A/N: I'm sorry but the last few weeks have been crazy and I just haven't had any time at all to write. It'll be better over the summer, I promise.

Chapter 3

As Kurt had suspected, Finn quickly forgot about Kurt's "food problem." For the first week or so, he had glared at Kurt across the table until his plate was empty. Then he'd give Kurt a wide grin and act like everything was okay. And despite Finn abandoning Kurt to instead brainstorm the best way to tell Rachel that he loved her, everything was okay, at least for a while.

Then there had been the week from hell the next year, Kurt's dad was in the hospital in a coma, with a huge possibility that he might never wake up. Kurt spent most of his lunch hours staring at his phone, hoping the hospital would call with good news, or avoiding Mercedes, Quinn and Finn who would all give him impromptu lessons on faith and religion whenever they saw him. Although to be fair, Mercedes and Quinn actually gave educated lessons, while Finn would spout on about grilled cheese sandwiches from heaven. Even when his dad finally woke up, he wasn't out of the woods yet, and Kurt spent far more time taking care of his father than himself. Not to mention, Coach Sue was no longer breathing down his neck since he hadn't rejoined the Cheerios.

Sam had also come to McKinley that year, a sweet boy with a genuine smile, a bad dye job, and absolutely no problem with Kurt being gay. However, Finn had apparently suffered a blow to the head and reverted back to his jerk jock days. He'd told Sam that singing a duet with Kurt would get him killed. If that hadn't thrown Kurt into an insane spiral of anger, depression and confusion, nothing would.

Although Burt hadn't really known what an impact it would have on his son if he told him not to sing with the other boy, Kurt was still angered that his own dad was siding with Finn again, especially after how hurt and jealous Kurt had been the year before.

So Kurt let Sam go, and sang a duet by himself. While it was an excellent performance, it was also one of the most embarrassing Kurt have ever experienced. It was hard to think about the fact that he'd had to sing a duet by himself as that was just a whole new level of loneliness and depression.

"Kurt! Pay attention please!"

Kurt was jerked out of his thoughts by Mr. Schue snapping at him. He looked down at his script for Rocky Horror and realized they had been waiting for him to say his line.

"Sorry Mr. Schue," Kurt said and then quickly recited his line.

The line was his last for the scene that the club was rehearsing so he allowed himself to drift off again. He'd been tireder than usual lately and all of his extensive research and Google searches had pointed to stress. He could have figured out that he was stressed on his own.

The bullying was worse than ever, Karofsky was relentless in his locker slams and harsh insults. Although Kurt would argue until the day that he died that those half-hearted remarks that barely took two brain cells to come up with didn't hurt him, they did. Not so much the gay jokes because he knew who he was a honestly wasn't going to care what people thought about that, but the jokes that hurt were the ones that said how he wasn't going to get out of Lima. They said he would be stuck in this hell repeating the same dull schedule day after day, only half alive like the other zombies he saw around town. Kurt didn't want to be like them. He didn't want to have to turn into someone who had to trick themselves everyday into thinking that they like their life.

The bell rang, signaling class was over, and Kurt jumped slightly in his seat. He quickly packed up his messenger bag and ran out the door to his next class.

"Kurt, wait up!" Finn called down the hallway after Kurt.

Kurt turned around and waited for the tall teen to catch up.

"Yes, Finn?"

Finn looked around the hallway for a moment as if to make sure that no one was listening and Kurt felt his patience wear thin.

"Let's go in here," Finn said, half pushing Kurt into an empty classroom.

"What the hell is this about Finn?" Kurt asked, crossing his arms over his chest and doing his best to look somewhat interested in what stupidity was about to spew from Finn's mouth.

"Um, well," Finn stammered, still looking around nervously despite being away from prying eyes, "I think I'm fat."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at his almost brother. "Please tell me this isn't because of Santana's stupid comments about you looking terrible in your Rocky Horror costume. We both know she's just a bitch."

Finn looked a little ashamed of himself. "I know, I just wonder how you, I don't know, deal with it."

Kurt didn't really know where Finn was going with this, and he had a feeling he didn't want to.

"Deal with what, Finn?" Kurt asking, narrowing his eyes dangerously at the other boy.

"Well," Finn shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably, "don't people like you get anorexia because they feel fat."

Kurt flinched a little at the word anorexia.

"No, Finn, some people actually don't have...eating disorders because they feel fat. I know I don't really feel fat. I don't eat because it gives me a sense of control over something when everything else seems to be falling apart."

Finn stared wide eyed at Kurt. It was Kurt's turn to feel uncomfortable.

"That's really screwed up man."

"You think I don't know that," Kurt countered, "I know it's not normal, but it's just the way it is. I'm really trying to get better but it doesn't help when it feels like everytime I eat, I'm just doing what everyone else wants me to do, like I'm giving in to peer pressure or something. It doesn't help that the way I deal with stress is not eating and I have been feeling very stressed due to the bullying."

Kurt finished and found that he had turned his back on Finn and had his arms wrapped tightly around his torso like he was trying to hug himself. Kurt felt a hand on his shoulder which he assumed was supposed to be comforting. He turned around to see Finn who gave him a small, sympathetic smile.

"I'm really sorry, dude. I can try to help if you want."

Kurt smiled back at the taller teen. "That's nice Finn, but there's no point in you getting hurt too."

"Well, then you have to stand up for yourself!" Finn said passionately. "I know high school ends and everything, but you still want to make the most of the time that you have here. I'm willing to help you out with anything, but you have to promise to stop letting everyone walk all over you."

Kurt wiped a stray tear out of his eye. "Thanks Finn."

Kurt straightened the strap on his messanger bag and cleared his throat.

"However, just because that is the way that I deal with my issues doesn't mean you have to feel that way."

Finn looked up hopefully.

"If you know that you really are overweight and you want to be healthy, I know some good recipes that I actually think you would like. For the record, I don't think you're fat and I doubt anyone else really does. You just need to find your way to be comfortable in your own skin. I hope that helps."

The bell rang loudly, annoucing the start of the next class.

"Sorry I made you late for class, dude," Finn said.

Kurt shrugged. "I have French now anyway and that teacher loves me."

He started towards the door but turned back at the last second. "By the way, if Santana says another stupid thing about your weight, tell her to shove her opinion up her stupid, fake, malnourished ass."

A/N: I also promise that Blaine will be here soon.

Peace, Love, Glee

Julez