He was going to be late. The first day of his senior year and he'd spent so much time dillydallying, lost in his own thoughts, that he was going to be late. Mom and dad would be none-too-thrilled.
Just as he'd begun he accept his fate, the purring of an engine became loud in his ears, and the honking of a horn had him turning abruptly on his heels. A black Navigator. Lights on, windshield wipers moving steadily back and forth. The passenger side, back-seat window rolled down and out popped the head of one, Finn Hudson.
"Dude!" he called out, his neck arched down to avoid getting hit by the rain. "You're gonna be late, man, hop in!" He said. Dave didn't move at first. He knew this car. It was Kurt's.
"Sometime today Karofsky! We'd like to get to school on time!" He could only see the top of Berry's head as she leaned over her boyfriend in the back seat to holler out the window, but that voice was unmistakable. Dave wasn't sure what to do. It had to be Kurt driving, didn't it? He couldn't see him through the windshield, but it was his car. Why would they pull over for him?
The car shift slightly, jolted into park, and the front passenger window rolled down. He saw a shadow begin to shuffle, and Kurt came into few, one eyebrow raised as his head tipped to the side.
"Today, David." He said. Dave shuffled toward the car, lifting his hand up to shield himself from the rain as if he'd just now realized he was being pelted with water.
"You get shotgun." Finn informed as he rolled up his window, nodding toward the seat ahead of him. Dave followed instruction, pulling the door open to see Kurt climbing back into the driver's seat, readjusting to buckle himself up again.
He was thankful, as he was fairly certain that gasp he emitted upon realizing he was seeing Kurt for the first time in three months was, in fact, silent. It took all his willpower to shrug off the shock to his system and climb in nonchalantly.
"Good morning." Kurt chimed as Dave got in, dropping his wet back-pack on the floor between his legs. "Seat-belt." Kurt said pointedly as he shifted into drive. "It's a rule in my car." Dave nodded quickly, reaching up to buckle himself in as he mumbled,
"Thanks." Kurt's eyes were on the road, but he tipped his head slightly, mouth opening to respond, before he was cut short.
"You're quite welcome. Though admittedly my vote was to let you receive a tardy, seeing as you in fact failed to determine how long it would take you to walk to school, but Finn did point out that it was raining, so I agreed it was only right to offer you a ride." Dave stared at Rachel Berry over his shoulder, taking in her all-too-bright eyes, opened wide as she spoke, her lips curving dramatically with every enunciation. The hand that wasn't intertwined with Hudson's moved around erratically, as though it would somehow help her illustrate her point.
Dave nodded.
"Uh, yeah. Thanks." He murmured again. Rachel beamed.
"Are you excited for the first day of our senior year, Karofsky?" she asked, though didn't even pause to breath much less wait for a response, "I, for one, am exceedingly thrilled for what promises to be our most memorable year at McKinley high. I-"
Dave was startled when the once white noise that was softly whispering from the stereo was suddenly turned up to unfathomable volumes. His head whirled back to the front just as Kurt was pulling a hand away from the counsel. The young fashionista smirked cunningly back at Rachel in his rear-view mirror, pursing his lips together to suppress his laughter. A small hand suddenly darted up toward the front, which resulted only in upsetting Kurt.
"Nah-ah-ah! Seat-belt!" He howled, slapping her hand as it tried to penetrate the invisible barrier of the front seat. Rachel leaned back with the thud and Kurt casually turned the music down, still grinning back at the young woman seated behind him. For a moment, she didn't say anything, but from the corner of Dave's eye, he could see her glaring daggers.
Finally, she sighed deeply, and all interruptions were forgotten,
"Dude, have you seen our game schedule yet?" Finn asked from behind him, hand reaching out to clasp around the top of Dave's seat. Dave swallowed hard, not realizing until then the nerves that had clotted up his throat. These exchanges were so normal. And Kurt wasn't even looking at him. He just kept staring forward, seemingly entranced by the roads and not even slightly deterred over the fact that Dave, whom Kurt opened loathed, was seated beside him.
"Yeah." Dave blurted, looking over his shoulder once more to glance at Finn. "We got moved up a division," he stated plainly.
"Oh, that's good isn't it?" Dave could have kicked himself for allowing his body to react the way it did to Kurt's light, feathery voice filling the compartment of the car. The young man tipped his head a little, as though to signal to his riders that he was also tuned into the conversation.
"Sorta." Finn mused. "It means we got better, but it also means we're going to be facing a whole buttload of schools we never faced before." he explained, and cast a glance at Rachel, "Harder ones." Finn was another one that wore his heart on his sleeve. The concern laced thickly in his voice.
"You're worried it's going to be too much competition?" Rachel asked with dipped brows, her wide eyes locked on Finn, as though she could transmit her caring thoughts through them.
"Eh," Finn scoffed, shrugging his shoulders lazily, apparently trying to show his lack of concern, but the sweaty palms he was running across his jeans said otherwise.
"Well I believe you have more than enough determination and strength to overcome whatever obstacles you might face." Rachel insisted.
"Williamsburg and North Henley's best players graduated last year, and Ridgeway's coach just retired." Dave cut in suddenly. Finn and Rachel looked up, and in the corner of his eye, Dave saw Kurt cast a glance his way, "The three biggest competitors in the division all lost some pretty big variables." He mused, absently picking at his fingernails. "Between you, Puckerman and Beastie, I'd say we're in good shape." For a moment, the cab of the car was quiet, then Finn huffed out a laugh behind him, and one of his hands came down for a large pat on Dave's shoulder.
"Hell yeah," He said, "And with you blocking the way you did with that numb-nuts at Perry, I'd say we have a championship on our hands." He boasted. Dave laughed, if not for Finn's use of words, then Rachel's reaction to them.
"Finn! What sort of language is that?" she squealed, horrified by the vulgarity.
"No use fretting over it, Rachel dear." Kurt mused from the front seat. "It's only boy talk."
"Hn." The young brunette pushed out air through her nose, eyes wide with a roll as she apparently dismissed the comments, shaking her head and sitting back. Finn only laughed.
They pulled into the school parking lot only moments later, Finn and Rachel shuffling in the back seat as they tossed their hoods over their head and readied their umbrellas.
"Can you hold this for a sec?" Kurt asked quietly. Dave, who'd been turned toward the door, ready to hop out, plopped his back-pack down on the floor once more, reaching out to clasp his hand around Kurt's Lima Bean coffee. Finn handed Kurt's shoulder bag up to him, along with his umbrella, before quickly leaping out of the car with his girlfriend, door slamming behind him. Kurt shuffled to secure his bag on his shoulder, maneuvering his umbrella to his door in some hopes of opening it quick enough to save his hair from the rain.
He then cast his gaze up at Dave, and for the first time since junior prom, their eyes met. Despite hints of a summer tan, the grey sky and dark interior of the car cast blue and hazy shadows on Kurt's skin, making it appear cool and pale. His eyes reflected hints of blue from their smoky depths. Dave knew, they appeared a bit more blue on rainy days, and greener in the sun.
"So, does the jacket mean I'll be getting an escort to class?" Kurt asked casually. Dave blinked for a moment, trying desperately to process his words and not think about the fact that they were sitting alone together, in Kurt's car.
Dave had apologized last year. He'd broke down some walls, and told Kurt how much he regretted what he did. Still, he felt compelled to do so again. Despite his lack of desire to rehash all of those memories, he just felt like it was something that needed to be reinstated.
"Kurt," Dave began, and though he did his best to hold his gaze, he found himself averting his eyes to Kurt's iPod flashing on the counsel. "I just want to tell you how sorry I am about last year, and that I-"
"David," The older boy sighed. How did he manage that? All Kurt did was say his name, hardly above a whisper, and he'd demanded Dave's attention almost immediately. Dave peered up, and Kurt offered a sort of weak smile, "It's a whole new year." he stated, as though that statement alone should say everything Kurt was trying to convey. "Let's let the past be in the past, and just move forward."
Move forward. It wasn't forgiveness, but it was something. Like spotting white clouds, and clear skies in the distance.
