It was Sunday evening, a day every high schooler dreaded. The next day it would be back to school, back to the regular cycle of life. But for Kurt Hummel, it was almost depressing. And the constant droning of the pouring rain wasnt really helping his mood.
"This is sleeping weather." He said quietly to himself, with an odd feeling that he was quoting someone. He shrugged it off, too tired to think about it. There was no dobut that Monday would probably be horrible, but for right now all he wanted to do was sleep...
And then the doorbell rang. He sighed, knowing that the horrible timing was just his bad luck. Forcing himself to get up and take the inisitive to answer it was difficult, but he managed to do it. What he saw had a peculiar way of waking him up.
"Britney?" He asked, shocked into silence. He wasnt sure how she even knew where he lived, and dear God, did she drive here? Britney wasnt exactly the most thoughtful person when it came to her own safety.
"Hi Kurt." She said shyly, avoiding eye contact. "I'm sorry, I was just scared and..."
"No, thats ok, come inside. You must be freezing in this rain." He said quickly as she noticed her shivering. She stepped in, almost seeming timid. He rushed to the couch to grab the blanket he had been using minutes ago and put it around her shoulders. Her teeth were chattering, but she smiled in thanks.
"There you go, you'll get warm soon. Now why are you afraid Britt? Is something wrong?"
"I...My cat has been looking at me funny and its kind of creepy. And its really dark, and scary and its raining, and I just didnt want to be alone." She said quietly, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked so small that he instinctively wanted to hug her. But was that shame that she was hiding in her eyes? Was she embarrassed to ask for help?
"It's ok Britney, you can stay here as long as you need to. Where are your parents? Or Artie or Santana?" He asked, hesitating before asking these private questions.
"My parents are gone for the night. It's their aniversary and I didnt want to make them stay home when they wanted to go so bad. San is busy and I really dont want Artie to know. What if he thinks that i'm stupid? Thats what everyone else thinks." She said, her voice thickened with a sad matter-of-fact tone. His heart squeezed as tears came to her eyes. Sure, she wasnt the brightest crayon in the box, but she did have feelings. Just because she wasnt as smart as everyone else didnt mean that the things that scared her didnt matter. He realized that her fears were probably worse because no one understood them. How often did she get scared like this and no one know, just because she was afriad they would call her stupid?
"Britt, I dont think your stupid. And anyone who does doesnt know you very well. You might not be smart in the ways that some people are, but your smart in other ways." He said quietly, putting his arm around her in a half hug. She looked into his eyes and smiled slightly.
"That's why I came here. You never thought I was stupid. Just...different." She said, leaning her head on his shoulder. She knew that was why she had come here. Kurt had always made her feel good even when she was sad. Even though he didnt make out with her. He didnt mind that she didnt always say the right things, and he didnt correct her every time she did. She could be herself with him.
"So Britt, I have coloring books and Disney movies, your choice? Or baking, thats always fun." He said lightly, brushing the loose hair from her face. She smiled, trying to think. People never really asked her what she wanted to do, and they all sounded like so much fun.
"Do you have cookie dough?" She asked quietly, eyeing the kitchen. He laughed slightly and stood as he took her hand.
"Of course! Cookies are best from cookie dough!" She giggled, halfway because she was just happy but also because she knew he didnt mean it. He didnt like sweet stuff. She had notice when they were at lunch and he always got little salads. But she liked cookies, and she knew that he was trying to help so she didnt call him on it.
Cookies were food for the soul, Kurt was sure of it. Britney had gone from the verge of tears to utter joy the minute he took out the tub of cookie dough. She took it from him, holding it close and beginning to scoop gloobs of it out onto a cookie sheet before Kurt stopped her.
"Hang on a minute babe, this will make it better." He said, grabbing a bowl and putting a big gloob of cookie dough in it. Britney watched, intranced as he put some white stuff and some brown liquid into the bowl and stired it all together.
"Confectioners sugar will make it taste better and look prettier and vanilla just makes it taste better." He explained absentmindedly as she came to the bowl and scooped the new cookie dough and made balls out of them. Five minutes later, the cookies were ready to go in the oven.
"We did it!" Britney said excitedly, clapping her hands. Kurt laughed, loving how happy she was now.
"Ok Britt, go wash your hands. I'll clean up." He said, putting the ingredence back where he got them from. She went over to the sink and put her hands under the cool water. They were clean in seconds, but she left them under the water. She was waiting...target sighted...
"Oh Britt! Jesus thats cold!" He exclaimed in surprise. Britney giggled and ran into his living room, trying to escape a now wet Kurt. He ran after her, but she was really fast. Still, he was really small, and if he hid under the table for a while, she would let her guard down. Then he jumped out and smeared the cookie dough on his hands all over her face.
"Hey!" She said, giggling even more now. He had only gotten the last of the cookie dough off his hands when Britney tackled him onto the couch.
"Oh no, please Britt! I'm really ticklish!" He said, laughing the most he had in a long time. Britney was really good at tickle fights-it was one thing she took pride in-and she wasnt about to give up. So she licked a little bit of the cookie dough off her face and tickled harder.
"Stop! Please stop, i'll do anything!"
"Sorry Kurty, but you asked for it!" She said happily. She liked the sound of his laughter right now, so light and happy. She bared down harder, going for his stomach and underarms now. He shreiked and his laughter sounded a bit like a scream.
"Oh stop, please stop!"
"Kurt! Kurt are you...oh my God." A voice said, running into the living room. Britney poked her head up, but then went back to tickling Kurt. She didnt see why his fathers entrance meant much.
"Hi Mr. Hummel!"
"Dad, save me! Brit-a-sorous is trying to tickle me to death!" He squeeled, honestly believing that he was about to wet his pants. Britney leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"Say you love me then." She said. At first he was surprised but then he realized she didnt sound seductive. She sounded playful, like a little kid.
"Britney, I love you!"
"Im not feeling it!" She said, tickling him harder. His laughs became louder as he tried to catch his breath.
"Dear, sweet Britney! I love you with all of my heart! More that the moon and the stars and the sun and pleaseletmego!" He said, his voice sounding an octave higher than usual. Immedently, Britney lept off of him to perch on the floor.
"All you had to do was ask." She said sweetly, though she was still giggling. Kurt sat up, looking over to his dad as he tried to stop laughing.
"Dad...um...hi." He said, realizing that he was really confused. He turned to Britney and used his finger to take a little of the cookie dough off her chin. She laughed, saying it tickled.
"No kidding! Now, go wash up for real this time, and dont splash me!" He said. She ran off before he was finished.
"Um son, no offence, but you aren't going through another one of those indenity crisis's are you?" His dad asked carefully. Kurt sighed, somehow knowing this would be his idea of the situation. He quickly filled his father in on Britney situation, lookin down the hall in case she came back from the bathroom.
"Woah, her parents let her drive? He parents left her alone? I like her and everything, but can she...?"
"Well she got over here so I guess so." He said quickly, hearing the door open down the hall. Britney came out, plopping down beside Kurt and resting her head on his shoulder.
"So, the cookies are in the oven. What do you want to do now?" He asked, running his fingers through her soft hair. She thought for a moment, and then turned her face to look at him.
"Do you have Pooh Bear? He's my favorite." So Kurt disengaged himself from Britney and pulled out a old VHS.
"Pooh's Great Adventure?" He asked, and she nodded enthusiastically. He popped it in just as Burt coughed and quickly excused himself. Kurt almost sat down before Britney remembered.
"Oh Kurt, someone text you. Your phone was in the bathroom." She said, her eyes oddly void of emotion. He took it and looked at the ID, thinking it would be Mercedes or Finn. But it was a unknown number.
"Excuse me boo." He said quietly, walking into the kitchen. He opened the phone, scared of what he would find. People liked to get his number and send him nasty messages for reason unknown to him. He expected a hurtful message, maybe even a threat or two. What he wasnt expecting was picture of his house feet away from the window. Even in the tiny picture, he could see his fathers back. A chill went down his spine as he scrolled down.
Call the number fag.
It was simple, but it still scared the crap out of him. His fingers fumbled for the call back button, terrified of what would happen if he didnt. Oh God, were they watching them now? Were they in the house? Britney, his dad...
"Well, its about time Hummel. Though we would have to wait forever." He knew the voice on the other end of the line, but he didnt want to admit it. It scared him even more to have a face and a name to go with the threat. This was personal.
"K...Karofsky." He said carefully, his voice shaking. The other boy laughed, a mulitude of voices joining in. Kurt felt like he couldnt breath. Oh my God, he thought, they're at my house. They can see us.
"Aw, thats pretty cute fairy. Have you got Britney Spears in there watching...what the hell is that? Pooh Bear?" A few smart comebacks came to mind, the leading one the most immature. Yea, thats Pooh Bear, what of it? But, stay the hell away from my house was right up there. But none of that came out.
"What do you want?"
"You know if you tell a retard, your still telling right? And i'll have to keep my promise then." He said, lowering his voice but only sounding darker. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap he though, panicing. He thought that he had told Britney about the kiss. He must have seen her come in or something. Shit!
"I didnt tell her. She was scared of the thunderstorm and she came over. I would never tell her, I wouldnt want to worry her." He said, trying to be as truthful as he could. Even though he only spoke the truth, didnt mean they would believe it.
"You better not, or else we might have to knock blondies last brain cell out." The threat sent a wave of pure fear through him, making him gasp for air. He couldnt hurt Britney, he just couldnt.
"I'm not going to tell her, I swear. But she's going to find out if you...if we stay on the phone too long." He said, thinking better than to make this sound like it was his fault. It was, but makingit out to be couldnt be the best plan of action.
"Fine queer, i'll believe you for now. Just remember, not a word. I have no problem hitting girls." He said, the hinted threat vibrating in the space between them. Anger welled up in Kurt, making him forget about his fear for a moment.
"Fine. Just stay the hell away from Britney." He said, snapping his phone closed. The momentary rush of anger was gone, and the fear took hold again. Tears came to his eyes as he sank to the floor. How could he protect Britney when he couldnt even help himself? His mind blessed him with reason. Britney wasnt alone. She had Artie, and Santana, who would go Jack the Ripper on anyone whodared to touch her Britney. Even better, she had the whole of the cheerleading squad, and the glee club. And Sue Sylvester, which was a a line no one would cross right there, even idiotic football jocks. No, they couldnt touch Britney because she wasnt alone. Not like he was. Usually, that was a depressing thought, but it was a relief now. He dried his eyes and took the cookies out of the oven before walking back out to Britt.
"Cookies are done sweetheart, want one?" He asked as if nothing happened. The night went on like this, eatting cookies (Britt had smeared chocolate all over his nose, Now you look as sweet as you are! So Britney, yet so cute), crying over Pooh when he got lost and squeeling with glee once he was found. Then he brought out his old coloring books until Britney got tired. Yet all night, he felt like she was sending glances his way. He couldnt tell why, but he knew he felt her eyes studying him. But as soon as he would turn she would go back to whatever she had been doing, smiling innocently. He thought nothing of it as he put her in his bed, insisting that he would take Finn's. Luckly, his new stepbrother was spending the night with Mike, so it was a valid arguement. She was out in a moment, contented snores coming from her side of the room. It took Kurt a while to fall asleep, the fear of people watching him not easing in the slightest. Finally, he fell into a fitful sleep.
Britney woke up in the middle of the night confused. It wasnt light yet, so why was she awake? Then she realized that she had heard a sound from the other side of the room. A soft sob. She knew right away that she was in Kurt's house, in his bed. She remembered the text he had gotten earlier that day, and how he had gone ghost white. She remembered listening to the conversation, which honestly scared her. She knew what was going on. She might not be smart, but she knew what was going on with her friends. She studied them, tried to learn who they were without them knowing. That was the game. People thought she was stupid, but this was the one reason she knew that she wasnt. She knew more than most people than they knew about themselves. She got up from the bed and sat on Kurt's, searching for his face in the mess of sheets.
"Kurt, wake up. Your having a nightmare." She said simply. Things were simple for Britney. She saw the world that way, but in this case, she thought that simple was good. From the noises Kurt was making, she knew that he was scared. She had to make him...not scared. That was the word, right?
"No...please dont." He whimpered, sounding a lot different than when she had tickled him earlier. He was upset. Britney found his shoulder and shook him, asking him to wake up softly.
"It's ok Kurt, im not going to hurt you. Wake up please, no ones going to hurt you." She said, continuing to shake him. His eyes flew open suddenly, almost scaring her, but she hid it well. He was panting, trying to hide the fact that he was terrified.
"Kurt, why are you scared?" She said, getting right to the point. He looked at her carefully, debating on weather or not to tell her the truth. It was a quick debate.
"Im fine Britt."
"No your not." She said, knocking his world off balance. Those were the words he always wished that someone would would say, but he thought that it would be Mercedes or Finn or Mr. Shue, or even his dad to say them. Not Britney, definatly not Britney.
"I really am Britt."
"Stop saying that!" She said, sounding sharp. Kurt was shocked into silence, but she was still going. "You say that all the time, and its never true. Is it because of that phone call, or those boys pushing you into the lockers, or Rachel, or something else? Why are you scared Kurt? And why wont you let me help you like you always help us?" She asked, sounding upset herself. Kurt felt tears coming to his eyes. He sat up, trying to answer her but at a loss for words. He couldnt believe that she had seen all of that, or understood it. Honestly, he couldnt believe that she cared. But the fact that she did struck him dumb. She scooted closer to him and pulled him into a hug.
"It's ok for you to cry sometimes too." She said in his ear quietly, braking down his final barrier. He sobbed into her shoulder, and she rubbed soothing circles on his back. He returned the hug despretly. She let him cry on her shoulder as long as he could-or would. She didnt mind that the shirt that he had loaned her was getting wet. Her friend was hurting, and she was going to make it all better. As his sobs grew quieter, she began to whisper little nothings in his ear.
"It's ok, everythings going to be ok." Until his breathing became deep and controled, having cried himself out. She squeezed a little tighter, then she let him go and layed him back into his bed. From the way his eyes were drooping, she knew that he was exausted. But she wasnt finished quite yet.
"Please, just tell me what's wrong." She said, running her fingers through his hair. It had felt nice when he had done the same for her earlier, and she hoped Kurt thought so too.
"I...I" He says, trying to start but failing. Im fine, is what he wants to say, but Britney is giving him an eye that lets him know that that isnt an option. So he settles for the mildest form of the truth.
"I'm scared."
"You don't have to be. You have Mercedes and Finn and Quinn and Puck and..." She says babbling on soothingly, even though he's gone. In his dreams, the faces of his friends come across his mind, all smiling and offering reassurance. A quiet droning goes on in his head, sounding oddly like Britney's voice. And Artie and Tina and Rachel and Mike and Sam and Santana and Mr. Shue and Ms. Pilsberry and Ms. Sylvester...
And me. You have me.
Kurt woke up the next morning feeling more refreshed than he had in days. He lay in bed for a while, trying to keep the pleasent haze of subconsiousness. He dreamily looked over at his alarm clock to see that it was unplugged. Pleasent haze over.
He jumped out of bed and grabbed his phone just as the door to his bathroom closed. It was 7:15, he had to leave in fifteen minutes! He had just started to run to his wardrobe to hastily pick something out before running to his car when Britney presented him with a full outfit.
"Here, I picked it out for you. I saw you wear it a while ago, so I knew it went together. I think your dad made coffiee upstairs." She said, moving to his mirror to put her hair up into its flawless ponytail. He stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded, before he realized he had no time. He rushed into the bathroom and changed into the outfit (wow, it was pretty amazing, especially for Britney who only wore her cheerleading uniform to have picked out. He only added a fedora before being satisfied.). Britney followed as he went upstairs, grabbed an already made cup of coffiee, and headed out the door. He didnt know how they did it, but they were in and out the door in five minutes.
"Britt, why didnt you wake me up?" He asked, not really upset seeing as they were almost early. She replied as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"Because you were tired and I wanted you to sleep." The rest of the ride was relatively silent, but neither of them mind. It was comfortable. Kurt runs around to Britney's door after he parks, finally breaking the silence.
"After you Princess Britt." He says, making her giggle. But Santana's waiting for her and Mercedes is waiting for Kurt, so they hug and go their seperate ways. Britney had almost forgotten about the exchange last night until Santana brought it up.
"So I saw you drive up with capitol G Britt, did you have fun last night?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows at her. Britney was confused for a moment.
"No San, I drove up with Kurt. But yea, I had a lot of fun! Kurt makes me feel really...nice." She said, for lack of better words. San looked confused for a minute, but then smiled warmly as she saw how happy her friend was. She had never been close with Kurt before, but if he made Britt happy, then he was golden in her book. They both jumped when they heard someone slam into a locker. Britney began to turn toward the sound, but Santana blocked her view. She had only caught a glimpse of the figure flying into the lockers across from her, but she knew she couldnt let Britney see. But she did turn herself.
"...Raping you with his eyes man! I think he's got the hot's for you!" Azimio said loudly to Karofsky, who had Kurt pinned against the lockers. "Do it dude, he's got it coming!" He said, obviously excited for a fight. Santana tenced, ready to jump in and claw his eyes out if he tried. But the look in Karofsky's eyes stopped her cold. He didnt look angry, no it was more controlled than that. He knew what he was doing, he was planning it all out and enjoying it. Even with that little look into the phyco's brain, she felt sick.
"Oh he'll get his." He said, moving his hand to Kurt's throat. She was momentarily shocked as he leaned in to whisper something in his ear, and by the time she got moving, Karofsky was walking away. She kept moving toward the terrified boy and began to run once she saw him falling. She just barely caught him before his head hit the ground, his breathing fast and irregular. She was so focused on what was happening that she didnt care who saw. She didnt care what they thought over her. Worst of all, she didnt even notice that Britney was not with her.
As Santana had walked toward Kurt, Britney had walked toward Karofsky. She knew in the back of her mind that it wasnt the smartest thing to do, but hey, if people were going to call her stupid, she might as well act like it sometimes. She reached him and the first thing she thought to do was push him. Ironically, he hit the lockers.
"What the...Britney?" He said, momentarily confused. She put on her best innocent face. "What did you do that for?" He yells at her.
"Oh, was that bad? Thats what you do to Kurt all the time." She said, hiding the anger behind it. She wanted them to believe she was innocent, or they would be angry with Kurt. Plus, it would just make them frustrated, and Brtiney liked that idea. A lot.
"Well, he's different than us. He's a queer Britney." Azimio tried to explain, not wanting to be mean to Britney unless Couch Sylvester was hiding around the corner. Last time he had said something to her (Are you crazy! Horse's dont eat rainbows!), he ended up with his gym clothes dyed in rainbows and his locker full of plastic horses. Weather it was Santana or Coach Sylvester, he didnt want to risk it again. She tilted her head to the side.
"Yes, he is diffrent than you. He's a lot nicer and he makes all of us feel good about ourselves. And he's a lot better kisser than you. Than either of you." She said matter of factly. The boys looked uncomfortable.
"Whatever. Lets get out of here dude." Azimio said, walking away. But Karofsky didnt move, and Britney leaned in to whisper in his ear.
"Consider this a warning. Stay away." She said, making herself sound mean and utterly serious. He looked scared and surprised but his eyes called her bluff. She scoffed at him.
"I dont have to do a thing. I'll just tell Santana or Coach Sylvester and they'll handle it. Or Finn, or Puck, or any of the Glee kids. You see, Kurt's not alone." She said quietly, looking down the hallway at the quickly disappearing Azimio, then back at the quickly paling Karofsky. She smiled, but it was sad and her voice held a bit of pity. "But it looks like you are."