remnants of the killer hangover, the shock that there's another gay guy my age and on top of that – he likes me."
"Come closer."
Kurt turned so his back was up against the back of the couch again and he scooted closer to Dave.
"Hmm. Not very convenient. Sit on my lap."
"What?"
"Too hard?"
"No. I can do it. I'm very flexible."
"Good to know." Dave laughed.
Kurt turned red. "Shush." He stood up and straddled Dave's lap and sat down.
Dave wrapped his arms around Kurt's back. "Put your hands on my shoulders." He waited until Kurt did, and then he pulled Kurt toward him a little and kissed him. "Much better." He deepened the kiss.
Kurt moved his hands from Dave's shoulders to his neck and ran his fingers through the hair at the base of Dave's neck. Eventually, they broke apart a bit for air. Kurt wiggled a little and laid his head on Dave's shoulder and placed little kisses on his neck.
"Wow," David said. He gently ran his hands slowly up and down Kurt's back.
Kurt sat back up a bit and kissed Dave on the lips again. "Want to go make cookies to take to your house for tonight?"
"You bake?"
"Mm hmm."
"Okay." He kissed Kurt gently. "Let's go make cookies, then."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
Kurt put Burt's apron on Dave, and then put his own apron on. He preheated the oven and pulled out the ingredients they needed. They washed their hands. Kurt got the recipe card out and started to put things in the mixing bowl.
"Stir this." He pushed the bowl of ingredients toward Dave. Kurt measured the chocolate chips and nuts out and had them waiting. "Now, we stir these in." He pour them in slowly while Dave continued to stir.
Once the dough was ready, Kurt showed Dave how big to make the balls and they started filling up the cookie tray. Kurt put the first one in and they started prepping the second one. They pulled the first one out, put the second one in, and prepped the third tray while the first tray cooled enough to get the cookies off.
Kurt took the first one off and offered it to Dave. He opened his mouth and Kurt held the cookie for him to bite. He put the other half in his own mouth.
"Those are amazing."
"Thanks." He wiped down the first tray and they put the rest of the dough balls on the tray and put it in the oven when the third tray came out. Kurt put the cookies from the second tray in a separate bowl. Once the third batch had cooled, he added them to the container, and pulled the fourth batch out. He took one more warm cookie off the last cookie sheet and offered it to Dave again.
He opened his mouth and took a bite. "So good. Maybe you can bribe Z to not act like an ass about all of this with cookies. He has a huge sweet tooth."
Kurt stepped closer and rose up on his toes and kissed Dave. "I could do that."
Dave wrapped his arms around Kurt and picked him up and sat him on the counter and kept kissing him. They heard the front door open and Dave stepped back and Kurt hopped down.
"I smell cookies," Burt said as he came around the corner into the kitchen.
"Yeah, I thought it would be nice to take something with us to Dave's house tonight. His dad is ordering pizza. I thought we'd make cookies for dessert."
"Good idea. Do I get a sample?"
"Sure, Dad." Kurt handed him one of the warm cookies.
He stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. "These are my favorites."
"That's why I made them. I'm packing most of them up to take with us, but I put one batch in a bowl to keep here for you."
"Thanks, kiddo. I'm going to go shower and change." Burt headed back toward the hallway and then up the stairs.
Kurt put the cookie sheets next to the sink and ran some dishwater to wash everything. "So, will most of your family disown you?"
"I don't think so. It's mostly my dad's family that lives around here. None of them are overly religious. Some of them might have been more prejudiced when they were younger, but most of them are live and let live types. But my mom's family will definitely disown me, and my dad too. They mostly live in Eastern Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. My dad went to law school in Pittsburgh and that's where he met my mom. I'm imagining that she'll move back there. She'll probably move back in with her parents and take care of them. They were talking about my grandmother maybe needing a caregiver or needing to move her to a nursing home. My mom is the baby of the family. So, all of my cousins on her side are quite a bit older than me since she didn't have me until she was 28. Her mom is 80." Dave looked around for a towel and started drying the cookie sheets.
Kurt let the soapy water out, dried his hands, and started putting the ingredients back away. He looked around to make sure nothing was out still. He saw the oven was still on and turned it off.
"So, I guess there's an upside to a messed up situation. If she goes back to Pennsylvania, your grandmother won't have to go to a nursing home as soon."
"Yeah. I feel bad for my dad though. I know he loves my mom. She wasn't always this militant about her beliefs from what he said. It's the pastor that came to the church about 10 years ago, I guess. He's very intolerant and bigoted. I quit going when I was 12. My dad said I could choose and I chose not to go."
"So, the fact that I'm agnostic at best, but more likely atheist, isn't going to bother you?" He took the apron off that Dave was wearing and hung it up with his.
"No."
"Good. I never really talk about it because I honestly never thought I'd find anyone who wanted to date me here. And as far as casual conversation goes, I'm in the minority here, so I just keep my opinion on the topic to myself." He put the lid on the smaller bowl of cookies and put it in the cabinet. He felt a little warmth still radiating out of the other bowl and left the lid off. "Want to play Mario Kart or Wii bowling or something?"
"Sure."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
"I changed my mind, if that's okay. I want to talk a little more before we go to your house." Kurt sat back down on the couch.
"Okay." Dave sat next to him.
"When you think of the word 'boyfriend' or 'dating' what do you think of? What do you envision doing with a boyfriend?"
"Well, the kissing is nice."
Kurt rolled his eyes.
Dave laughed. "Um, I guess just the regular stuff. Someone to talk to. Someone to do things with. I liked the snuggling earlier. That was nice. Making cookies together was fun."
"So, you'd go places with me?"
"Sure. Like where?"
"I don't know. There have to be some at least somewhat interesting places to see in Ohio. Parks, lakes, museums, zoos, and things like that."
"Oh. Well, yeah. Those things sound interesting. I haven't been to many museums or zoos. I've been to more lakes since my dad has the boat."
"So, you'd enjoy going on picnics and hikes and stuff."
"Sure."
"And you're being honest with me, right? Please don't just tell me something because you think it's the answer I want to hear. I don't want to plan something and have it totally bomb because you weren't truthful with me."
"I would totally do those things with you. I don't just want to find a fuck buddy. I could probably advertise on Craig's List or get a fake ID and go to a gay bar for that. I really like you."
"Okay. I believe you."
"Seriously, if that's all I wanted, I wouldn't have come out to my dad this morning or to you. I would just drive to Toledo or Columbus and find guys there to hook up with anonymously. I'm plenty burly enough to pass for older. I could not shave for two days and totally not be questioned going into a bar."
"Whereas I look like an 11-year old milk maid."
"Who said that?"
"Not important."
"Well, it's not true. I wouldn't think you were sexy if you looked like an 11-year old milk maid. Yuck. Sure, you look younger than me right now because I have facial hair and you don't, but that doesn't make you less attractive to me. I mean some grown men can't grow beards. Doesn't make them less of a man. I'm assuming you're still going to grow more at some point. Your dad is as tall as I am. But even if you don't grow much more, it's fine."
"So, this is a personal question. Earlier you said that Z isn't your type. What's your type?"
"Umm. Snarky, sassy, bitchy diva?"
Kurt play slapped him.
"With gorgeous blue eyes and a killer ass."
Kurt rolled his eyes.
"I'm not sure what you want me to say. I'm not into big muscle guys who look like me. I like you. You're funny and smart. A bit of a smartass. I like watching you dance and sing. All I can say is that it's a good thing I was sitting in the top bleachers giving me time to wait for everyone to leave after you all did "Push It"."
Kurt blushed.
"And I came to watch the Invitationals. Let's just say I never thought I liked cowboys until I saw you strutting around the stage in that outfit. I think you should borrow those clothes sometime and we can go line dancing." He leaned over and kissed Kurt. "You are the sexiest cowboy I have ever seen."
Burt called down from the top of the stairs, "You boys ready to go?"
"Yeah, Dad. We just need to put our shoes on. We'll be right back up." Kurt stood up and looked right at David and winked. "I have those clothes in my closet."
He stood up and followed Kurt back down the stairs to get his shoes. They grabbed their shoes and put them on and headed upstairs, but he grabbed Kurt's hand on the landing and kissed him. "Maybe you can give me my own show next time I come over." He leaned down and kissed Kurt once more before he let go of his hand and they went the rest of the way up the stairs.
"Let me grab the cookies." Kurt darted in the kitchen, fastened the lid, and came right back out.
Dave had stepped into the garage waiting for him. Kurt turned the lock and pulled the door shut. He turned around to find Dave waiting right behind him. With Kurt standing on the step, they were eye to eye. Dave kissed him gently.
"Let's go."
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
They pulled up in Dave's driveway and he saw Burt get out of his truck.
"I didn't realize your dad had driven my truck to your house."
"Me neither. I guess it's fixed now."
"Looks like."
They got out and headed inside. Paul opened the door right as they were stepping up onto the porch.
"Come on in."
"Thanks for bringing Dave's truck back."
"No problem. You can just stop by Monday and settle up the bill. I got everything running smooth again."
"The pizzas should be here pretty soon."
"Hey, Dad?" Dave said.
"Yeah?"
"I invited Z over in about a half-hour. I want to tell him, but not alone. I'm not sure how he's going to take it and I figured I needed to get it out of the way before rumors start to spread. He's been my best friend for 10 years. Even if he dumps me, I'd rather tell him face to face than have him find out from someone else."
"No problem. I ordered plenty of pizza."
"We made cookies at Kurt's, so we have dessert too. They're good. I sampled one."
"Just one?"
"Just the one," Dave laughed.
"Hey, I only got one," Burt said. "We're even."
The pizza delivery guy pulled up before Paul even got the door shut. Dave showed everyone to the dining room and Paul wasn't far behind him with the stack of pizzas. He put them down on the table.
"Grab some drinks, Dave."
"Yeah, sure." He went in the kitchen and came back out with a variety of cans of soda and put them on the table. He went back in the kitchen and brought out a stack of paper plates and napkins and put them in the middle of the table. He sat next to Kurt.
Paul had unstacked the pizzas and set them single layer at the other end of the table. "Help yourselves."
Everyone got up and grabbed a few slices. The doorbell rang and Dave went to let Z in. He followed him into the dining room and stopped, looking really confused.
"Have some pizza Z."
"Yeah. I'll do that." He grabbed a paper plate and several slices of pizza and sat down next to Dave.
Dave gave him time to eat one of the slices before he started to talk. "I know you're confused. I invited you here because you're my best friend Z. We've been friends since forever."
"Yeah. If this is about you being gay, I already knew that. I knew you had a crush on Hummel there since like we started high school, dude. The first day you saw him, you looked like … well, let's say you didn't hide it very well. I mean, you got it under control and all, but I was there. I wondered how long it was going to take you to tell me – and him. Looks like you finally got around to it."
"Yeah."
Azimio laughed at him. "Dude, I'm happy for you." He leaned forward and looked at Kurt. "Hey, Hummel, will you hook me up with Mercedes? She is FINE."
Kurt snorted. "Well, Azimio, she won't date a bully. She's going to tell you the same thing I told Dave. No more slushies, no more hassling the Glee kids."
"Hummel, if you can get her to go out with me, I will JOIN Glee my damn self."
Kurt laughed. "Can you sing Azimio?"
"Can I sing?" He rolled his eyes. He started to sing.
Oh, her eyes, her eyes make the stars look like they're not shining
Her hair her hair falls perfectly without her trying
She's so beautiful and I tell her every day
Yeah, I know, I know when I compliment her she won't believe me
And its' so, it's so sad to think that she don't see what I see.
…
When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are.
Kurt interrupted him. "Fine, fine. You can sing. You can stop. I'll see what I can do."
"You do that. I'll sing that song for her for my audition."
Kurt laughed. "This is not how I had imagined that this would go."
"I suppose not," Azimio said. "But she's damn fine."
"You going to treat her right? You know she's not some floozy."
"Oh, I know. I'll treat her like the queen she is. Trust me."
"So, we're okay?" Dave asked.
"We're fine, dude. I don't care who you like. Well, I mean, I care, but I don't care that it's Hummel."
"No more slushies," Kurt said resolutely.
"Yeah. It's stupid. Last year the seniors made us do it like hazing since we were freshman. But they're gone now and there's enough of us sophomores to take the juniors and seniors. We're as big as they are. And a quarter of the football team is already in Glee."
"And the dumpster tosses?"
"Yeah, I'll put an end to that," Azimio said. "That's the puckheads mostly, and Puck."
"Yeah, well, he's quit thankfully," Kurt said. "But the others haven't."
"Well, I'll make sure that changes. There's going to be a coup and a regime change. I want a truck. And I know for damn sure if my momma finds out I've been slushying people, she'll make sure I'm walking everywhere until I graduate."
Kurt laughed.
"Yeah, you got that fine machine sitting the driveway out there. You can laugh all you want. But I had to get my momma to drive me over here. I get all B's at midterm and I'm getting a truck. I'll be studying so hard, Hummel, I'll be making you look like a slacker."
"You didn't even have to bribe him," Dave said, looking at Kurt.
"Now, wait. Y'all had some kind of offer I didn't hear?"
"You're the one that set the terms. You said I had to try to get Mercedes to go out with you. It will have to be a double date the first time. You know that, right? She's not going to just willingly get in a car with you and go somewhere. And you just admitted you don't have a truck yet."
"Yeah, yeah. We'll take your killer ride. Double date, but I pick the place and it ain't going to be Breadstix."
"We'll talk about arrangements later. Dave has to be willing for Mercedes to know in order for it to be a double date."
"A'ight. We'll work on it." He got up and helped himself to more pizza. "What movie we watching?"
"Kurt's picking."
"Whatever, dude. I get whatever it was you were going to bribe me with if it's some foreign film that I gotta read the subtitles for."
"Just eat, you Neanderthal," Kurt said.
"You say that with such love." Azimio blew him a kiss and cackled.
Kurt just shook his head.
[][][] – [][][][] – [][][]
A half-hour later, the leftover pizza was in the freezer, and the five of them had moved to the den. Burt and Paul took the two recliners and the three teens sat on the couch and watched the first Transformers movie. When it was over, Paul and Burt moved to the living room to talk.
"Pass those cookies back this way, you pig," Azimio said.
Dave handed him the bowl of cookies.
"You could rule the world with these, Hummel."
"I'd settle for a pleasant high school experience until I graduate."
"We can work on that."
"And how about you call me 'Kurt'?"
"Nah. I only call Dave by his first name and that's cause he's special." Azimio batted his eyes at Dave.
Dave punched him in the arm. "Shut up, Z."
"Call me by my first name and I'll make you brownies and bring them Monday morning."
"Homemade brownies, like not from the store or a box?"
"Homemade. No store, no box."
"Deal. You bring them and I'll call you Kurt, but only to your face. I'm still calling you Hummel like the rest of the team when you're not around."
"Fine."
"I haven't decided when I'm telling anyone else, Z."
"I got it man. You told your dad. You told Hummel. You told Hummel's dad and that took balls. Hummel's dad is scary."
Kurt laughed. "My dad's a teddy bear."
"To you. To the rest of us, he's a grizzly bear that would rather tear us limb from limb than to see a scratch on you. I can't believe you never ratted any of us out."
"I don't want my dad fighting my battles. It's not his fault I'm gay."
"I respect that, dude. But your dad is still scary as hell. I was NOT part of nailing your furniture on your roof. I told them if they got caught, we wouldn't see them until they were too old to recognize."
"Didn't keep them from doing it. Cost my dad a small fortune, which we could not afford. Nearly a year's worth of college tuition to replace our roof."
"It was about half the team that did it. Mostly junior and seniors. I could tell your dad."
"Maybe you should just send the list anonymously to the house. Type it up on a typewriter somewhere and mail it."
"Good idea."
"So, what about your mom?" Azimio asked.
"She's more than likely going to move out. I'm not sure if we'll end up moving. Dad might look for a smaller house since it will just be the two of us. I don't know though."
"That sucks."
"Yeah, well you know how things have gone."
"Yeah, after that new pastor came, all the black folks left the church."
"Did no one ever bother to explain to him that Jesus was more than likely dark skinned? Has he ever looked on a map to see where Israel even is? The Middle East? They aren't exactly white like me."
"Yeah, I never really heard anything he had to say. I just know that the church is all white when it used to be mixed."
Dave suggested, "Stick around long enough for Mercedes to see you at church tomorrow morning. You'll make your momma happy and you can get a head start on your reformed bad boy persona with Mercedes."
"Nah, that'll make me look all desperate and shit."
"Your choice, dude." Dave elbowed him in the ribs.
"Hey, just 'cause you got up the nerve to tell Hummel first don't mean you get to beat on me."
"You're already there every Sunday morning. Just stick around five extra minutes or show up on time and she'll see you sitting with your momma instead sneaking out of the back pew during the final prayer."
"I'll think about it. I gotta go. My phone just buzzed. That means my momma's out front."
"Don't say anything to anyone."
"I'm not saying nothing to nobody. It ain't none of my business. You just tell me when you decide to let other people know and I'll have your back. You too, Hummel. And I'll get those losers to stop slushying the Glee Club and no more dumpster dives."
"Thanks, Azimio."
He just nodded and left.
"So, that went better than I had expected it to. I see why you like him. He's funny." Kurt scooted closer to Dave and offered his hand.
Dave took it and interlaced their fingers. "He is funny. I'm hoping the two of you can get along. Maybe Mercedes will like him."
"Maybe. He's going to have to prove himself though."
"Like me."
"You apologized and meant it. I know that all of this is hard on you. I'm going to give you a chance. Today has been a lot of fun."
"I think so too." He reached up and ran his finger along Kurt's jaw and turned his face and leaned over and kissed him.
"I wonder what our dads are talking about."
"I don't know. I figure my dad's pretty upset about my mom's imminent departure. They've been married a long time. He's going to miss her and he's going to be a single dad all of a sudden. I'm not trying to be melodramatic, but for us it will be like her dying. She seriously will not have anything to do with me unless I repent and go through the counseling."
"It's terrible. It's got to be hard for both of you tonight knowing that the instant she finds out that it's over."
"I can't live a lie anymore. It's just gotten too hard. I can't keep listening to her say things about me without realizing that they're about me. It makes me hate myself for not being able to change and hate myself for hiding who I am. "
"I wish I could say something that would make this better. All I can do is be here for you."
"That's more than I had thought would be possible."
Kurt squeezed his hand.
