Notes: Again, I don't care if a lake is nowhere near Lima, nor do I care if there are no forests. Let's use our imaginations. Haha

Chapter 4

The Boyfriend

Kurt pulled into a parking space next to another car, which turned out to be Brittney's. As he stepped out and got his suitcase, Brittney was doing the same. She smiled at him, then suddenly frowned, staring at his clothes.

"Was this a black tie fair?" She looked at Kurt, her eyes wide as she gestured to her sweats, then back at Kurt's tight, black skinny jeans, sequined shirt, and matching hat. He giggled and pretended to dust off his sleeve.

"It's called a black tie affair, and no. I just can't pass up an opportunity to look great." He grinned and took Brittney's arm in his own, pulling her along the trail that Rachel told them would lead to the camping ground. He lugged along his large suitcase, and he couldn't help but notice that Brittney's bag was almost half the size of it. Maybe he did over pack a bit…

Eventually, after what seemed like an unusually long time filled with just walking, Kurt and Brittney heard voices. They could recognize Rachel's voice over all else, telling someone how to do something. As they turned a corner, they realized she was reading off directions to Santana and Finn on how to get the tent up. Santana didn't seem like she was fond of the guidance.

"Brittney! Kurt!" Rachel stopped her orders for a moment to wave at the two of them. "Set your stuff wherever for now. The people who are pitching the tent don't know what they're doing."

"Hey, shut up!" Santana yelled, standing up and causing the half-made tent to stumble back down.

"Where's Blaine? He said he was here." Kurt asked, setting his things on a patch of grass, away from any nearby dirt. Already, his nice shoes were covered in dirt and he realized it might have been a bad idea to dress nicely.

"He went that way." She gestured behind her vaguely. "Said he was going to try to find an easy way to the lake." Kurt nodded and headed off into the direction she pointed to. Rachel's demanding voice carried on as he left.

"No, don't do that! It says you have to use that pole thing to hold up section two of the left… thing…" Trees and more dirt engulfed Kurt and he walked farther, and he was seriously regretting wearing tight-fitting clothes. The restricting cloth was already causing him to sweat.

From ahead of him, Kurt could vaguely hear talking. No, singing. Instantly he realized it was Blaine and he grinned. Unconsciously, he sped up a little. He could see the lake around some of the trees ahead of him… Along with a pair of khakis and a t-shirt. Kurt slowed to a stop and hid behind a bush, peering over the top edge.

Well, he found Blaine. The Warbler was waist-deep in the lake, water dripping down his chest. His chest, Kurt noted, was bare, along with practically all of the rest of his body. Although he felt slightly creepy, Kurt stayed behind the bush, peeking over at his nearly-nude boyfriend as he swam around. Kurt was so distracted, he didn't even realize he had slowly begun to raise his head higher.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked looking over at the awe-struck boy. "Were you watching me?" Blaine bit back hysterical laughter, putting his hand over his mouth.

Kurt's eyes widened substantially as he ducked down behind the bush. But it was no use, Blaine had seen him. "What? No!" He shouted back, laughing nervously. "I just dropped my, uh…" He looked around frantically, picking up the closest thing to him and standing. "My rock." He held up a small stone, then froze in panic. A rock? Really?

"Well, it's a good thing you found it. That's a nice rock." Blaine said, still trying not to laugh. His boyfriend looked utterly terrified and ashamed, so he figured he wouldn't try to make him feel worse.

"Yeah." Kurt said. He looked from side to side briefly, then turned and ran. The trees whipped past his face, and he had a hard time dodging most of them. As a result, he ran into several trees, losing his balance momentarily each time.

Why did he always have to look so stupid in front of Blaine? Kurt was sure that his boyfriend now thought he was a peeping tom. Caught up in his thoughts, Kurt ran straight into something.

"Stupid trees!" He yelled, frustrated. But when he looked up, he did not see a tree, but Anthony. The tall, muscular boy looked down, shocked. He stepped back, seeming uncomfortable.

"Sorry." Kurt said, frowning as he got up and dusted himself off furiously.

"It's ok, just don't run into me again. That's gross." Kurt paused and stared at him, raising his eyebrow slowly. Anthony seemed to notice the expression and he smiled in a friendly manner. "I mean, I know you're," he hesitated, "gay, so I just don't really want you touching me."

Kurt blinked slowly and straightened himself, trying to calm himself down. 'Imma whoop your ass', he thought angrily, channeling Mercedes. He took a deep breath and looked up at Anthony, pushing his bangs from his face.

"I can tell you are very uneducated about this, so I'm going to let that slip. But for future reference, gay is not a disease, and it isn't spread through touch." He reached his hand forward and gently poked the other man's arm. "See? You're fine." Anthony stiffened at the touch and glared over at the shorter boy.

"Don't touch me. It's gross." He took a step back, getting slightly defensive.

"It isn't gross!" Kurt could feel himself becoming angry, and he forced himself to keep his voice down. "There is nothing wrong with me, and you, sir, are ignorant and rude."

"There's something wrong with your mind, that's what it is." Anthony said, leaning into his words as he spat them out. He remembered a conversation he had had with Karofsky before he came. The athlete had told him not to be nice to Kurt, and that the gay teen didn't deserve anything.

"Excuse me?" Kurt was done keeping himself under control. He screamed into Anthony's face, stepping up closer to him and looking up into his face. His fists were clenched tightly, and he hope he looked as tough as he felt. "You do not talk to me that way. There is nothing wrong with me, and you need to keep your mouth shut." Anthony started backing up slightly as Kurt came closer, not wanting him to touch him.

"Back off, freak!" Anthony clenched a fist tight, ready to hit him if he came any closer.

"Kurt? You still there?" Both boys froze and turned in the direction of the voice.

"Blaine…" Kurt whispered, and instantly unclenched his fists and straightened his clothes, backing away from Anthony. He got far enough away that Anthony finally relaxed, and they both fixed themselves up just in time as Blaine walked through the trees. Kurt smiled openly, and was shocked as Anthony did the same.

"Who's this?" Blaine asked, turning to the unfamiliar face. They shook hands, much to Kurt's surprise. One second he was furious and prejudiced, the next he was all smiles.

"Anthony. I'm a new member of Glee club." Blaine nodded in approval.

"He's my boyfriend." Kurt piped up suddenly, pointing at Blaine. He felt like a silly first grader, blaming someone else for something he did. He quickly lowered his finger and braced himself for Anthony's reaction.

"Cool." Kurt's heart sunk. He looked over at the guy who was just yelling at him for being gay, but was now looking at Blaine like it was no big deal. "It was nice to meet you." They shook hands again, then Anthony turned and left like nothing had happened.

"He's nice." Blaine said, turning to his boyfriend. Kurt gritted his teeth for a moment, unsure of what to say. Should he tell him? Would he even believe him? Obviously not with what just happened. Blaine liked Anthony, Mr. Schuester liked him, the entire Glee club liked him. Hell, everyone liked him except Kurt! He could feel his stomach churning, and his mind pounded with his indecisiveness.

"Yeah. He's great." Kurt finally mustered, looking away in the direction that Anthony had gone. He had been wrong about him before. What he had thought was an innocent comment was real, true discrimination and bigotry. And it was aimed at him.