Chapter Two: Kurt

If he really thought about it, it was funny. Not funny in the nice, "Rachel Berry outfit selection" kind of way, but more in that painful way that cut like a knife. It was funny because he knew this would happen. The moment he started feeling the unfamiliar sensation of falling for someone, really falling, he knew he would end up hurt. Sure, there had been his crush on Finn and yes, he had ended up being pretty torn up over it, but this was on a whole new level.

He had know, from the moment Puck had told him to call him Noah, that eventually he would get hurt. Obviously he had tried to ignore it and for the most part it was easy to believe that everything was going to work out. Even on that night, the night before he left, Kurt had pushed aside the niggling feeling that Puck wasn't really there with him. It wasn't exactly that it was easier to believe Puck really loved him... it wasn't easy it all... it was just so much nicer.

Looking in the mirror, Kurt sighed at his reflection, frustrated with what he saw. He had been sitting at the vanity in his room for almost an hour under the pretense of getting ready for the last day of school, but in reality he was just counting down the hours until he could go back to bed. For the last two weeks, since the day Puck had unceremoniously disappeared, Kurt had been paying a lot less attention to his appearance and it was beginning to show. His usual clear skin had turned sallow and there was the beginnings of a break out on his forehead. His hair had been in a permanent unruly state and the bags under his eyes were becoming closer to suitcases. For the last two weeks, that was fine. He couldn't find the energy to care.

But today had to be different.

His family and friends had all seen him slip into what could only be described as a mild state of depression, although few knew the reason. It had been hard to deal with them at first, Kurt had wanted nothing more than to be alone and think, but the slip in his appearance and the fact that he didn't seem to care at all had everyone bothered. Even Sue Sylvester had shown some uncharacteristic kindness and called him into her office to check that he was OK. After insulting his general untidiness and lack of style, she had even muttered some comforting words before ordering him out of her office. Then there was the meeting with Mr. Shue. And the meeting with Miss Pillsbury. He was just glad his father seemed to be avoiding him, obviously not ready to deal with comforting his son on his first breakup. That was fine by Kurt, he really didn't want to have that talk anytime soon.

Although he found himself unable to care about his hair, or wether his shoes matched his tie, the very things that would have taken up a good percentage of his waking time previously, he knew that today he had to make the extra effort, to make people believe that although he was a little upset, he wasn't totally broken.

That way, he wouldn't have to be subjected to any sort of "Cheer Up Kurt" project over the summer. He loved his friends, but he really wanted to be left alone. Just one more day. One day of faking it and he wouldn't have to see them again for weeks.

He felt a small twinge of guilt at that thought. He hadn't meant to push everyone away, but the sheer effort it took to actually get out of bed every day and pretend he was OK was exhausting. If he could manage to go for the whole day without someone questioning him on what was wrong, maybe it was worth hurting some peoples feelings. He did feel bad about lying to Mercedes thought, she was supposed to be his best friend after all and he knew he wasn't being fair to her. But she would just have to wait, he really didn't have the energy to worry about her for more than a minute at a time.

The one person he did talk to was a godsend, probably literally. If anyone had told him this time a year ago that they would be so close, he would have sent them to a therapist immediately, but then again, nothing about his life had turned out the way he had expected it. He never thought he would lose his virginity to Noah Puckerman, or that he'd wake up alone, never to see the boy he loved again. And he really never thought he would be best friends with Quinn Fabray.

She had been the greatest comfort to him since Puck had left and he couldn't have asked for anything more. She already knew the whole situation and had known Puck for longer than he had. That just made her easy to talk to. In school they still treated one another the same, quietly polite, but they didn't hang out. Even so, in Glee Club rehearsal Kurt always found himself sitting next to the pretty blonde and even being close to her would comfort him. After school they would hang out and talk, sometimes about Puck, sometimes about the problems she was having to Finn. It was like they were helping each other, each with the information the other needed. Quinn knew a lot more about relationships and Kurt had some inside "boy" knowledge, as well as being around Finn a lot. If anyone every found out just how much Kurt valued his time with Quinn he would be mortified, but she was honestly the one thing keeping him going.

Things with Finn had been slightly better since Puck had left, although there was still a lot of tension between the two of them. That turned out to be a good thing though, as Finn was the only person who hadn't mentioned Puck at all. Sure, it probably wasn't to spare his feelings, but it was nice to know he wouldn't have to face any of the "surprise attacks" he had come to expect from the others, who would often wonder aloud where Puck was or why he had left. At least when he was around Finn, he knew the "P" word wouldn't be mentioned.

After finishing applying a light layer of makeup, enough to cover the blemishes and make his eyes look slightly less like a he was a panda that had been in a bar fight, he glanced at the clock. Ever since Puck had left he had been waking up extremely early and had to spend hours waiting for an appropriate time to go upstairs for breakfast. Seeing it was almost seven, he decided to go up, hoping that a strong enough cup of coffee could get him through the day.

"Morning Buddy."

Kurt turned away from the stove suddenly, startled by the greeting. He smiled at his father in a way he hoped didn't look too forced before turning back the the pancakes he was making.

"Morning Dad."

"So, did you sleep well last night."

"Sure." Kurt replied.

"Great..." Burt said slowly. Kurt could tell he was uncomfortable. "So... last day of school today huh?"

"Yep."

"Any plans for the summer?"

"Not really."

"Oh."

Kurt felt relief beyond measure when Finn bounded into the room and sat down at the table. If there was one thing Finn was good for, it was cutting the tension. Probably because he was so unaware of it and talked animatedly throughout breakfast. Finn was definitely a morning person. Kurt felt a little bad at being so relieved not to have to try to force himself to talk to his father. His Dad was all he had had for so many years and cutting him out like this hurt, just not as much as it would hurt to be honest. Except for Quinn, Kurt hadn't talked to anyone about Puck, or what had happened on the night before he left. It was too hard and he knew he couldn't handle the awkwardness of talking to his dad about it. If he didn't talk about it, he didn't have to think about it and there were moments, small ones, but moments nonetheless, where it felt like maybe none of it had ever happened at all.

Those moments were equal parts blissful and shattering. It was nice to forget, if only for a second, but when he remembered, it felt so much worse.

As he looked at his family sitting at the breakfast table, he tried to plaster on a smile that looked somewhat real. At least he was getting plenty of acting practice.

"Kurt... can we talk?"

Kurt closed his locker door as slowly as possible, as if trying to buy himself time. It wasn't that he was avoiding Mercedes, but this sounded like it was going to be a conversation he wasn't particularly excited about.

"Sure Mercedes. What's up?" Kurt asked, hoping desperately that he was injecting the right level of enthusiasm into his voice.

"I'm just... I'm worried about you Kurt." She said. The sincere look of concern in her eyes cut right to Kurt's core and he regretted lying to her in that moment more than ever before.

"Why? Not that I'm not flattered, but I'm perfectly fine."

Kurt ran his fingers through his hair, vaguely aware that it was a trait he had picked up from Puck. He knew it looked messier this way, but he couldn't seem to quit the habit.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"It's just... you seem so down lately. Ever since Puck went all bizzarro at Brittany's party. Are the guys on the football team giving you a hard time?"

"Yes. But that's hardly anything new." He said. He reached out to Mercedes and grasped hold of her hand, careful to look right in her eyes, he knew this had to be convincing. "I'm fine really... Karofsky and the others just get a little worse at the end of the semester, something about not having to see the consequences I guess."

Mercedes looked uncertain and for a moment Kurt was sure she was going to protest or push him for more details. He knew he should just talk to her, but he wasn't sure he could handle going over the whole story with her and having her sympathy - or worse, having her tell him he should have known better. That he deserved to be feeling this way.

Maybe he did though. He would be lying if he told himself he hadn't considered it. Getting involved with someone who was previously certain of their heterosexuality probably wasn't the best idea, especially when that person was Noah Puckerman, one of the biggest man whores in existence. Maybe he should have known better and protected his heart.

Still, hindsight is a wonderful thing. It was all so obvious now.

"Ok Boo." She said, giving his arm a comforting squeeze. "If you need anything, come to me ok?"

"Of course I will. Thanks Mercedes." Kurt said, with a small smile.

Maybe she didn't quite believe him, but at least she wasn't going to press him on it - today at least.

He reached into his pocket and withdrew his phone, sending a text to the one person he really had been able to count on. Quinn really had become one of his closest friends, something that amazed him to no end. Hopefully she'd be free to hang out after school.

AN: Hey, sorry about the lack of update, haven't been near a computer recently and then when I got to one, the site wouldn't let me upload, so this had been sitting here waiting.

This chapter is short, like the last, but this is more than likely going to be a long story and I wanna get the pacing right. The first few chapters are kind of just showing where everyone is, who knows what ect. Kind of like a catch up on how everyone is doing before things start going down.

Next chapter will be centered around Quinn. Enjoy, review if you can, they are appreciated.