{}o{}o{}o{}o{}M-4{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Right after Pavarotti was given to him, he had arranged for the rest of the Warblers to take turns caring for him on the weekends so that Pavarotti wouldn't have to go out in the cold, but this weekend it was his turn to keep him. While he was changing and getting his coat on, he thought about that. He had been at Dalton long enough for each of the Warblers to have cared for Pavarotti for part of the weekend so he could go home. He Pavarotti bundled Pavarotti up so he could head to Lima.
He refocused and grabbed his satchel and put it on over his head, wearing it crossbody to make carrying the bundled up cage easier. He had to head back to Dalton either Saturday evening or Sunday morning because the Warblers were holding an all-afternoon Sunday rehearsal because Regionals was coming up in two weeks and with all of the other clubs and sports rehearsals, it was practically impossible to schedule extra weekday rehearsals and manage to get the whole group there.
He stopped by the house and took Pavarotti up to his room and got him situated comfortably, and then drove straight to the shop and got busy working on the to-do list that had been left for him. Three hours later and a completed task list, he headed back home.
When he walked in the door, he could smell that dinner was already prepared and ready to eat. He used the sink in the laundry room to scrub his hands again and used the nailbrush he kept on the sink ledge to make his hands presentable for dinner.
He walked into the kitchen and found Carole finishing things up.
"Need any help?"
"Oh, sure, honey. You can carry those bowls to the table."
Once everything was on the table, Burt hollered down to the family room for Finn to come up and eat. He came upstairs quickly and sat down. The four of them started passing the bowls of food around the table and serving themselves. Once they had what they wanted, they started to eat.
"So, tonight, we're going to have an actual family meeting during dinner," Burt said. "Finn and I had a talk last night and so did Carole and I."
"Okay…" Finn said, somewhat confused and blushing.
Kurt realized what Burt had talked to Finn about.
"So," Carole started. "Burt and I talked. The two of you are close to being adults, legally. You both have just one more year of school after this one. Burt and I were teenagers once upon a time, a long, long time ago."
Kurt laughed.
"And Finn and I have already been through the pregnancy scare situation and lived through it. What we don't want is a repeat of that. Finn is now fully aware of how that situation can be avoided, beyond the obvious choice of celibacy."
Finn looked uncomfortable.
"The question has arisen as to what is our family rules need to be in regards to significant others."
Finn looked confused.
"The rules about what you can do with your girlfriend here at home," Burt clarified.
Finn nodded.
"Our bedroom is downstairs. The two of you have bedrooms upstairs on opposite ends of the hall. We all have a reasonable amount of privacy, which increases if the doors are closed," Carole said.
"We have reconsidered our previous 'open door' policy. We are going to replace it with an 'open visitation' policy. Neither of us wants either of you sneaking off to sleazy motels." Burt looked directly at Finn. "We don't want anyone arrested for public indecency, which would probably happen to Kurt just for chastely kissing a boy in a car."
"Wait a minute. I'm confused, I think. Did you just say that I can have Quinn over whenever I want? Like any time of day, even in my room, alone with the door closed?"
Burt laughed. "Yes, I did."
"That's like a huge change," Finn said.
"It is," Carole confirmed. "But in light of the fact that Kurt cannot be in any way intimate with a boy anywhere in Lima, his home has to be his safe place. If he and his boyfriend wanted to watch a movie and cuddle, like you and Quinn do at the theater, could he do the same?"
"Wait. Kurt has a boyfriend?"
"No, I don't, Finn. She was just asking IF I could do the same thing with a boyfriend that you can do with a girlfriend. Could I go to the movie theater in town and sit with a boy the way you sit with Quinn?"
"Oh. No, definitely not."
"That's all she was pointing out."
"Okay. I get it. Kurt can't really date like the rest of us, so whenever he gets a boyfriend, their dates will have to be here at home. Like a movie and dinner in the family room or something."
"Right," Carole said. "Or, he and his boyfriend could watch a movie on his laptop in his room, if you have people over that evening and you're using the family room."
"And you're actually serious?" Finn asked. "This isn't some kind of weird not-really-April April Fool's joke?"
"Nope, not a joke," Burt confirmed. "It's also not meant to be on the evening news. There's no need to go blabbing at school about how your parents are cool enough to let you have sex in their house."
Carole added, "I don't think you and Quinn are at the ready-to-have-sex stage. And if you feel that you are, then you need to make sure that you take Quinn in for a visit to her OBGYN and that she is taking proper precautions to avoid pregnancy and that you are taking proper precautions to prevent STIs and that the two of you cover the cost of these precautions equally."
Finn turned red. "Yeah, I get it. No more accidental pregnancies. If I was seriously looking for a girl that would put out, I wouldn't be dating Quinn or Rachel for that matter."
"Well, whoever you choose to date is up to you. Your choice of partner is up to you, and whoever it is will be welcome here," Carole said.
"This rule does NOT apply to your friends," Burt pointed out. "This will not become a teenage hookup venue. Your friends are welcome here. They are welcome to have their girlfriends or boyfriends with them. But anything that they wouldn't want me or Carole to see them do – needs to not happen in this house."
"Right. Got it," Finn said.
"The last part of this deal is this," Carole looked directly at Finn and spoke firmly. "Finn, if Kurt has someone here and you come home unexpectedly and you find another guy here, you will not say a word to anyone, ever. Do you understand?"
Burt said, "You are being given very lenient family rules. In return for our leniency, you will keep quiet about anyone Kurt might see. The person here could be someone that is not open about his sexuality to everyone. Kurt's personal life is none of your business and is not to be a topic for the McKinley rumor mill. I know you struggle with keeping things to yourself, but this is REALLY important."
"Got it."
"So, repeat the rules to me, Finn," Carole said pointedly.
"Kurt and I can have our girlfriend or boyfriend over any time we want day or night, anywhere in the house. Private things need to happen in our bedrooms with the doors closed."
"Keep going," Carole urged him.
"I can't out anyone I might accidentally run into if I come home when Kurt isn't expecting it. Oh, and none of our friends can come here to hookup."
"Right," Burt said. "One other thing you forgot."
"Umm."
"Don't blab to everyone about our parents' lenient rules," Kurt supplied.
"Exactly," Burt said. "If you do, your privileges will be revoked back to the 'open doors at all times' stage."
"Got it," Finn said.
"And if you ever out anyone that Kurt is seeing, you'll be grounded until you move out of the house," Burt added.
Finn looked mortified.
Carole specified, "No truck, no data or texting for your phone, no internet, no video games, no TV or movies, no friends over, no going out with anyone, etc."
"Right. I won't out anyone."
"Good choice," Burt said.
"We have one last issue to talk to the two of you about," Carole said. "Underage drinking. We're aware that the Glee Club is now amongst the groups of people that you associate with that is hosting drinking parties. There will be no drinking parties in this house, period. No alcohol. No exceptions. If we find out this rule has been broken, the participants in the drinking will be banned from the house. We will not allow underage drinking in this house."
"Got it, Mom," Finn said.
"The other issue with underage drinking. I'm aware that you two remained sober during the last New Directions party that involved drinking. I appreciate that. Should that ever NOT be the case, I expect you to call Carole's cell phone and let her drive to wherever you are and pick you up. No questions asked. Both of us know that there are types of alcohol that do not smell and have no taste. We would rather you call Carole for a ride than risk allowing one of your friends to drive you. If necessary, we will drive your friends home as well."
"Yeah, Mr. Schue made all of us sign pledges not to drink anymore. And he gave us his cell phone number. I don't think there will be any more parties like that one any time soon."
"Good," Burt said. "But if you ever end up in a situation where you or your ride ends up drinking alcohol on purpose or by accident, call Carole."
"We got it, Dad. We'll call Carole. We won't drive drunk and we won't ride with a drunk driver."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}M-5{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Kurt and Burt headed to the shop after lunch to meet up with Kurt to work on a special project that hadn't been on his task list the day before. Kurt had seen the truck sitting on a lift, but hadn't bothered looking at it since it wasn't on his list of things to do.
Burt took him over to the truck, which was beautiful. It was a gorgeous metallic forest green and the body was in great shape – no dings or rust.
"This is our project. More mine than yours, but you can help me the weekends that you're home. Some things are just easier with two people."
"Alright."
"This is Finn's 18th birthday present. He doesn't know, of course. And he doesn't know enough about cars to help me fix it or to fix it himself like you did with the Nav. His truck is a piece of crap and I keep patching it back together to keep it running. It's not the kind of vehicle he can drive anywhere besides around town. I want him to have a reliable vehicle."
"Got it. So, what's wrong with this beauty?"
"A lot of things. Eat that sandwich I brought you and we'll get working on it."
A few hours later, Burt's phone pinged. He stopped and wiped his hands off to read the text message. "Carole got called into work to cover someone's shift, so it's just the two of us tonight. So, how about when we're done here, we go home, clean up and go out to dinner and movie, just the two of us?"
"I'd like that."
"Then, that's what we'll do. Let's get back to this for now."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}M-6{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Kurt was up early the next morning, which was bright and sunny, sitting at his vanity doing the long version of his skin care regime that he only did once a month. He was whistling and interacting with Pavarotti when the bird fell off his perch. Kurt rushed to the cage to see what had happened. Pavarotti was dead.
He broke down crying. He had never had a pet before and he had grown to love listening to Pavarotti tweet and chirp. He had lost McKinley, lost his family in a way with rarely getting to be at home, lost the hope he had been clinging to about Blaine, and now he had lost his beloved pet.
He sat back down and finished what he had started. Rather than dressing in his uniform, he dressed in black from head to toe. He moved Pavarotti's body to a small box and stored it in the shed until he could figure out what to do. He packed up the rest of his stuff, grabbed an old tape he had of Beatles backing tracks, fast forwarded it to the song he wanted to sing, and headed back to Dalton.
The delayed departure caused him to arrive to the rehearsal late. He pushed both doors open and entered the room out of uniform.
Blaine was the first to speak. "Kurt, what's wrong?"
"It's Pavarotti. Pavarotti's dead. I suspect a stroke."
"Oh, my God. I'm so sorry." Blaine said. Everyone else remained silent, eyes glued to Kurt.
"I know it's really stupid to be so upset about a bird, but… he inspired me with his optimism and his love of song. He was my friend. Now, I know today that we need to practice doo wopping behind Blaine while he sings every solo in a medley of P!nk songs, but…"
At this point, Trent looked away from Kurt in an attempt to not visibly react to the shade he was throwing at Blaine.
"I'd like to sing a song for Pavarotti today." Kurt pulled out the tape and handed it to Jamison, who was sitting on the arm of the couch, closest to where Kurt was standing. Jamison got up, put it in a tape player, and pressed play. Guitar music started and Kurt started singing "Blackbird".
The Warblers joined in singing back up while Kurt continued to sing. Blaine had a look of realization on his face. Blaine came back to the moment and sang again. The song came to an end.
A few tears streamed down Kurt's cheeks. "Thank you." He turned around, removed his tape from the player, put it back in his jacket and left the rehearsal room. He went back to his dorm room for about a half-hour, changed into the proper attire, and headed back to the rehearsal.
The rehearsal continued for quite a while. They had spent all of their afterschool rehearsals working on their arrangements and the vocals. That afternoon they spent several hours working on their choreography. By the time dinnertime came around, the council decided that they would order pizzas. When Wes got the text that the pizzas had arrived, Trent and Kurt volunteered to go get them and bring them back.
Kurt stepped outside and saw Sam, who gave Kurt a polite pizza delivery guy smile.
"Step inside. It will be easier to get the pizzas out of those bags that way," Kurt said.
Sam stepped in while Kurt held the exterior door and Trent opened the interior door.
"There's a table right over there we can stack them on." Kurt pointed.
Sam followed him. He and Trent unloaded the insulated carriers. Kurt managed to sneak an extra $10 bill out of his wallet and add it to the cash he had in his hand.
Kurt spoke to Trent. "Go ahead and take them down to the room. I'll see him out."
Trent nodded and grabbed the boxes and headed back to the Warblers' practice room.
Kurt walked with Sam back toward the doors. "Do you have more deliveries to make?"
"I don't get off until 9:00."
"Come back when you're done, please. Text me when you're here." Kurt handed Sam his phone so he could send himself a text and have Kurt's phone number stored.
"Alright." Sam handed Kurt his phone back.
Kurt handed him the cash for the pizzas. "I'll see you later."
Sam nodded and headed back to his truck.
Kurt returned to the practice room, ate pizza with everyone, and rehearsed more.
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
After they were finally dismissed, Kurt headed to his room and changed into Dalton-issued navy blue sweats so he could still roam around the building without getting demerits, but he wouldn't feel so stuffy talking to Sam once he finally arrived. Sam texted him about ten after nine, and he opened the door so quickly that he made Sam jump.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I've been in the lobby since 9:00. I didn't want to make you wait standing on the front steps in the dark. Come on in."
"Am I allowed inside?"
"We have a visitor's room where people that show up without notice have to wait, like people who just stop by and want to know more about the school or something. And it's where we can take people who come to visit us that we don't have visitor's passes for. It's right over there." Kurt pointed. "Curfew is at 10:00 on school nights, so you have to be out of the building by then."
Sam followed Kurt to the visitor's room, which reminded him of a small doctor's office waiting room. There were a few double chairs and several single chairs sitting up against the walls around the room. There were a few side tables with magazines on them as well. Kurt shut the door behind them, and then sat down on one of the double seats. Sam sat next to him.
"What's going on, Sam? Why are you delivering pizzas way out here in Westerville?"
Sam broke down. Kurt put his hand on Sam's.
"My dad lost his job three months ago. If we don't pay the two missed months on our mortgage, plus the late fees by the end of the month, they're going to foreclose on our house. I took this job in addition to the one I work in Lima on weekdays. My dad took a part-time job at McDonald's, and my mom still works full time at the daycare, but I don't think we're going to be able to come up with enough money in time."
"Why way out here?"
"I couldn't find anything else in Lima. My dad has tried too. Not many places are hiring right now."
"Sam, I'm really sorry to hear that things are so hard. Is there anything I can do to help?"
"If you know of any jobs, I guess."
"I don't, but I can offer you a hug, if you want one."
Sam practically fell into Kurt's arms. Kurt rubbed his back.
"No one knows," he said as he tried to get his breathing under control.
"I won't say a word, Sam. I can keep secrets. I know that people think I'm a gossip, but that's just about celebrity stuff and the way people dress – not about important things."
"I know."
"Really?"
"Really. I KNOW and I haven't said anything either. I figured it out after you left."
"What do you mean?"
"No one who hates someone is THAT upset when he comes back to find the object of his hatred gone. I was in the locker room when Azimio and Karofsky were talking after Karofsky came back. Azimio told him that you weren't coming back. I guess he heard it from Finn. Anyway, after Azimio left and Karofsky thought he was alone, I heard him slam his hand into his locker and swear. If he hated you and wanted you dead, he would have been glad you were gone."
"Oh."
"So, I figure he did something to you and then threatened to kill you if you told. My best guess is that he somehow outed himself to you. That would be one thing that a jock known for being homophobic would threaten to kill someone over."
"You're a regular Sherlock Holmes, aren't you?"
Sam pulled back from the hug and laughed. "I've missed you."
"Thank you. You're the first person to say so."
"Really?"
"Really."
"I want to tell you something. This just seems too serendipitous for me to pass up my chance."
"Alright."
"I really, really wanted to sing with you."
"Oh."
"Your one-person duet rocked though. I loved it. But I really wanted to sing with you. I let Finn get to me when I should have stood my ground."
"I let Finn and my dad get to me."
Sam looked confused.
"My dad thought I was pressuring you to sing with me because I liked you and he told me not to put that kind of pressure on you given the way the school is. Finn told me I'd ruin your reputation – that everyone would think you were gay if you sang with me."
"I wanted to win and go to Breadstix with you."
Kurt looked confused.
"I'll be more clear. I like guys. I thought you were cute and I wanted to go to Breadstix with you."
Kurt's confusion slipped down to dumbfounded. "But you dated Quinn."
"I've heard that you dated Brittany."
"Touché."
"I knew I liked guys. I went to an all-boys school before we moved to Ohio. That day in the locker room, when you set me free – I thought you had figured out that I liked you and that you were setting me free ahead of the competition so that you wouldn't have to tell me to my face that you didn't like me and that you didn't want go to Breadstix with me – like you were letting me down easy."
"Oh. Definitely not. I did like you. I thought you were adorable, actually. The day you walked in Glee and Santana said you had no game, I was definitely disagreeing with her in my head." Kurt laughed.
"Ah, well she came after me wanting me to date her after Quinn cheated on me. But she was implying that I just be eye candy that she could parade around. As scary as it was, I turned her down. I learned the hard way with Quinn. No more dating people who find my personality unattractive."
"Good for you. I've come to a similar conclusion lately, but I skipped the actual dating the person part and just came to pretty much the same conclusion."
"Blaine?"
"You got it."
"So, back to me liking you and you liking me."
Kurt blushed. God, he's cute.
"So, you do still like me?"
Kurt barely nodded. "I moved you into the 'straight jock' file that has a big 'NO' stamped on the outside."
"I'm figuring that has something to do with Finn being a jerk because you had a crush on him last year."
"Exactly."
"He should have been flattered."
Kurt blushed more. SO adorable.
"So, here's the truth. You were my first choice, but I thought you didn't like me back, so I backed off. Everyone was pushing me towards Quinn and I went with it. I figured I should do my best to blend in since I wasn't going to come out if you didn't want to date me. I did my best to be a good boyfriend to her, but we never really clicked. There was no spark of course. She seemed okay with that. Maybe being with me kept her from being alone and from being hit on by other guys. I'm not sure of her reasoning, but obviously there was no real commitment on her part because she left me for Finn. She was the first person I've ever actually dated. And I guess as far as first dating experiences go, it was okay."
"Same for me and Brittany. No love loss. I'm definitely gay. She knew I was gay, but she offered. Dating her was something I chose to do. I thought maybe I could be okay with it, but I wasn't. But like you said, no broken heart."
"So, you and Blaine?"
"Not happening. He needs to figure himself out and not with me."
Sam took Kurt's hand. "I know this is not the best timing since I'm still in Lima and you're here most of the time, but would you consider dating me?"
"Yes. I'd like that." Oh, my God. Yes!
"Can I kiss you?"
Kurt blushed and nodded. Definitely. He moved closer to Sam again. Sam leaned forward and their lips met gently. Sam pulled back a little, giving Kurt an out if he wanted it. Kurt leaned in and reattached their lips and kissed him with a little more pressure than the gentle, barely-there first kiss. Kurt put his hands on Sam's shoulders and Sam put his hands on Kurt's waist and pressed in and they continued to kiss for a couple of minutes, just chaste kisses, but with desire behind them. Sam was the first to say anything after they broke apart, pressing their foreheads together.
"Wow."
"I agree."
"Definitely gay."
Kurt laughed and teased him. "One kiss and no more girls?"
He was breathing hard. "Yeah, not that I was ever into girls, but you're not even really touching me anywhere and I need a cold shower." He laughed nervously.
"Well, I guess the upside is that I'm not a girl and I like that?" He's THAT attracted to me?
"Oh, you do?" he teased.
"Definitely." Kurt tipped his head up and started kissing Sam again. "It means that you're enjoying this as much as I am." Kurt tried to scoot closer, but sitting the way they were was not helping. He broke the kiss. "Stand up so we can kiss easier."
Sam stood up. Kurt stood too. He wrapped his arms around Sam's torso and put his hands up between Sam's shoulder blades and started kissing him again. Sam steadied himself and wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist. Kurt hadn't moved past this type of kissing with Brittany, but he had seen other people French kiss. He just barely licked at Sam's lower lip, which caused Sam to moan. He pulled Kurt closer and licked back. Five minutes into their making out, Kurt's phone beeped. He kissed Sam one more time and took a step back, trying to catch his breath.
"You have to go or I'll get demerits if they catch you in here after curfew."
Sam took a step closer and kissed Kurt one more time. "Will you be my boyfriend, Kurt Hummel?" he asked with a huge, cheesy smile on his face.
"I will, Sam Evans." Kurt reached out and took Sam's hand and started to walk towards the door.
"When will you be in Lima?"
They kept walking toward the entryway doors.
"Friday. Do you work on here in Westerville next weekend?"
"Yes, but I don't have to be here until 2:00 on Saturday."
"We'll have our first date Friday night, if that's okay? And a second one on Saturday?"
"Sounds perfect. I have no money for dates though."
"Ah, well, the Friday date will be at my house and will be completely free. You can even spend the night if your parents will let you."
"Really?"
"Yep. Do they know you're gay?"
"Yeah. I told them ages ago, like when I was 14."
"And how old are you now?"
"17. My birthday is in May."
"Mine too. Well, if they'll let you stay over, my dad's fine with it. And Finn is sworn to secrecy about any boyfriend I have. He'll be grounded until he moves out if he outs anyone."
Sam looked confused.
"House rules. My dad knows there aren't a lot of guys willing to be open about liking other guys. If Finn outs anyone I date, he'll lose his truck, his video games, and a long list of things that will make him feel like he lives in a monastery."
"Oh, wow."
"So, you have to go and you can text me and we can plan the details for Friday after you talk to your parents. I'll get you a pass to spend the night in my dorm for Saturday if I can. If not, I'll work out something as long as your parents will let you stay overnight in Westerville." He stepped closer and kissed him one last time.
Sam stepped out the door.
Kurt called out, "I'll call you tomorrow and see you Friday."
He waved from the sidewalk and walked to his truck in the visitor's lot.
Kurt headed back up to his room on cloud nine. He had had his first amazing kiss with a boy. He decided right then, that from then on, he would answer that the kiss with Sam had been his first amazing kiss with a boy and he would never have to think about answering differently.
Sam.
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Once he was in his room, he called Burt.
"Hey, Dad."
"It's pretty late, bud. Is something wrong?"
"No, for once, everything is really right."
"You sound really happy. What's up?"
"You wanted me to tell you when I got a boyfriend."
"Yeah."
"Well, I have a boyfriend."
"That was quick. I didn't know you even liked anyone else at Dalton."
"I don't. He doesn't go to school here."
"I'm confused."
"His parents know that he likes guys, but no one else knows – well of course I do now." He laughed.
"So, who is it?"
"Sam."
"Sam on the football team at McKinley? That Sam?"
"The one and only."
"So, you were right?"
"I was."
"So, he's your boyfriend now. That was quick, but alright."
"We're having our first official date at the house Friday night, details pending us arranging the date. He had to leave because I can't have visitors in the building past curfew. I'll tell you more at some point. But I have some reading I have to finish before tomorrow. Warbler practice lasted a lot longer today than I thought it would. And then Sam was here for about 45 minutes. I'll call you tomorrow. I just wanted to do what you asked and not keep secrets from you."
"Well, I appreciate that, kiddo. I guess our new house rules are going to get a trial run sooner than I had thought."
"That's true. We'll work something out tomorrow when I call."
"Goodnight, kiddo."
"Night."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}M-7{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Kurt was waiting outside the school office when it opened. He stepped inside as soon as the door opened.
"Good morning, Kurt. What can I do for you today? Did you manage to find some people still looking for a tutor?"
"I did. I found four people, which I have the vouchers for." He handed her four signed sheets. "I have a question. What are the rules about overnight guests on Saturday nights?"
"Well, no girls overnight. Girls can stay until midnight as long as they have passes ahead of time. Guys can spend the night with a pass, but only on Friday and Saturday nights. No overnight guests on school nights. Oh, and overnight visitors have to be high school age, between 13 and 19, or get special permission from the headmaster."
"Alright, then. I'd like a pass for my friend to stay the night here this Saturday and probably most Saturdays for the foreseeable future."
Miss Burns looked confused.
"He's a friend from Lima. He had to take a job delivering pizzas here in Westerville due to some serious financial trouble for his family. He's driving over here and back on both Saturday and Sunday. Staying with me Saturday night would allow him to save $30 in gas, which he desperately needs. He already works weeknights in Lima. He took a second job here on the weekends. He's trying to help save their house from going into foreclosure."
"That's a lot of pressure on a high school student."
"It is. I just thought if it isn't against the rules, he could stay with me and save the $30 in gas and the wear and tear on his truck."
"I don't see a problem since it doesn't break any of the school rules. Keep in mind that he has to follow all of the school rules while he's here. And he can't be anywhere without a student with him."
"I will be sure that he follows all of the rules."
"Good." She pulled a pad out of her desk. "What is his name again?"
"Samuel Evans."
She wrote his name on the pass, dated, signed it, and handed it to Kurt.
"Thank you."
"No problem. I hope things improve for them. It would be awful for them to lose their house."
"It would be."
"Wait here and I'll get your money for the tutoring sessions." She came back a couple of minutes later and handed Kurt three $20 bills, which Kurt put in his wallet.
"Thank you."
"I'll see you next Monday, Kurt."
Kurt smiled and nodded. He headed off to his classes.
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
At lunch, he texted Sam.
To Sam: I got you a pass for Saturday night. Oh, and put a passcode on your phone right now, if you don't have one.
From Sam: Alredy did that. I have a little brother and sister who can both read now. So, I can stay there Sat nite?
To Sam: Yep, every Saturday night. It will let you keep $30 more since you'll save that much in gas.
From Sam: Exlent. Ill talk to my mom when she gets home tnite. Even if shes not thrilled $30 will help cnvnce her.
To Sam: Can I tell my dad? He knows tons of people. Maybe he could put in a good word for your dad somewhere.
From Sam: Ill ask my mom. Ill let you know tnite. Gotta run. Xtra Glee ptice during lunch.
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Kurt sat and read the book he had been assigned to read in English until Warblers rehearsal started. He kept to himself and did what he was supposed to. He had learned the steps easily and was quite capable of the doo wopping being required of him. As soon as it ended, he grabbed his stuff and headed to the study room on his floor for his tutoring session.
When the hour was up and the voucher had been signed, he headed to his own room to get more of his work done before dinner. He wanted to be able to spend time talking to Sam whenever he called, which turned out not to be until nearly 10:00.
"Hey, Sam."
"Sorry it's so late. I had to work, then I had to at least do some of my homework, and then I talked to my mom."
"It's fine. Really. What did she say?"
"Well, I told her about us. She was happy. She knew I liked you last fall."
He had told his mom back last fall? That made Kurt feel even better about moving ahead so quickly.
"She says I can stay at your place here on Friday and I can stay in Westerville on Saturday nights. She feels really bad about me having to work so much and she said I deserve to be a teenager at least part of the time. She says you can tell your dad, but no one else. And she asked that he be discreet about it. My dad doesn't want word to get back to the manager at McDonald's and get let go because he's looking for other work. Thirty hours is a lot better than zero."
He went on to explain what had happened with the job his dad had been working.
"I wish I could talk longer, but I'm nearly failing all of my classes now. If I don't pull my grades up, I'm going to have to repeat all of my classes. I'm working 20 hours a week at the gas station and I'm working 16 hours on the weekends delivery pizzas, plus the 6 hours of driving there and back."
"I won't keep you, but how about an offer to help you this weekend? I'll explain anything you don't understand and help you in any way that I can. If you've missed assignments, go to your teachers tomorrow and ask to be allowed to turn them in for partial credit. Explain that you're working 42 hours a week. Even if half of them let you turn in things for half-credit, your grades will go up."
"It's just really embarrassing. I was making Bs and Cs before."
"Which is why they will be able to see the huge difference and realize that you are telling the truth."
"Alright. I'll try tomorrow. Thanks."
"No problem. What time do you get off on Friday?"
"I work 4:00-8:00 Monday through Friday at the gas station. I split the evening shift with another person who works from 8:00-midnight."
"Okay. How about I meet you at your house at 8:30 and bring you home with me? That way no one will see your truck in my driveway. We can swing by your place on the way to Westerville on Saturday to pick up your truck."
"I'm not going to stay in the closet, Kurt. I won't do that to you."
"Let's just do it this way until after Regionals and then we'll talk. I don't want you to rush into a decision and have a bunch of busybodies pressuring you until you break up with me."
"We'll talk about it. But we'll go with your plan for this weekend."
"I'll let you get back to studying. Call me whenever you have time to talk. I'm looking forward to Friday."
"Me too."
Friday.
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
"Hey, Dad."
"Hey, kiddo. What's up?"
"Sorry to call so late again, but I had to wait for Sam to call before I could call you. He talked to his mom and she said I could tell you something very private that you can't tell anyone else."
"Alright."
"Sam's family is less than a month away from losing their house. Three months ago, Sam's dad lost the job that brought them to Lima last August. He was working for a company that downsized and just closed the Lima office with only two weeks' warning. His dad hasn't been able to find another good job since then. He's been working 30 hours a week at McDonald's for a couple of months and Sam has taken on a second job delivering pizzas here in Westerville to try to make ends meet. But if they don't pay the two months missing mortgage payments plus the late fees by the end of this month, the bank is going to foreclose on their house."
"That seems awfully quick."
"I know nothing about that part. I just know that his mom is working full time at a daycare for minimum wage, I'm guessing, but it allows Sam's little brother and sister to stay there at no cost until 6:00 when she gets off. His dad is working 30 hours a week at minimum wage and Sam is working 36 hours now between his two jobs. But Sam is about to fail all of his classes because he doesn't have time to get his schoolwork done."
"I need to talk to his dad."
"Alright. Don't tell anyone else, even Carole, until his dad says it's okay. They're afraid that if word gets around that he's looking for a different job that he'll get fired from McDonald's."
"I got it. I'll do what I can, Kurt. I ask around to see who's hiring. What hours is his dad working now?"
"I think he said he works 4-5 hours every evening, including weekends."
"So, if I could find a daytime job that's part time, he could at least take that for now."
"Yeah."
"I'll do what I can. Have his dad come down to the shop tomorrow morning when we open."
"Thanks, Dad."
"You're welcome."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
"Sam?"
"Yeah. I won't keep you. Just tell you dad to go talk to my dad at the shop tomorrow morning at 9:00."
"Okay."
"Night, Sam."
"Night."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}M-9{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
"So Trent and I eat breakfast together and he conscripted Nick and Jeff to eat lunch with us. He persuaded me to show Nick and Jeff the videos from McKinley. Neither one of them made fun of me at all – not even 'good-natured' teasing."
"So, now you're spending time with three students, you're tutoring four students, and you seem a lot happier."
"Well, there's another reason for that."
"Oh?"
"Well, there's this guy that I had a crush on last fall when he joined the New Directions at McKinley. He was so adorable. Anyway. Last Sunday, I found out that he is, in fact, gay. He liked me then, but through some circumstances that I won't bother to explain he mistakenly thought that I didn't like him in that way."
"And now?"
"And now, we're dating. I thought he was straight, so I just let the whole thing drop, but finding out that he's not straight was awesome – one of his favorite words."
"I see."
"I told my dad and he's fine with it. He's coming over to my house Friday night after he gets off work."
"Well, I hope things go well for the two of you."
"Me too. His family is struggling, but my dad is trying to help them."
"Your dad's a good guy from what you've told me."
"He really is."
"How is the advocate working out?"
"We met last Thursday, but I haven't heard from her since then. I'm not sure how long these types of things take."
"Hopefully, not long. What do you think of the College and Career Seminar?"
"Oh, it's really informative. I've already learned a lot. That government website about careers is really informative."
"What's the most interesting thing you've learned so far?"
"That master mechanics make more than off-Broadway stars."
"I see."
"Not what you expected as an answer?"
"I didn't really anticipate anything specific. You tend to surprise me more frequently than not. So, what are you doing with this interesting piece of information?"
"Considering my options. I want to perform. I've always thought New York City was my Mecca."
"And now?"
"Now, I'm thinking about the fact that I could pay off a really nice house in a decent, medium-sized city in less than the 10 years that it would take to pay off the loans I would need to attend college in New York City at one of the top schools, while working part time and auditioning. I could finish up my certifications in a year, while living at home for free and being paid to work in my dad's shop. In two years' time, I could save up enough for a really good down payment, move to a more gay-friendly area, get a job as a mechanic, buy a house and pay it off in five years. And by 25, I could own a really nice house, be completely debt free, start auditioning for roles, and still work part time and never have to worry about money."
"That's an interesting line of thought."
"And I've looked through a ton of career pages and the requirements and the pay ranges. I mean, that's one of the assignments, but all of it is just making me think a lot."
"Well, that's good. The seminar is doing its job then."
"Yeah, I guess, but it's making me doubt everything I thought I had figured out."
"Better to have doubts now and work through them than to enroll in a $50,000 a year school and start having doubts 6 weeks in after you can't get $25,000 in tuition money back."
"That's true." Kurt looked at the clock and stood up. "I need to get going. I'll see you next week."
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
Kurt finished his tutoring session and went back to his room, hoping that he could catch someone at the theater company in Columbus. He managed to catch the secretary who said she'd have someone call him back. Soon, hopefully.
He saw that he had missed a call. He listened to his voicemail. His preliminary arbitration meeting had been scheduled for the next Friday in Lima. Mrs. Huntington had already gotten him excused from school for the afternoon. Swell. Hopefully, it will be worth having to get notes from someone.
He pulled out a few short assignments he could get done quickly and finished them before heading to dinner.
He put his tray down with Trent, Nick, and Jeff. "I'll be right back."
He looked around until he found Wes. He sat down next to him and spoke quietly. "I know we don't typically hold rehearsals on Fridays, but just in case I wanted to let you know that I won't be at Dalton the Friday afternoon before Regionals."
"Why?"
"Do I have to answer that?"
"I guess not."
"It's an official matter that I have no control over. Let's just leave it at that."
"Alright, Kurt. Obviously, it's not a personal choice you are making. Thank you for letting me know."
Kurt nodded as he stood. "You're welcome." He went back and sat down where he had left his tray.
"So, how's the tutoring going?" Nick asked. "I've thought about doing it next year to add to my CV."
"It's fine. All you have to do is help the person so they can do their homework. You've gone to school here since you started high school. Helping people be able to do homework you've probably already done shouldn't be very hard."
"That's true."
"Are you excited about Regionals?" Trent asked.
"I still think we're going to lose," Kurt answered honestly.
"Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" he spouted back.
"That's your job, Trent. I'm the sullen freak, remember?"
"Yes, of course. How could I forget?"
"We don't have the 'wow' factor we need to beat the New Directions."
"Even with our improved choreography?"
"They have pretty girls in twirly dresses. We have our uniforms, which have zero 'wow' to them. I mean, we'd look better if we ditched the blazers, wore our red vests and rolled our sleeves to mid forearm. We could at least add in more movement and move freely. Plus red is at least more eye catching than navy blue."
"Maybe next year," Jeff said. "Wes will never go for anything besides our blazers."
They talked and ate. After a while of no one saying anything, Kurt asked, "Why are the three of you in most of my classes if you're all sophomores? I thought you were juniors, just like I thought Blaine was a junior since Wes referred to him as a junior Warbler or whatever his exact wording was."
Trent answered, "Well, the three of us are in most of your classes because we all went to the same private middle school in Toledo where the curriculum is set so that 8th graders take freshman level courses for credit. To get into top schools like my parents want me to, I have to take AP courses my senior year. The only way to do that is to start early. We're not in math with you because we're already ahead of you. We took Geometry and Algebra 2 last year. We're in Trig/Precalc this year. I have to be in order to take AP Calculus AB next year and then AP Calculus BC my senior year."
"So, all of you started high school with high school credits already?"
Jeff answered, "Yes. We took French 1, English 9, Algebra 1, World History, and Biology for high school credit in the 8th grade. Our electives weren't for high school credit. So, we started with 10 credits."
"Interesting. McKinley has 6 classes a semester like we do here, but most everyone takes a study hall after freshman year when we had to take PE, so they end up having the 42 credits needed. But I didn't take a study hall, which I guess is the only reason I would be able to graduate here next year since I didn't start high school already having credits."
"Well, it's good you didn't take a study hall then," Nick said.
They continued to talk about the differences between public and private schools.
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}M-10{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
The next afternoon in Warblers rehearsal, Kurt looked bored out of his mind over the arguing about what songs were going to be sung at Regionals. They already had everything ready to go, what was this last minute waffling on what to sing? Kurt was envisioning extra-long, perhaps even a weekend-long rehearsal that would be needed to change up what they were singing. He came back to the present when Blaine spoke up.
"I'm tired of the Warblers being all about me. David, please make sure everything I'm about to say goes down in the official minutes."
David picked up his pencil and prepared to write down what Blaine said verbatim.
"We are going to lose at Regionals."
A lot of distressed replies were heard.
"I'm incredibly grateful for the belief you've all given me as a junior member to lead you all in all of these wonderful songs this year, but from what Kurt has told me about New Directions, I just know that I can't beat them on my own."
At this point, Kurt wasn't able to hide the look of shock on his face.
"Which is why I propose that we rearrange our 11:00 number and turn it into a duet."
Kurt looked at him like he had lost his mind. Trent looked utterly confused. Lots of people were vocalizing their lack of understanding in changing the set list.
"To showcase other talent in this group."
David had clearly had it. He put his hands up in frustration. "Why don't we just play it on kazoos?" Obviously, he thought Blaine's idea was ridiculous.
"Point of order. Point of order." Blaine belted out to get the focus back on what he was saying since he had the floor. "We lost one of our own this week – Pavarotti's voice was silenced by death and I don't want to silence anyone else's voice in this group. I think Pavarotti would roll over in his tiny, tiny little grave."
Kurt quietly said, "The placement of which has yet to be determined."
Wes spoke up. "Alright. A vote. Who's in favor of Warbler Blaine's proposal for a dual lead at Regionals?"
Pretty much everyone in the room raised their hand.
Kurt looked directly at Wes and said, "Can I put my name on that audition list?"
Blaine firmly responded with, "No. No auditions."
Kurt looked confused.
"I want to sing the duet with Kurt." He looked over at Kurt with a very charming smile on his face.
"That's ridiculous. I mean there's so many great voices. I mean, everyone deserves a shot at that honor," Kurt countered.
Blaine didn't back down. "All in favor of Kurt being my duet partner at Regionals."
Most of the hands in the room went up.
Wes banged his gavel. "Decided."
"Congratulations, Kurt," Thad said.
Kurt was stunned and everyone started clapping. Blaine had a huge smile on his face. What in the hell is going on?
{}o{}o{}o{}o{}M-11{}o{}o{}o{}o{}
During lunch, Blaine was looking for Kurt. He asked several people and finally someone responded that they had seen him in the study room at the end of the hall near the Warblers' practice room. Blaine found him there.
"What's that?" he asked as he walked in.
"I'm decorating Pavarotti's casket."
"Well, finish up. I have the perfect song for our number and we should practice." He walked over to the table and stood behind a chair at the table Kurt was sitting at.
"Do tell," Kurt said as he looked up from his project.
"'Candles' by Hey Monday."
"Unusual choice. You're usually so Top 40."
Blaine pulled the chair back and sat down. "I just wanted something a little more emotional."
Kurt looked a little confused, then looked Blaine directly in the eyes and asked, "Why did you pick ME to sing that song with?"
Blaine couldn't maintain Kurt's eye contact. He looked down, closed his eyes and began to speak. "Kurt, there is a moment when you say to yourself, 'Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you forever.'" Blaine reached out and put his hand over Kurt's on the table.
Kurt wanted to jerk his hand back, but he wanted to hear what Blaine had to say more, so he just listened.
"Watching you do 'Blackbird' this week – that was a moment for me – about you." He looked back up. "You move me, Kurt. And this duet would just be an excuse to spend more time with you."
Blaine rose up out of his chair and took a step towards Kurt and attempted to kiss him.
Kurt pulled back, put his hands in front of him keeping Blaine far enough back to prevent him from succeeding. "What? Why?" he practically squalked.
Blaine sat back down and looked at Kurt confused. "Isn't this what you've wanted?"
"It was, for a long time – far too long, but not now. After the GAP Attack and Rachel's party, I let it go. I thought we had been casually dating before Valentine's Day, Blaine. I thought you were just shy about being official."
Blaine sat there.
"The day you announced the GAP Attack, I was shocked as I sat there listening to you say that you were in LOVE with the assistant manager. I had to keep it together in front of the whole group, after I had supported your idea. I later told you that I thought you were going to sing to me. You didn't even respond with a sincere apology. Before that you had told me you were bad at romance. I didn't get it when you said that, but I eventually got the message."
Kurt started packing up his bejeweling supplies.
"I can't do this to myself. I can't let myself be drawn in by your charm again. I came here to get away from the bullying. And while what you've done isn't exactly bullying, it has been pretty difficult to deal with. And today, I didn't agree to be kissed. We weren't already dating. That kiss wasn't frightening like Karofsky's, but it was just as unanticipated and uninvited."
"Kurt…"
"I know you don't mean to hurt me. At least I don't think you mean to. I believe you're a decent person. But you need to think before you act. You got Jeremiah fired that day. You OUTED him. When he came out and told you, you didn't even apologize then."
"He walked away."
Kurt refused to be drawn into Blaine's side. "I can't sing 'Candles' with you. The two of us singing 'Candles' is a much faster way to lose than you singing 'Misery'. Judges in Ohio are not going to appreciate two guys singing a melancholy, slow breakup song together. What will the rest of the group be doing? They can't dance to that song. There's not a lot of intricate vocal work for them to do. It's not a winning choice."
He looked up from what he was doing and looked Blaine in the eyes.
"And if the only reason you chose me was to spend more time with me, then I don't want to sing with you. If we're going to switch out 'Misery' for a featured duet, the best voice to blend with yours should be the one chosen to sing with you."
"You're serious. You'd turned down singing lead at Regionals?"
"I would. And I will. I'm already singing co-lead with you on 'Animal'. It's not the same as a featured duet, but it will certainly not tank our chances of winning."
"Wow. This did not go like I expected."
"I imagine not. You seem to function on the premise that what you want to happen will be what happens. You're overly optimistic."
"Being optimistic is bad?"
"Being overly optimistic is way too far from reality. Self-confidence and optimism are good. But not taking into consideration other people's feelings when predicting an outcome leaves you wondering how things went wrong and unable to learn from your mistakes, I think."
"I don't get what you mean."
"You didn't take into account how I'd feel about your public declaration of love for Jeremiah. You didn't take into account how HE would feel about it. You didn't take into account how I would feel about you kissing Rachel, while you were French kissing her 12 inches in front of me. I know it was a stupid party game and you were drunk, but the other people who were not dating each other didn't French kiss. Then you sang with her – a flirty duet. Then you agreed to go on a date with her and compared ME to Karofsky. You know as well as I do that he threatened to kill me because I found out that HE was gay, not because I was gay."
"Right."
"Everyone knows that I'm gay, Blaine. I answered the way I did in the Lima Bean because there were other people around who could have been listening in. I couldn't say the truth sitting in a PUBLIC coffee shop, now could I? He threatened to kill me to prevent me from telling other people the truth about him. I made one stupid remark about bisexuality, which I KNOW exists, and I already apologized for."
"I know."
"I confronted you for questioning your sexuality after YOU had told me you were gay. I was angry, Blaine. You KNEW that I liked you, but you didn't want to risk messing up our friendship to give dating a try. I accepted that. But then you were willing to go out with the girl who always got chosen over me. You chose her over me. A girl. My only GAY friend chose to date a GIRL rather than date me. The little bit my heart had healed, broke open again."
"I needed to answer that question for myself. I needed to know."
"I'm aware of that. But you didn't have to compare me to a self-loathing bully who physically injured me for years. You could have said I was being unfair to judge or whatever. You could have called me out on my bullshit statement about bisexual high school guys. I get that what I said was hurtful. But it was like I shot you with a Nerf gun and you retaliated with a hunting knife to the heart."
Blaine didn't say anything. He seemed surprised by Kurt's long-winded vent.
"Let me ask you something. When I first sat down and talked to you. You mentioned you had been bullied before. Tell me about that."
"Um. Well, in 9th grade, I was attending a co-ed private school in Columbus, not far from my mom's office. I rode into Columbus with my mom every day and she picked me up from the library across the street from the school each afternoon after work. In November, there was a Sadie Hawkins dance."
Kurt looked confused.
"A Sadie Hawkins dance is where the girls ask the guys."
"Okay."
"So, I asked the only other gay guy I knew to go as friends. The dance went well enough. We didn't slow dance or anything. We just hung out and danced to the faster songs. When the dance was over, we were standing outside waiting to be picked up. It got over a little earlier than we had thought, so we just stood outside. Most everyone was gone. Some upperclassmen decided to beat the crap out of us for coming to the dance as a 'couple'. After that, we were both called names when the teachers weren't around."
"How badly were you injured?"
"Bruises, nothing broken. But we were really scared."
"I know the feeling. Trust me. Go on about what happened at school."
"Afterwards, some of the upperclassmen started calling us names when no one could hear them. We told a couple of teachers, but got the old 'sticks and stones' answer. You know, 'shrug it off' type of answer."
Kurt nodded. "And?"
"And what?"
"And then what happened?"
"Oh, then my parents transferred me here for the second semester and my friend transferred to a different school in Columbus."
"So, you got beat up once, got called names for a month, and your dad enrolled you here?"
"Yeah."
"No wonder you don't get it." Kurt just shook his head. "That's the very first question I should have asked you after you shared your brief answer that day we had coffee with Wes and David."
"I'm lost."
"No kidding." Kurt rolled his eyes.
"Kurt?" Blaine looked confused.
"You don't get it. You just don't. Swirlies, slushies, locker slams, backpacks to the face, hip checks in the hall, knocks to the back of the knees going down the stairs, dumpster tosses, being shoved into lockers, having pee balloons thrown at me, notes in my locker suggesting I kill myself or telling me I was going to hell. They nailed our lawn furniture to our roof. People called my house telling me that Lima didn't need a fag like me around and I should kill myself."
"What?"
"Those are all things that have happened to me. I mean the pee balloons and the furniture were one-time events. But everything else was constant. Not a single day of junior high or high school ever passed without at least ONE of those other things happening to me. Oftentimes, more than one of those things happened. I still have bruises, Blaine. They haven't all healed and I've been here, what, four months?"
"I didn't know."
"You acted like you had been through something awful, which in reality, you have. I'm not downplaying the awfulness of being beaten up because that is horrible. But you made it seem like it was much more than a one-time event. Your advice to me was to confront Karofsky. I had let all of those things happen to me. I had never fought back. Finn blamed me. He told me I brought it upon myself by the way I dressed and acted. He didn't want to stand up for me, which was fine since I wasn't asking him to. I didn't ask anyone to. I mean honestly, he and Puck had been part of the bullying before they joined Glee. I'm sure they both helped nail the furniture on our roof. And I know they were part of the pee balloons. So, I didn't expect him to stand up for me. My dad didn't know about most of it. I always answered the phone at home. I kept what was happening at school to myself. By not fighting back, I kept myself from being sent to the principal's office and then having my dad notified that I had been fighting. So, standing up for myself wasn't something I had ever actually tried. You kept sending me texts saying 'courage' and I steeled myself up and I went after Karofsky the next time he attacked me. I followed bad advice. My choice. I'm not blaming you for what happened. Obviously, I still wanted to be your friend – and more. I didn't hold your bad advice against you. I still don't. It was my choice."
Blaine just sat there for a few minutes. "People actually put notes in your locker suggesting that you kill yourself?"
"Yes."
"You were stuffed in lockers?"
"In junior high. I was much smaller. I've grown 4 inches since sophomore year. In junior high, I was like 5 feet tall."
"This went on for years?"
"Yes, Blaine. Years. And there's every chance that once I leave this place, whether it's at the end of this year or the end of next year, that I will be on the receiving end of the same type of treatment. There's every chance that I will die in a gay bashing, even if I move to a big city like New York. There are homophobes everywhere. They believe that I will burn in hell. Some of them think the sooner I get there, the better. Some of them think that it's a good thing to speed up the process. That was one of the things that made me look up to you so much when we met. You aren't obvious. You can pass. But you were out and proud. When you said you might be bi, I just felt – I don't even know a word for it. If you were bi and you dated Rachel, or any other girl, I was back to being alone. Bisexuals who have opposite gender partners appear to be straight. They blend in. It's not stepping back into the closet like I said that day. But it has the same effect. They seem 'normal'."
"I can see your point on that."
"Good. And as I said, I know bisexuality is real. I'm not going to out anyone, but I know one, maybe two bisexual people. I'm not sure whether the second one is a lesbian who dates guys to hide her true sexuality or whether she's actually bisexual. Lima's not a great place to be a lesbian either."
"Not from what you've said."
"We've gotten far, far off track." Kurt had finished packing his bejeweling tools and pieces into their storage box. "I can't sing 'Candles' with you. It's a sure-to-make-us-lose choice. I've never seen any sad, slow songs performed at Sectionals or Regionals. Fun, dance songs are what we need. Now, 'Misery' doesn't really fit the bill for uplifting because of the lyrics, but the song is very danceable and has a great beat."
"If I choose a new song, will you sing with me?"
"I'm not sure. I guess it depends on the song. But, I honestly don't think we should change the set list with Regionals in 9 days."
"And the other issue…"
"No, I won't go out with you, Blaine. I can't. I have a boyfriend. And even if I didn't, I have to have some self-respect. I've done a lot of thinking in the last month. You don't even know the real me. I'm not who I am at Dalton. I did what you taught me. I became a Dalton boy. But it's not who I am inside. You've come to like the Dalton boy I'm pretending to be every day that I'm here. But that's not me. I wear bondage clothing. I wear top hats and knee-high boots. I wear kilts, skirts, and corsets, and I paint my toenails. I wear make up. I'm pretty sure that you don't want to go out on dates with me in skin-tight white jeans, black knee-high bitch boots, and one of my many long sweaters. If we went out on dates, you would want me to wear slacks, a button up shirt, a sweater or cardigan, dress shoes, and a suit jacket or pea coat. You would want me to dress like a typical Dalton boy would dress. Be honest."
"I've never seen you in anything like you just described. Bondage clothes?"
"Lots of buckles, straps, mini locks."
"Oh."
"I'm conforming, like you told me to. You said my success here would depend on me understanding that we all wear blazers for a reason. I get that. Uniformity and conformity are the key to order and stability. I need the stability. I need the safety. So, I conformed."
Kurt pulled out his phone.
"I'm going to show you something. Kurt pulled up "Bad Romance" and he handed the phone to Blaine.