Chapter 2: Friends
Two days had passed since Kurt's arrival at the McKinley Institute, and so far he had barely had any contact with anyone that wasn't a member of the staff. Dr Figgins told Kurt that he should try to make friends, but Kurt knew it wasn't that easy. Nurse Holliday was always nice to him, probably sensing how vulnerable he felt, but there was only so much she could do. He had also started therapy with Dr Schuester, and found himself thoroughly disliking the man. He had a rather narrow view of the world, and often steered the conversation towards himself. In fact, Kurt suspected that he probably knew more about the doctor than vice-versa at this point. Including his failing marriage, and his illicit affair with the pharmacist, Ms Pillsbury.
Meal times were the worst. Three times a day, he found himself sitting by the hateful pot plant, all alone, and wishing he hadn't been so rude to Dave on his first day. There was one person that continued to irritate him, however. The meerkat had tried to talk to him in the halls again, but Kurt had made a point of ignoring him and not feeling bad about it. Something about that guy smelled funny. And faintly of Craigslist.
Walking back from an appointment with Schuester, Kurt glanced up at a clock on the wall, an ugly piece of work with rectangular white frame. It was nearing one in the afternoon, when they generally had lunch. He was seriously considering forgoing it today and heading back to his room when he heard someone approaching at a run from around the corner he was preparing to turn. Before he could comprehend what was happening, a body collided with him, much like what had happened on his first day, and he found himself sprawled out on the cold white tiles. Placing a hand on the spotless floor, he hoisted himself up and brushed off his red skinny jeans. Looking down at the floor, he found Mike shaking his head, as though he was trying to comprehend what had just happened.
"Mike? Are you alright?"
At the sound of his voice, Mike's face split into a smile again and he beamed at Kurt.
Oh no…
"New guy! Hey! Hi! Kurt, right? How are you? I haven't seen you around. How come? You aren't avoiding us, right? You wouldn't do that. Of course, I don't really know you, so I shouldn't assume things, but then, you don't really know us either, so why would you avoid us? I don't think you would, but maybe I'm wrong. I hope not, though. Or do I hope so? Wait, I'm confused… What do I want?"
Mike winced slightly, and touched his temples lightly, breathing out a faint, pitiful "ow".
Kurt found himself laughing. "No, Mike, I'm not avoiding you."
"Then why don't you sit with us at mealtimes?" Mike asked, his eyes focused intently on Kurt again. "You always sit alone, and you're always giving that plant angry looks. Why? Are you allergic to it? If you're allergic to it you shouldn't sit there, it seems silly to make it worse, don't you agree? Why aren't you going downstairs for lunch?"
Mike paused, seemingly expecting an answer for once, and Kurt instantly felt bad. "I, er, didn't notice that it was lunch time. I'll head to the cafeteria now."
"Great! You can come sit with us today! That's okay, right?"
"I don't know, Mike…" Kurt replied uncertainly, thinking of his rude dismissal of Dave.
"Then it's settled!" Mike stated obliviously, not listening to a word Kurt said. "You'll sit with us today!"
He grabbed his hand and started running down the hall again, dragging a very confused Kurt behind him.
When they had arrived in the cafeteria, Kurt took on a whole new level of uncomfortable.
"I'm not sure about this, Mike." He said softly, absently picking at the black shirt he was wearing. Dave was already sitting at the table, dressed in ragged jeans and a rugby shirt, along with a three other guys, and he was giving them look that was both quizzical and faintly amused.
"Don't worry Kurt, these guys are great and they'll love you, I'm sure. Just give it a shot, okay? Okay? Cool!"
Rolling his eyes, Kurt let himself be steered to the tacky linoleum table and forced onto the hard plastic bench.
"Hey Kurt." Dave greeted, barely concealing the laugh in his voice. "Fancy meeting you here."
Kurt shot him a jokingly scathing look. "Blame Mike's enthusiasm." He said, then gave a tentative smile. "Hey Dave."
Dave laughed lightly. The other guys at the table looked between Kurt, Dave and Mike in confusion, silently asking for an introduction.
Dave grinned at his friends. "Guys, this is Kurt, he's new to McKinley."
"Hey Kurt." A blonde guy with a large mouth greeted timidly. "I'm Sam."
"Puck." The next guy said, reaching out to shake his hand. He made Kurt think of a Greek God of some sort; he was tall, muscular, and tanned. Though Kurt was fairly certain that no one in the Greek Pantheon had a Mohawk.
Next to Puck was a guy with dark hair and thick glasses, who was dressed in what Kurt would call 'hideous old person clothes'. At first glance Kurt didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about him, but a moment later he saw the wheelchair.
"Artie." He said distantly, like he didn't want to be there.
Puck nudged Artie and gestured for him to smile, but Artie flipped him off and looked away.
"And that's Ryder." Dave said, a little quieter, pointing to a fourth boy that Kurt hadn't seen. He used the word boy correctly, since it was obvious he was only in his mind teens. He sat staring out of the window with a curiously blank expression, as if he didn't seem to know or even care where he was.
"Is he okay?" Kurt asked, leaning closer to Sam so he could speak quietly. Sam flinched initially, but then leaned too.
"He's got amnesia." Sam whispered quietly to him. "But not the normal kind."
"He was in an accident about four months ago." Dave told him, also using a quiet tone. "His head took a really rough hit. He has Retrograde Amnesia, so he can't remember his past at all."
"That's terrible." Kurt said sympathetically.
"That's not the worst part." Puck said. "He's also got what's called Anterograde Amnesia."
Kurt frowned in a questioning manner.
"He can't retain new memories for long periods of time." Dave explained. "A few hours at most, sometimes a full day, but then it's like his mind gets wiped clear again."
Kurt gasped, a true feeling of horror coming over him. "Oh my God…"
"We keep an eye out for the kid as much as we can, try to keep him safe. One of the only things he retains is that he's in a mental hospital because of his memory, which is lucky because it would suck to keep explaining that one." Puck told him. He then narrowed in eyes in interest as he looked at Kurt. "So, what's your story, dude?"
Kurt immediately riled up, ready to let loose a scorching insult, but was spared that by Mike, who was bouncing excitedly in his seat.
"Hey guys, where's Blaine? I just realized that I couldn't smell raspberry hair gel."
"That's the least I've ever heard him say." Kurt murmured to no one in particular, but everyone laughed.
"Yeah, Mikey talks enough for all of us, most of the time." Dave said, "But the ADHD also lets him get distracted for long enough for the rest of us to speak occasionally."
Kurt rolled his eyes. "So who is Blaine?"
"Blaine's the last member of our group." Sam told him. "But I haven't seen him today. Have you guys?"
Puck scratched the back of his neck, his eyes downcast. "He's on lockdown." He mumbled. "He slipped up last night."
Dave and Sam groaned, and Artie shook his head. Seeing that Kurt was, once again, out of his depth, Artie elaborated.
"Blaine, like me, has a case of Clinical Depression. A slip up means he either started cutting himself, or he tried to kill himself last night."
Kurt's eyes widened. Honestly, he should have expected something like this, considering where he was, but it was still new to him.
"Blaine's depression isn't usually all that bad." Dave said. "He's mainly here for other reasons. But once in a while this sort of thing happens."
"Normally this happens to me." Artie stated bitterly.
Kurt closed his eyes momentarily and pressed his slender fingertips to his temples.
"So, um, what's for lunch today." Dave asked with a pointed look at Kurt. The others caught on and changed the topic to lighter things. Soon after, Sam, Puck and Dave went to go and fetch lunch for everyone, which was apparently a ritual the group had of taking turns in smaller groups rather than have all of them standing in line at the same time. Mike turned to Kurt and gave him a small smile.
"It's not so bad here, Kurt." He said in a normal tone. "You'll see. And you'll like Blaine; he's really nice."
"Thanks Mike." Kurt said, honestly grateful for the Asian boy's words.
"Yeah, sorry about unloading all that heavy stuff in front of you when you're not used to this place yet." Artie apologized. "But Mike's right, it really isn't so bad here. And who knows, you might be one of the people that actually have a chance of getting out of here eventually."
Kurt was saved from having to reply when Ryder muttered something, immediately drawing Artie's attention.
Kurt's eyes wandered the cafeteria and landed on the meerkat, Sebastian, who was sitting three tables away by himself and staring straight at him.
When Dave, Sam and Puck returned, Kurt decided he'd better ask some questions.
"What's up with that smirky little meerkat?" he asked, flicking his head in Sebastian's direction. They all looked around very obviously, and Sebastian winked at Kurt, knowing that he was talking about him.
"Sebastian Smythe." Sam said. "Piece of work, that one."
Puck, looking at the ceiling rather than at Kurt, expanded on that. "He's got Erotomania, so he firmly believes that everyone wants him, and coupled with excessive Hypersexuality –"
"He's always horny." Sam chipped in.
" – he's always on the prowl for someone to sleep with. They should have made him board with the girls."
"How would that help?" Kurt asked, missing the obvious answer.
"He's gay." Dave replied. "He wouldn't bother them like he bothers us."
Kurt immediately bristled at the comment. "You have a problem with gay people?"
"Not at all." Sam said quietly. "A bunch of the guys here are at least bisexual, like Puck."
Puck nodded, and laughed at the shocked look on Kurt's face at that revelation.
"Oh, okay…" Kurt muttered. "It's just, well, I'm gay."
"We know." Mike stated cheerfully. "Dave said it's obvious, and Puck said his gaydar went off. Hey Sammy, what's gaydar?"
Artie chuckled as Kurt, Dave and Puck all blushed.
"I didn't mean any offence." Dave mumbled to Kurt, while Sam tried to explain gaydar to their hyper friend.
"Don't worry." Kurt assured him, trying to keep a firm grip on his irritability. "I know I'm kind of blatant about it. And my high voice is a dead giveaway."
"Well at least you aren't alone." Artie said. "Puck plays for both teams, and Blaine's gay too. And I suppose there's always Sebastian. What did you call him?"
Kurt shuddered at that thought. "The meerkat. He looks like a freaking meerkat."
"Don't worry; no one is all that fond of the meerkat." Puck told him.
Kurt ate his lunch in silence after that, listening to the others talk and trying to get to know them, as well as figure out what was wrong with them. When lunch was over, Dave invited Kurt to go with them to the rec room to watch a movie.
"Sure, I've just got to run up to my room first." Kurt replied. "I'll meet you there."
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Leaving his room, Kurt immediately realized his mistake; he had no idea where the rec room was. Having avoided everyone since he had arrived, he hadn't had the need to go the recreation room before.
"Hello again, mystery man." An oily voice said from nearby. Kurt turned and saw Sebastian leaning against a wall and giving him bedroom eyes and a knowing leer.
"Meerkat." Kurt greeted with a vague nod. Sebastian grinned at the nickname and took a step closer to him.
"You look like a lost lamb." He said.
Kurt scowled and ignored him, looking for one of the information boards. They usually had maps on them for newer patients, according to Holly.
"You know, you could always come to my room with me. I'd take good care of you."
Sebastian was suddenly far too close, invading Kurt's personal space and slipping an arm around his waist.
"Get lost Sebastian." Kurt snapped at him, pushing Sebastian's arm away. Sebastian merely smiled and grabbed the front of Kurt's designer shirt, pulling him forward until their chests were pressed together. Kurt glanced around, but the corridor was deserted. Sebastian's mouth pressed against Kurt's in a firm kiss, and Kurt was in shock. When Sebastian's tongue traced along his bottom lip, however, Kurt found himself opening his mouth and allowing their tongues to slide against one another. That is, until he felt Sebastian's erection pressed against his thigh. Kurt came to his senses and pulled away from him.
"I'm sorry, that shouldn't have happened." He apologized.
"I don't see why you're apologizing." Sebastian stated, making no effort to hide his erection. "I kissed you, remember?"
Kurt shrugged. "I've got to go."
"I'll show you the way." Sebastian said. He walked past Kurt and stopped to look back. "You wanted to get to the rec room, right? Follow me."
Kurt wasn't sure if it was wise to follow Sebastian anywhere, but he trailed along behind him anyway.
"How old are you?" Kurt asked, trying to seem polite.
"Seventeen." Sebastian replied. "How are old are you? And you still haven't told me your name."
"I'm nineteen." Kurt told him. "And my name is Kurt."
Nothing more was said until they were nearing a pair of doors from which a lot of noise was coming.
"Here we are." Sebastian said. "Have fun."
With that he patted Kurt on the shoulder, then gripped his backside and gave it a firm squeeze.
"Damn…" Sebastian hissed, his eyes rolling back in his head a little.
Kurt slapped his hand away, glaring. "Fucking meerkat."
Kurt walked into the room, hoping that Sebastian wouldn't follow, and luckily his wish was granted. The room was large and brightly colored with mismatched couches and cushions. Along one of the beige walls were large glass windows and a few doors, leading to other, smaller rooms that each had their own television. Through one of the windows, Kurt spotted Puck's Mohawk, so he headed in that direction. He walked over and stood on the fringe of the group while they argued what movie they wanted to watch.
"Blaine's not here, so we are not watching anything Disney." Dave stated.
"Fine, how about an action movie?" Artie asked.
"Like what?" Dave countered. "They don't exactly leave the violent movies lying around here, on the off chance it triggers someone, and we didn't put a request in for something good."
"Put Step Up in!" Mike begged as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.
"We watched that yesterday." Sam muttered, going through a stack of DVDs.
"What do you think, Kurt?" Puck asked.
"Trust me, you don't want my opinion." Kurt replied with a laugh.
"Tell us tell us tell us tell us!" Mike exclaimed, grabbing Kurt's hand and holding it tightly. His grin was wide and infectious, and Kurt found that he couldn't say no to him.
"Fine. I like Rom-coms."
Dave, Sam and Artie crinkled their noses in distaste, while Puck's eyes lit up slightly.
"Rom-com!" Mike yelled. Kurt had the feeling that he could have suggested staring at the wall and it would have excited Mike.
"I'll make you a deal." Dave said. "We'll do a rom-com next time if we can watch an action today."
Kurt shrugged, surprised they'd even consider it. "Alright, deal."
"Dude!" Sam suddenly said, acting a lot less introverted. "Spiderman 3!"
Kurt rolled his eyes and prepared himself for two hours of having his brain melted, but in all honesty he enjoyed his time spent there, sitting between Puck and Sam. He wasn't sure if he was actually a part of their group of friends, but he found the prospect oddly pleasant so he vowed to not screw this up.
He while the movie played, he had a whispered conversation with Puck, trying to find out more about them. It turned out that they were all different ages, with Puck being the eldest at twenty-four, and Ryder being the youngest at sixteen. Mike and Sam were both eighteen, while Artie was seventeen. And the absent boy, Blaine, was twenty-two. Puck didn't want to tell him the reasons that each of them were there, stating that it wasn't his place to tell, and Kurt respected that. Puck did tell him about himself, though.
His full name was Noah Puckerman, and he had Impulse Control Disorder, meaning that he almost always acted on the first thought he had, which led to a lot of trouble, and he lacked a conscience most of the time. He also had incredibly low self-esteem, and was a pyromaniac. He tried to prove that immediately by pulling a lighter out of his pocket and searching for something to torch, but Dave had seen and had quickly grabbed the lighter.
"Where'd you get that?" Dave asked, pocketing the lighter.
"That hockey guy, Rick, told me to steal one." Puck said proudly, but then his smile faltered. "Was it a bad idea?"
"Very bad." Dave said. "If you got caught, you'd be in big trouble."
"Don't make any crazy suggestions to him." Sam whispered from Kurt's other side. "He'll do it without thinking, part of the impulse control."
Mike nodded from behind Sam. "Yep, that's true. Poor Pucky gets into trouble a lot because he just does things."
"Not totally true.' Puck muttered, his face going red as he stared down at the carpet, his fingers digging into the sides of his dark-wash jeans.
"Is too." Mike countered. "I dare you to kiss Sammy, or are you chicken?"
Puck's eyebrow twitched and he moved in front of Sam, grabbing his face and kissing him straight on the lips. Sam spluttered, pulling away from Puck, but he glared at Mike.
"Mike!" Dave chastised. "Not cool man. You know Puck can't stop himself. It's not cool to screw with each other's problems like that!"
Kurt noticed that Sam was shaking heavily, like he was in shock. "Sam, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not!" he yelled, getting to his feet and storming from the room.
"Way to go, Mike." Artie said in a bitchy tone, shaking his head. "Kurt, Sam has an Avoidant Personality disorder. He doesn't like people in general, and he hates to be touched. It took a long time for him to become comfortable enough around us. So please excuse his yelling."
"I'm sorry." Mike said softly, all of his hyper activity gone. "I'll go say sorry to Sammy."
"I'll go with you." Puck said as he got to his feet along with Mike, sounding remorseful. "Fuck, I shouldn't have done that."
"It isn't your fault, Puck." Dave reassured him, patting him on the back.
As Mike and Puck left the room, Kurt stood up and stretched, glancing at the screen for a second before yawning. "Well, I guess that's it for the movie then."
"Guess so." Artie said. "Dave, will you get Ryder to his room?"
"Yeah, sure man." Dave said, moving to Ryder, who was asleep on a bright pink bean bag.
"Hey, Ryder, wake up little dude."
Ryder's eyes fluttered open. "Who are you?" he asked in a groggy, confused voice.
"It's me, Dave." Dave said, and Kurt wondered how often they had had this exact conversation. "You know me, buddy. Come on, let's get you to your room. You wanna read a book?"
Ryder smiled softly and nodded, allowing Dave to help him to his feet and walking off with him.
Kurt stared after them with a saddened expression, pity for Ryder building in his chest.
"We do what we can." Artie said simply as he wheeled past him. "Anyway, I'll see you at dinner. I need a drink."
"They let you drink here?" Kurt asked absently, his mind still on Ryder.
"Only in special cases." Artie replied bitterly. "See ya.'
With that, Kurt found himself alone.
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Back in his room, Kurt stretched out across his bed and groaned. It was nearing time for his daily appointment with Dr Schuester, and he wasn't in the mood to go. He buried his face in his pillow in the semi darkness of the room, having only turned the bedside lamp on. There was a light tap on his door, and he groaned again loudly, assuming that it was Nurse Holliday come to escort him again. It seemed that the doctors had realized from the get-go that Kurt wouldn't always show up to appointments if he didn't feel like it, and it fell to the nurses to get him there.
"Hey Kurt…" a familiar oily voice drifted in through the door.
Kurt's head snapped up and he glared at Sebastian, who at that moment entered the room and shut the door behind him.
"So Kurt," he said. "We should pick up where we left off this afternoon."
"I don't think so, meerkat." Kurt replied dismissively. "I'm not interested."
"Your lips said something else earlier." Sebastian countered.
"That was a mistake, and it's not likely to happen again. I've heard all about you; you try to sleep with every guy you come across."
Sebastian shrugged. "So? You might as well have some fun too. Don't be the only one left out. Hell, I've even slept with some of the staff members."
Kurt's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"
Sebastian nodded, tracing his fingertips along Kurt's bookshelf slowly as he moved closer.
"That's close enough, Sebastian." Kurt stated. "I'm not going to sleep with you, so you might as well give up. You got a kiss out of me, and that's all you'll ever get."
Annoyance flickered across Sebastian's face, but a second later it was gone. "If that's the case, can I have one last kiss?"
Kurt eyed him distastefully, and Sebastian must have taken his silence as approval because a moment later he was chest to chest with Kurt again. Once again, Kurt could feel Sebastian's erection against his leg. Before he could protest, Kurt's mouth was covered by Sebastian's, and their tongues were sliding against one another. Sebastian moaned into the kiss and rocked his hips slightly, trying to get some friction for his dick. He gripped Kurt's hips and gave a hard thrust, moaning louder, and Kurt pulled away quickly.
"That was more than a kiss." Kurt pointed out a little breathlessly.
Sebastian sighed and stepped back. "I'm sorry. I can't really help myself."
"I think you should go." Kurt all but whispered. Surprisingly, Sebastian complied and left without argument.
"Fucking meerkat." Kurt mumbled, making sure his clothing wasn't rumpled. He felt slightly violated, but he had to admit that the meerkat could kiss.
A moment later, Nurse Holliday came knocking on his door. "Ready for your appointment with Schuester?" she asked.
"As I'll ever be." Kurt mumbled, following her out into the overly bright hallway.
~XoXoX~
AN: Reviews are appreciated ^_^