TUESDAY AFTERNOON

There was a bit of leeway between the time the last class period of the day ended, and Warbler rehearsal began. Kurt usually spent this time with Blaine, but they were still kind of avoiding each other. He instead made his way to the senior commons, where practice was held, thinking he could to some vocal warm-ups before everyone else arrived.

Unfortunately, Nick was already there. He sat on one of the leather sofas with Seth and the Warbler Kurt saw him with earlier, hunched over a laptop on the coffee table. He and the other Warbler appeared to be watching something intently, with huge smiles on their faces, while Seth just stared, a hand clamped over his mouth in horror. Nick looked up as Kurt entered the room.

"Hi, Kurt," he said sweetly. "We're watching the new Lady GaGa video. Have you seen it?"

Kurt stiffened, knowing that Nick's friendly disposition was insincere. "Yes, actually I have."

The Warbler sitting between Nick and Seth clutched the sides of the computer. "This is pure art, oh my god."

"Jesus, Andrew," said Nick, laughing. "Calm down."

"No!" said Andrew. "This is just, it's just everything. I can't get over it."

Seth abruptly stood and made his way towards the door behind Kurt. "I'm going to throw up."

Kurt raised an eyebrow as Seth pushed past him. "What's his problem?"

"Seth thinks birth is gross," said Andrew. He pat the now unoccupied seat next to him with his hand. "C'mon, join us."

Kurt hesitated, thinking perhaps that this was some kind of trap set up by Nick, but he really did like the Born This Way video, and wouldn't mind watching it with others who appreciated it. He cautiously sat down next to Andrew, who flashed him a grin.

"She is just so amazing and gorgeous and amazing, " Andrew gushed at the screen as Gaga danced along with her monsters.

Kurt eyed him, not quite sure what to think. He couldn't imagine any straight guys would be so interested in her, considering his experience with the boys of New Directions, but Andrew didn't really set off his gaydar. Then again, his gaydar was apparently completely dysfunctional.

Andrew sighed and rested his chin in his hand. "She's so unbelievably hot."

Kurt pursed his lips. So maybe he was some kind of sub-species of straight guy who loved Gaga on an artistic and sexual level.

"Sweet Madonna tribute at the end," Nick commented before standing. "I'm gonna go check on Seth."

"Yeah, ok," said Andrew as he closed his computer.

Kurt watched Nick leave and took out his phone to check the time. Five more minutes before practice would start, Blaine would arrive and Kurt would have to hide among people who, despite the fact that they were his teammates, he had never really taken the time to get to know.

"So, are you, like, excited for Regionals?"

Kurt looked up and coughed. Andrew blinked at him, smiling. "Oh, uh, yeah."

"We're up against your old school, right?" he asked. "Is that, like, weird for you?"

"A little," Kurt replied. "But somehow we all manage to remain friends."

Andrew nodded. "Right, right. You and Blaine even went to a party held by them, or something? That's cool."

"Rachel Berry's party, specifically. It was…" Kurt waved his hand a bit, searching for the right word. "Interesting."

"Ah, ok." Andrew reached into his blazer pocket. "Hey, do you want any candy? I got some Hershey's kisses right here." He pulled out a piece of chocolate and held it before him.

"Oh, um, alright," said Kurt, taking the candy.

Andrew smiled. "You know, this is actually how I usually come on to people, but I've kinda been warned against you."

"What?" said Kurt, startled and quickly reevaluating his impression of Andrew. "Warned against me? By who?"

"Not telling," Andrew teased. "So just take it as a sort of… friendship offering, 'kay?"

Kurt peeled the foil from the chocolate. "Ok, if you say so."

Andrew smiled at him again, and Kurt started to think that it was the boy's default expression when Nick came back in with Seth in tow.

"It's a perfectly natural biological process!" Nick said as he entered the room.

"Defecation is a perfectly natural biological process, but that doesn't mean I want to watch a music video about it." Seth snapped.

Andrew rolled his eyes. "I can't believe you just compared giving birth to shitting."

"It just triggers nausea, in me, ok? It isn't something I have any control over," said Seth, sitting on the edge of the sofa next to Kurt. He noticed the candy in Kurt's hand. "Did you do the 'wanna kiss?'thing again? Because that was really only mildly amusing in the first place, but now it's just annoying."

"No, I didn't. I was just being friendly," Andrew said. "Unlike some people I know."

Kurt glanced up at Nick, who looked away from him. Kurt felt validated. Nick's friends apparently knew how Nick had been treating him, and did not appear to approve. He sat up a little in his seat, a small smile gracing his face. Soon, other Warblers began to trickle into the room, talking excitedly about their upcoming Regional competition. Wes banged his gavel, and the boys settled down.

Blaine sat down in an armchair across the room. Their eyes met for a moment before looking away. Suddenly Kurt felt a little claustrophobic, squeezed on the sofa between Andrew and Seth. Wes banged his gavel again.

"If you keep doing that, you're gonna, like, break it," said Andrew.

"Quiet, Starkofsky," said Wes, "There are important matters we must discuss."

Kurt felt himself unconsciously scoot away from Andrew at the sound of his surname, and mentally scolded himself for it. He had a similar-sounding name to Karofsky, so what? People were not their names.

Wes cleared his throat. "It has recently come to the counsel's attention that information regarding Regionals has been released, but unfortunately, our letter was misplaced, and we are now a week behind our competition. The set list we have prepared is no longer acceptable."

Kurt blinked, shocked. The room erupted into protests, and Wes slammed his gavel against its sound block several times to diffuse the noise.

"From what we now understand, the competition will have a theme, and our score will be affected by how we interpret said theme."

"And that theme is?" asked Blaine.

Wes took a deep breath. "Anthem."

The Warblers burst into demurral. "What does that even mean?" someone asked.

Seth coughed. "Anthem. A rousing or uplifting song identified with a particular group, body, or cause."

"Seth, we know what the damn word means," Nick snapped. "I just don't understand how that's a theme."

"So, what do we do?" Andrew asked. "Do we just sing The Star-Spangled Banner?"

"All we know is that it is up for interpretation." Wes sighed. "We will not practice until we have an acceptable interpretation of anthem. The counsel requests twenty suggestions by rehearsal on Thursday. Warblers dismissed."

The boys grumbled, but gathered their things and slowly filtered out of the room. Kurt clutched at his bag's strap, worried. He tried to make it a point when talking to his friends back in Lima to not mention anything about the competition other than 'we're going to kick your ass,' but he couldn't help but feel his connection to them would have somehow clued him in on this theme. He pulled out his cell again and checked the time.

Kurt really didn't look forward to the two hour long drive back home. He usually had a whole routine with Blaine at the Lima Bean before he actually set out onto the highway, but they hadn't spoken to each other all day, and Kurt feared another argument. He sighed and pushed himself up off the sofa. Maybe if he got all his homework done at the Lima Bean he could just head straight to bed the minute he got home.

Ask he exited the senior commons, Kurt saw Andrew and Seth out of the corner of his eye. They were huddled in a corner, talking, when Andrew leaned forward and kissed him just below the ear. Seth shrugged him off, but smiled. Kurt gulped and picked up his pace into the hallway. Were things like that happening all around him and he was just too oblivious to notice?

The Lima Bean was crowded as usual, filled with students hanging out and studying, along with adults grabbing a quick cup of coffee before heading home. Kurt felt a little awkward to be there alone, as he traditionally spent his time there with Blaine. He managed to snag an empty booth by the restrooms and spread his books across the table. He found Dalton significantly more academically challenging than McKinley, and sometimes Kurt struggled with keeping up. His vision blurred as he stared at a worksheet filled with complicated equations, and Kurt let his head clonk down onto the table.

He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He just wanted to get all this done so he could go home and sleep. He sipped his large, iced mocha, hoping the caffeine would kick in soon. Across the room, he saw Seth, his arms piled with books, frantically looking around him. Kurt glanced around the room, and realized that none of the other tables were open. He eyed the empty seat across from him before standing up and waving.

"Seth!" he called out. "There's a spot over here!"

The boy froze and stared at him for a moment before swallowing and looking around. Kurt realized that after their encounter in the library, Seth might not want to have anything to do with him.

"I, uh, I won't ask about your sex life, I promise," he said, despite the fact that after what he saw in the commons, he sorely wanted too.

Seth sighed and adjusted the grip on his books. He walked over and slid into the seat across from him, dropping his books onto the table. They sat in silence for a moment, and Kurt wondered if this was how all their conversations would be like.

Kurt cleared his throat. "So, um, do you have any ideas for the anthem?"

Seth looked away for a moment, thinking, and then shook his head.

"Oh, ok." Kurt tapped his fingers on the table. "Do you, uh, have a lot of homework? I know I do."

Seth glanced down at his pile of books, then back up at Kurt.

"Right. Of course." Kurt adjusted himself in his seat. "Listen, I'm sorry about earlier. I, um, I have a tendency to come on a little strong, I know. I'm working on it." Kurt actually rarely gave this tendency a second thought, but it sounded good. "I just, um, I just want us to be friends."

"Your calculus teacher is Ms. West, correct?" Seth asked.

Kurt frowned, confused, but nodded.

"She selects all of her worksheet equations straight from the textbook. You can check the back for answers if you're having trouble."

Kurt blinked at him for a moment before pulling his book towards him and flipping it open to the back pages. Sure enough, there were lists of equations and answers corresponding to each chapter. Kurt looked up at Seth, who gazed back at him expectantly. Kurt then realized that much Andrew's Hershey's Kiss, this was an offering of friendship.

He smiled. "Thanks."

Seth nodded and opened one of his own books. "You're welcome."

They worked in silence, but it was no longer uncomfortable. Oddly enough, Kurt found it easier to concentrate when he had someone to work with. Companionship was something Kurt craved more than anything. Before he knew it, his iced mocha was gone and he was three quarters of the way through his work.

Kurt grabbed his empty cup and slid out of his seat. "I'm getting a refill. Do you want anything?"

Seth shook his head. "No, thank you. My tea is quite sufficient."

Kurt nodded and headed toward the counter to get in line. He patiently waited in the queue when a certain someone in hideous aviator sunglasses crept up behind him.

"A study date, huh? That's cute. I didn't really think Vention was your style, though."

Kurt looked around to see Lennon smiling in that awful, knowing way he always did. "Excuse me?" Kurt asked. "What exactly is that suppose to mean?'

Lennon shrugged. "I was under the impression you liked boys."

"I do, I mean." Kurt huffed. "First of all, Seth and I aren't on a date, we're just doing our homework, and second? Seth is a boy."

"Oh, sure," said Lennon. "Most of the time, at least."

"That's a pretty nasty rumor to spread about someone," Kurt sneered.

"It ain't a rumor if it's true. And honey? Everything I report on is completely true, from the asbestos in the gymnasium to your rampant biphobia."

"Biphobia?" Kurt gaped at him, and then his jaw clenched. "You. You were here that day, weren't you? You eavesdropped on me and Blaine and now you're just telling everyone what I said? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me?" Lennon asked, pushing his glasses down his nose in order to look over him. "You're the one who said being outside the gender binary was nasty."

Kurt squinted. "What?"

"What?"

Kurt looked around to see Seth, clutching an empty teacup and trembling slightly.

"I, um," he said, looking down at his cup. "When you asked, I didn't realize I was empty so I, um." Seth took a deep breath and frowned. "I think it's best if I go."

Lennon grinned and began to back away. "My work here is done".

Seth turned back to their table and Kurt chased after him. Seth piled his books into his arms as Kurt tried to explain.

"That's not what I said, Seth, I swear," Kurt insisted, hovering over him. "I said that what he said was nasty."

Seth sighed and held his books close to his chest. "And what exactly did he say?"

"Well, he, uh," Kurt swallowed. "He said that you, um, were only a boy, like, most of the time."

"And you said that was nasty," Seth said flatly.

"Wait, no, I mean…" Kurt sank back into his seat. "Please sit back down? I don't even really understand what he was talking about, and, and…"

"And it's my responsibility to explain it to you?" Seth asked, looking down at him.

Kurt heaved a sigh. "I don't know. I just, I keep saying things and everyone keeps getting mad at me and…"

"Then maybe you should stop talking and start /ilistening/i."

Kurt nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm listening now, ok? Please, please just talk to me."

Seth eyed him for a moment before finally sitting back down. "…ok."
"Thank you," Kurt breathed.

Seth put his books back down and stared at him, his mouth set halfway to a frown. "I… I'm not, um, biologically intersex, if that's what you're wondering."

"Um, ok," said Kurt, folding his hands onto the table.

"Would you hate me if I were?"

"No!" said Kurt, blinking. "Of course not."

"Are you only saying that because I already said I wasn't?"

Kurt flinched. "Um, no."

Seth closed his eyes and exhaled. "Ok, then. I just, well, it's not really easy to articulate."

Kurt nodded, trying to look as understanding as possible.

"I, um, I don't feel, uh, one hundred percent male, one hundred percent of the time."

Seth opened his eyes to gage Kurt's reaction. Kurt attempted to maintain a neutral expression, but was pretty sure he was failing.

"I… see."

"Yeah."

"So, um, what does that mean exactly?"

Seth shrugged. "I'm not really sure, to be honest. I haven't discussed the matter with anyone besides Andrew, and Lennon obviously overheard, so now half the school thinks I'm a hermaphrodite."

"Oh."

"Like, like, look at the signs on the doors," Seth gestured to the restrooms beside them. "Male and female are the only options, and the difference between them is completely arbitrary! They're exactly the same except that one of them is wearing a dress."

Kurt looked the doors over. "Do you want to wear a dress?"

"I have no idea," Seth admitted. "I mean, should I try one on just to see how it feels? And if I feel good in it, would that automatically make me female? The door apparently thinks so."

"You know," said Kurt, squinting. "I don't think the door is really an expert on this kind of thing, considering it's an inanimate object."

Seth laughed, and then sighed. "It's also why I'm not really comfortable with calling myself gay. I'm attracted to men, but if I'm not really a man myself, then how can I be homosexual?"

Kurt tilted his head in thought. "I… don't really know. What did, um, what did Andrew say when you told him?"

"Well, he wasn't repulsed, thankfully." Seth said. "He actually appears to be intrigued by the whole thing."

"That's nice," Kurt said, nodding. "I know I promised I wouldn't ask, but are you guys… actually, you know what? I'm not asking. I promised."

Seth smiled. "Thank you. And to answer you rescinded question; yes, we are."

"Oh, ok," said Kurt with a chuckle.

"Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"I, uh, I'm glad that we are friends now," Seth said, looking down at his hands.

Kurt grinned. "Me too."

END OF PART THREE

Thank you for reading!