Ask Me To Stay

by Ash Knight

Fed up with the way everyone sees him, Kurt decides its time to leave Lima. With nothing to lose he starts to let everyone know exactly what he thinks unaware of the consequences.

4. A Day of Drama on Jupiter

Title: Ask Me to Stay

Chapter Title: A Day of Drama on Jupiter

Author: Ash Knight

Pairings: KurtXPuck, SamXQuinn, ArtieXBrittany

Warnings: bad language, sexual situations, and violence

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs I use for this story.

Notes: Matt never transferred in my story but I still haven't decided how I'm going to use him.

Summary: Fed up with the way everyone sees him, Kurt decides its time to leave Lima. With nothing to lose he starts to let everyone know exactly what he thinks unaware of the consequences. But when things reach a boiling point and he has to choose, will there be anyone able to give him a reason to stay?

Friday morning came all too soon as Kurt was forced awake by his alarm. Noah of coarse slept right through it and stayed in his slumber until once again Kurt woke him up, also once again having the same results as yesterday. While Kurt had no problem with Noah in his underwear, he did have a problem with Noah's raging case of morning wood. The problem wasn't that it was an unwelcome sight, far from it in fact. Kurt was honest enough to admit (just to himself) that Noah was totally gorgeous. With his ripped body and what Kurt could tell was obviously a very well endowed cock, if things were extremely different he wouldn't mind making a play for the halfback.

But, Kurt had learned from his previous mistakes. Despite how comfortable Noah was around him, he knew the jock was as straight as an arrow. Noah Puckerman loved pussy and that was that. All he had to do was think of the sexting and the Santana hook up yesterday to drive that fact home. He wouldn't be able to be in the auditorium again without remembering what had taken place there, even though it was his own fault. Besides all of that, he knew that if he ever did anything stupid like last year with Finn, he knew Noah would probably just kick his ass and he would lose the friendship they were just starting to build.

In the two days that he had spent with Noah he found he really did like jock. Underneath all of Noah's bullshit he was glad to know he was right and that there was someone worth while. That isn't to say Noah didn't get on his nerves, his badass persona got quite tiring after awhile and Kurt was glad he could just ignore it so far. Thankfully, physical attraction wasn't the same as emotional attraction. Kurt was more than strong enough to resist the temptation. Kurt had idolized Finn Hudson and had made him out to be something he wasn't and he couldn't let go of the image or his emotions until Finn himself had burst his bubble. Noah on the other hand; there was no illusion to fall in love with. He was a complete horn dog and completely self-absorbed, which made it very simple for Kurt to ignore his own body's betrayal at the sight of a nearly naked Noah.

His father sitting down at the counter brought him down out of his thoughts. His father said good morning and happily accepted the healthy breakfast. Not wanting to eat much Kurt just got himself a small low fat yogurt from the fridge and a banana and sat down with his father.

"I should have dinner ready by seven tonight" Kurt told his father.

"Carole and Finn should be here in time" Burt replied.

"After school I'm going to make a quick trip to the grocery store. I just need some fresh garlic but we're running low on some other stuff so I'll get everything all at once."

"Are you sure you feel up to a family dinner right now?"

"Yeah, why not" Kurt shrugged.

"Weren't you just fighting with Finn on the phone the other night?"

"Dad, I promise you, I have no feelings for Finn Hudson. We just had an argument, that's it."

"It sounded a lot more than an argument, son" his father pressed.

"Dad, I'm telling you, it's fine." Kurt insisted.

"Alright, if you're sure" Burt let it go.

Kurt quickly finished his breakfast and went downstairs to pick out his clothes for the day. He picked out a pair black slacks and another large sweater, this one a bright flamingo pink color. Topping it off with a matching beret and an original black silk Alexander McQueen scarf. He had just picked out a pair of underwear when Noah came in, once again in nothing but a towel that hung dangerously loose on the jocks hips. Kurt just rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom to shower for the day. He had this sneaking suspicion that Noah was purposely egging him on. A true egotist he just couldn't stop himself from showing off his body.

-Next scene-

As Kurt took his shower, Noah was looking through his cloths, only he had tossed the towel aside and was now standing naked. Not feeling like wearing any underwear today he quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and went commando. Grabbing a random shirt he went upstairs for the food he knew Kurt had laid out for him. Thankfully by the time he had gone upstairs Burt had finished and was now in the living room talking to someone on the phone. He ate his breakfast, in silence contemplating on whether or not he should sext Santana, before he told himself to just forget it. Yesterday, while being a large amount of fun had just been plain weird. Noah never got the chance to see what Kurt had sexted Santana but whatever he said had seriously turned her on and probably bordered on the S&M side of the sexual spectrum. Santana was wild on her own, but whatever Kurt had told her, had brought out a whole new level wild that even he wasn't sure he wanted to get into.

Noah chuckled at the though of what Santana would say if she ever found out it had been Kurt who sexted with her yesterday and not him. If Kurt had been one of the guys he would have just laughed and given him a high five. But, from his reaction to whatever Santana and he were sexting pretty much reminded him that Kurt was as queer as you could get. The soprano did say he pretty much knew what all the girls really wanted and if his demonstration yesterday anything to judge by he could really deliver on that statement. It really was too bad Kurt was a complete pole smoker. If he was even just slightly interested in women, they could make an amazing team with Kurt as Noah's wing man.

Last year, before Finn had even started dating Quinn, and Finn had been Noah's best friend, Noah had taken him out to a few bars in hope of scoring some older women. This proved to be a total disaster since Finn was just too stupid to keep it together. First of all, he knew from experience that it didn't matter how bad your fake ID was, as long as you had the confidence. Finn just couldn't pull it off and almost every time he had to pay either the bouncer or the bar tender a chunk of cash to look the other way. Secondly, there was the women, whenever they even got close to a hot piece ass Finn would just bumble it all away. He was cute enough to attract women but once again he had no confidence and things usually ended up with Puckzilla having a case of blue balls.

The very worst incident happened one time when two cougars had started to flirt with Noah and Finn had been dragged along for the ride. Noah of coarse took the hot one while he let Finn take the average looking one. Thankfully she was too drunk by then to even care or notice how young Finn looked or how scared shitless he was by her blatant sexual advances as they danced together. He had started to think that Finn was either secretly gay or was just a pussy by the way he was acting. It came to a close as the cougar, hungry for action, had decided then and there that it was feeding time and grabbed Finn's crotch. Finn instantaneously shot a load right then in there in the middle of the crowded bar, very loudly.

Needless to say things went bad from there as they were kicked out and had to hightail it out of there before they had the cops call on them. That was the last time he had ever tried to go cruising for chicks with Finn. The whole thing would have been funny except he couldn't go back to that bar to cruise for chicks again. However if Kurt was straight he would probably be a hell of a lot better. Kurt, he had seen, was already a great actor so he could probably pull off the fake ID with no problem. Plus, if he was as good with women as his sexting then they could have had an amazing time. Shaking his head at the thought Noah went back down stairs to finish getting ready for school.

-Next scene-

Kurt was just finishing applying his lip gloss as Noah came back down.

"Aren't you ready yet?"

"I'm almost done" Kurt replied as he applied some mascara to his eyelashes.

"Why do you waste so much time putting on make up? You're a guy" Noah said, not getting the point.

"Firstly, most of the stuff here is actually skincare products I use to keep my skin flawless. Second, the makeup I do use is to highlight all my best features and make me look even more fabulous."

"Dude, you don't need any of that stuff" Noah said seriously.

"Aw, you love me, you truly love me" Kurt said as he batted his eyelashes as Noah.

"In your dreams Hummel" Noah laughed.

"Last time I checked, yesterday I proved I know more about what women dream than you do. If you actually think you can tell me what I dream about you're even more delusional than I thought" Kurt replied with a laugh.

"You're full it Hummel! Everyone wants a piece of Puckzilla!" Noah declared as he grabbed his crotch and flexed his left arm.

"In your dreams maybe, not mine" Kurt shrugged with smile, looking away before he could look at the outline of the halfbacks junk.

Noah not one to be upstaged quickly took off his shirt and flexed his body right in front of the soprano. It took every last shred of Kurt Hummel's self control not blush at the display. Getting up quickly he faced his would be tormentor and threw him a very seductive smile. He placed his right hand over Noah's chest and walked forward, pushing Noah backwards until the back of his legs hit the back of the couch.

"The day I ever fantasize about you" Kurt whispered seductively in a very low husky voice that showed his arousal and began to slowly slide his hand downwards towards the halfbacks pants, "and I in bed together is the day hell freezes over. But until then" Kurt suddenly poured a glass of cold water down Noah's pants, "cool off."

Kurt quickly turned away with smirk and walked upstairs leaving the jock in a daze. He put the glass in the sink and then texted Sam to make sure they were on to meet in the choir room. He then took stock of everything that he needed to get at the grocery store after school making a mental checklist. Sam then texted him back saying he would be there waiting for him. Kurt then went back downstairs only to see Noah completely nude from behind. He backed up the stairs quietly, not having been noticed, but he couldn't stop himself from peeking just a bit. Noah had thrown off the wet jeans and had grabbed a different pair. Kurt drank in the sight of a nude Noah, his firm back muscles and tight firm ass as he bent over to pull on his jeans. At the last minute he forced himself to look away, cursing under his breath.

When he saw Noah pulling on his shirt again he walked back downstairs, schooling his features into those of his usual superiority. Noah threw him a look, one that clearly indicated his anger at the humiliation he had been given by the smaller young man. Kurt just ignored him, after all Noah shouldn't dish out anything he couldn't take. He grabbed his bag and asked the jock if he was ready to go. The only answer he got was a rather rude gesture, to which he just smiled at and placed a hand over his heart.

Noah put on the radio while Kurt simply put in his earphones and started listening to his own music. Kurt glanced over and saw Noah was clearly annoyed but chose not to acknowledge it. It was clearly a blow to his ego that Kurt had gotten the best of him, not matter in how small a way. The soprano just hoped that his friend would just let it go. He already had Finn to deal with and he had to track down Rachael. He was planning to ask Rachael about Jewish cooking and then steer the conversation towards Finn. If he could just get her to talk to Finn he was certain they would patch things up and that would make Finn much happier.

That in turn would make tonight go a lot smoother. Kurt wished he had never started the whole thing with Finn last year. He knew it wouldn't end well but he just kept hoping that somehow he could get what he wanted. Now he was going to be stuck with Finn for a very long time, maybe forever if his plans worked out. Once he left Lima Finn wouldn't be a problem anymore. Carole could take care of his dad, and it was clear she loved him very much and vice versa. He hadn't seen his father look at anyone like he did at Carole. Except of course his own mother. Just thinking of her still brought an ache to the soprano's chest.

"If only you could see me now" Kurt thought bitterly.

Would she be disappointed in him for planning to leave, for wanting to give up? No matter how much he wanted to pretend, he just wasn't strong enough to keep going anymore. If he could just get Carole and his father back together, and make sure his dad recovered well enough he could leave without any worries. With Carole here to look after his dad and make him happy, it wouldn't matter if he wasn't here anymore. Plus, as much as he hated to admit it, he knew his dad really liked Finn, despite what had happened. As soon as he saw them interact he saw how his dad and Finn connected so easily. It really hurt to see his dad so easily interact with Finn, when they could barely talk to each other about anything.

It hurt even more to know that he was a disappointment to his father. His father loved him no matter what, he knew that. But he also knew that the son Burt Hummel imagined he would grow up to be, the one he imagined the moment he had first held him in his arms when he was born, was not the one he had now. He wasn't the son his father could take to baseball games and talk about girls with. He wasn't the son that would one day make him a grandfather, like he knew his father had dreamt of being someday. Kurt would be the last of the Hummels, and it was a very sad thought.

"Snap out of it dude!"

"Huh!" Kurt muttered out in confusion.

"What is wrong with you?" Noah asked in an annoyed tone, although looking strangely concerned.

"Nothing, what's up?" Kurt pulled out his earphones.

"We're here" Noah stated gesturing to the school building in front of them.

"Oh," Kurt said and shook his head trying to clear the cobwebs from his mind a bit.

Kurt put his mp3 player away in his bag and got out of the truck. Noah watched him, not understanding what the hell had just happened. With a shrug he just told himself it was important and took off for his customary morning nap. Kurt texted Sam to let him know he was at his locker and just about to head to choir room. Kurt grabbed his books for the day and noticed he was already late. He closed his locker and was about to turn around when suddenly he felt something from behind slam into the back of his head. The force the impact slammed his head into his own locker and Kurt fell to his knees seeing stars.

A pair of hands grabbed each of his arms and forced him up. Fighting off his haze he looked and saw Karofsky and Azimio and a bunch of the other football players. Just as Kurt was about to yell at them to let him go Karofsky socked him the gut, silencing the soprano. They all grabbed him and carried his struggling form out of the hallway. Before he knew it he was taken out to the bleachers by the field. When he saw where they were taking him he redoubled his efforts to try and break free only to be punched in the gut once more. With a heave they threw Kurt into the port-a-potty and slammed it shut.

"Let me out!" Kurt screamed as he slammed himself into the door trying to force it open.

The door wouldn't budge and he could hear all of them laughing right out side of it. As they laughed Kurt continued to try and force his way out but he just didn't have the strength. Then the entire thing started to shake and Kurt knew what was going to happen. Over again and again he tried to force the door in his panic but it was no use. The port-a-potty tipped over with a loud bang and a disgusting slush sound. A huge wave of shit and piss washed out from the bottom of the portable toilet covering Kurt from head to toe. The smell was no longer bearable and Kurt immediately threw up.

Kurt tried to force himself onto his hands and knees only to fall face first back into the ungodly mess as the port-a-potty was rolled. The jocks continued to roll it until finally everything stopped and Kurt could hear their laughter once more. They had rolled the port-a-potty leaving the door facing the ground, making Kurt unable to open it.

-Next scene-

Sam had been waiting for a while and Kurt still hadn't showed. He tried to text him but he hadn't gotten an answer. Kurt had said he was right by his locker. It shouldn't be taking so long to get to the choir room from his locker. Sam strung the spare guitar in the choir room until finally he decided to look for his friend. He headed straight for Kurt's locker hoping to find him there only to find a completely empty hallway. Sam was about to give up and call Kurt's cell when he spotted something by the front door.

Walking over he found it was Kurt's bag. Panicking now he grabbed Kurt's bag and ran out into the parking lot heading straight for the dumpster.

"Kurt!' he yelled as he opened it up only to find Kurt wasn't there.

Looking around he didn't see anyone or anything else to let him know where Kurt was. He pulled out his cell dialed Kurt's number, hoping he would answer. It just kept ringing until finally it went to Kurt's voice mail. He hung up and dialed once more walking around, trying to find any trace of his friend.

"Sam!" a voice suddenly called out from the phone.

"Kurt, what happened?"

"I'm trapped… tty… ball field" was all he could hear.

"Kurt you're breaking up! Where are you!" Sam yelled.

"POTTY…FOOTBALL" was all Sam could hear before the call dropped.

Running as fast as he could he bolted straight across the parking lot towards the football field. When he reached it he looked around and saw nobody around. Remembering what Kurt had said he ran over to the port-a-potty section of the field still finding nothing.

"Kurt!" he yelled out looking around.

After a few rounds of yelling out Kurt's name, he noticed the marks on the ground. He looked and noticed finally that instead of the six portable toilets there were only five. With a sinking feeling he followed the markers over the ground and walked around trying to find anything that would at least give him a clue as to where Kurt had been taken. The marks began to turn into puddles that gave off a horrible yet familiar smell, until they lead him underneath the bleachers.

"Kurt!" Sam yelled as he saw the flipped port-a-potty.

-Next scene-

Kurt had answered his cell, forgetting he had it in his panic. Unfortunately it shorted out before he could clearly say what happened. Not really hoping for a rescue he tried to calm down and think of a way out of this. The door was effectively sealed, and no one knew where he was. He was literally knee deep in shit, and he had no way of escaping. In desperation he tried to shake the port-a-potty over but it was just no use.

"Kurt!" he heard someone yell.

Kurt began to bang the side of the portable toilet, to make as much noise as possible. It seemed like forever until he heard someone call out his name. He shouted out to try and get their attention and after what seemed like forever someone had found him, recognizing Sam's voice.

"Kurt! Hold on!"

Kurt by now couldn't even respond and just hoped he would be let out soon. The toilet began to rock once again until Sam put it with the door facing up now.

"They broke the lock!" Sam yelled as he tried to open it.

Kurt tried to push against the door with his back as Sam pulled from the outside. With one big heave the plastic lock gave way. Sam almost gagged at the smell and grabbed Kurt, helping him get out. Collapsing on ground, Kurt vomited until he had nothing left in his stomach.

"Kurt, we got to get you out of here" Sam said as he tried to help his friend.

Kurt just nodded as he forced himself onto his feet unsteadily. Sam took his arm trying to steady him, also to catch him in case he collapsed. The quickly made there way across the field and into the locker rooms. By some miracle no one was there, except Coach Beiste. She was in her office on the phone, looking through some files or something. Quickly sneaking passed her office they made it to the showers. Kurt began to take off all of his clothes, for once not caring that someone else was right next to him. When he couldn't get his sweater off since it seemed stubbornly congealed onto his torso Sam helped him get it off, and then helped take off his shoes and socks. With his help, Kurt was quickly stripped of all of his soiled clothes and stood naked in the empty locker room.

"You need clothes" Sam stated, making Kurt realize Sam had gotten his own soiled in helping him.

"In… my locker" Kurt stuttered out in short breathes. "There's some… spare clothes and toiletries…"

Kurt gave Sam the combination and let Sam guide him into a shower stall all the way in the back. Sam promised he would be back soon and took off at a run, using the hallway entrance to bypass Coach Beiste's office. It was still empty and Sam thanked god for that as he quickly opened Kurt's locker and retrieved the bags of neatly folded clothes and toiletries hidden behind the stack of books. He closed the locker and ran to his own, getting his gym clothes. Sam got back to the locker room, and as he reached the showers he could hear Kurt crying.

He knew the last thing Kurt wanted was to let anyone, even his friend see him cry. Even though Kurt was gay he was still a man. And most men didn't really like showing any weakness in front of anyone, especially other men. Sam decided to give him a sec to compose himself and put the spare clothes in the nearest locker, closest to the showers and closed it loudly to let Kurt know he wasn't alone. Sam took off all of his own clothes, noticing for the first time how soiled he was himself, just from helping Kurt climb out of that portable toilet and helping him get to the showers. He emptied his pockets and threw his clothes in a pile next to Kurt's. Sam then went through Kurt's pockets to see if there was anything there before he threw all of the clothes out. Finding a ruined cell phone and a set of keys.

Forcing himself not to vomit at the horrible smell, Sam quickly bundled all of the clothes up and chucked them in the large garbage in the back of the locker room. He then opened the locker again and took out the bags of toiletries and walked into the showers. Kurt had composed himself as much as he could and was scrubbing at his arms furiously with the generic soap that was always in the shower stall for people who didn't bring there own.

"Here," Sam said as he walked up to Kurt with the bag in hand.

Kurt turned around and took the bag, taking out his own soap and shampoo, nodding in thanks. Sam quickly turned on the shower right next to Kurt's but then returned right back to Kurt's and stepped under the hot spray with him.

"What are you doing?" Kurt whispered, making the first attempt to cover himself.

"Dude, I know this is super embarrassing but this isn't the time for modesty. We got to hurry before the next class comes, since I doubt you want anyone to see either you or me like this."

Knowing he was right Kurt just nodded, not having the strength to argue.

"You do you're front and hair, and I'll do you're back" Sam said and picked up a wash rag and lathered it up.

Kurt grabbed one also and poured his body wash into it and began to scrub the shit that was still stubbornly smeared over his arms, chest and face. Sam tried to be careful since he saw Kurt's back was still bruised from the day before. He apologized when he felt Kurt wince at his scrubbing. But, Kurt just said to keep going, knowing Sam was helping. As Sam went lower Kurt went higher and tried to scrub out his hair, noticing the water run down off his body in a putrid brown color with small pieces of shit that had clung to his hair. By the third repeat the water was clear and he asked Sam to check if there was anything left in his hair to be certain.

"All clear" Sam informed him, stopping his scrubbing to check.

Kurt thanked him and very self-consciously began to scrub at his private area while Sam scrubbed at his buttocks and down his legs.

"The first time I ever take a shower with another man and it's like this!" Kurt thought to himself, ashamed.

Sam noticed Kurt begin to cry once more, trying to force himself not to. On pure instinct Sam wrapped his arms around the smaller mans body and hugged him. This caused Kurt's composure to crumble and he began to sob into Sam's chest. Sam just held him tighter, neither caring that they were both complete nude anymore, or noticing that Sam had started crying too.

"Kurt, I swear I didn't know" Sam wept tightening his hold on the small brunette.

"Of course, I know you didn't" Kurt replied. "You're not like them Sam."

Kurt looked up into Sam's eyes and saw how sad and hallow his eyes looked. Someone as nice as Sam should never feel so horrible. And someone as nice as Sam should never look so haunted. He reached up and caressed Sam's face, wiping a tear away with his thumb. Sam nodded and Kurt reached up on his toes and kissed the blondes cheek.

"Come on it's your turn and we got to hurry" Kurt declared breaking the tender moment between the two friends.

Sam understood and got directly under the hot spray of water and began to scrub himself clean with Kurt helping him just as Sam had done for Kurt before. Thankfully Sam was nowhere near as filthy Kurt was. Kurt gave Sam his own shampoo to use, making a joke about how it was better for color treated hair. Sam laughed and told him he didn't dye his hair. Laughing, Kurt retorted that the carpet didn't completely match the curtains pointing down to Sam's crotch.

"Ok, so I put lemon juice in my hair" Sam laughed out loud.

They both just laughed until they heard someone coming. Kurt quickly pushed Sam away out of the shower in panic and Sam jumped into the empty stall he had left running, wincing at the freezing cold water.

"Who's in here?" Coach Beiste voiced boomed out.

"It's just me coach" Sam answered quickly as he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself.

He looked over at Kurt and they both turned off the water for the showers, with Kurt hiding behind the stall. Sam walked out and met the coach trying to look calm.

"What are doing here and not in class? What's that god awful stench?"

"Sorry coach, I was on my way to class when I suddenly got a bad case of the runs. I guess I shouldn't have eaten that opened bag of cool ranch Doritos I found under my bed this morning."

Thankfully the smell kept her from questioning his story and she told him to hurry up and get to his next class before he was late. Sam just nodded and waited until she was gone before he told Kurt he could come out. Kurt thanked him, and they began to get dressed as fast as they could. Kurt had a pair of dark blue skinny leg jeans and a plain black t-shirt and a pair of white boxer briefs. Sam unfortunately didn't really have as much. All Sam had was a red hoodie and a pair of basketball shorts. Seeing this Kurt quickly told Sam he had some more clothes he could use, even if it was a tight fit.

"Here, try these on" Kurt said, tossing his friend his spare boxer briefs.

Sam dropped his towel, and pulled them on. They were one size too small but it wasn't so bad. Kurt then gave him a white t-shirt and some socks. The socks were ok but once again the shirt was smaller than his normal size.

"Thanks Kurt" Sam said as he pulled on his shorts.

"Anytime" Kurt replied and continued to dress himself.

Kurt pulled out a pair of calf hugging boots and quickly put them on. He took out deodorant and body spray and shared it with Sam. Sam gave Kurt his bag which he had found in the hallway when he was looking for him. The bell rang and the hallway was soon filled with the chorus of feet walking through it. Kurt and Sam hightailed it out of the locker room before anyone walked in. Looking over at Kurt he saw him crossing his arms over his chest defensively and draped his arm protectively over the soprano's shoulder as they walked down the hall together. They got to Kurt's locker and put back the bags Kurt had kept everything in.

"Do you still want to practice?"

"Yeah, uh… let's do it right after lunch. I have to find Rachael and Finn and talk to them to fix some stuff I started with my outburst the other day" Kurt answered.

"I'll come with you" Sam declared.

"You don't have to do that Sam; you've already gone above and beyond."

"I know I don't have to Kurt, but I want to."

"Aren't you going to miss class?"

"Yeah, but that's why it's a good thing I got you to be my tutor" Sam smiled.

Kurt smiled and just gave in.

"Than could you text Rachael for me and ask her to meet us in the library?"

Not needing to be asked twice Sam did so, getting a reply that she was on her way. Kurt and Sam headed over to the library and sat at the study tables. Rachael came in a minute later. As she walked towards them, Kurt asked if Sam could track down Finn and bring him to the choir room. Knowing he wanted to talk to Rachael alone he nodded and went to track down the re-instated quarterback. Sam passed by Rachael giving her smile which she returned.

"Hey Rachael" Kurt said as he got up and from the table.

"Hey Kurt, Sam said you needed to talk."

"Yeah, umm, let's go somewhere more private thought, ok?"

"Sure" she agreed seeing the serious look on his face and followed Kurt out of the library.

They walked down the hallway until they got to the auditorium and Kurt sat down on the stage by the piano with Rachael.

"What's going on Kurt?"

"Well I wanted to talk to you about some stuff, but let's take care of the non-personal stuff first ok?"

"Ok," Rachael agreed.

"Well, I know you're Jewish and I need to ask something" Kurt began before Rachael cut him off.

"Oh Kurt there is no need to be embarrassed. I will be more than happy to share my faith with you. My temple is very progressive so you being gay wont be an issue, I promise. Now that you believe my gay dads and I help you convert…"

"Rachael, Rachael, hold on a sec. Let's back up ok? I am still an atheist and I don't want to convert to anything" Kurt said cutting off her excited tirade. "Now as I was saying, I know you're Jewish and I need some help. You see, Noah is now living with me and my dad."

"Wait… why is Puck living with you?" she asked, clearly confused.

"It's a long story but after the whole juvie incident, his mom kicked him out of the house."

"Oh that's terrible!"

"Yeah I know, but anyway, one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you, is that since you're the only other Jewish person I know I thought you could help me with the whole kosher cooking thing. Right now with my dad still recovering, I got us all on this vegan diet, but once my dad passes his stress test I was planning on easing up on the diet but still keeping everything healthy as possible. My cooking skills are excellent of course but I don't know anything about Jewish cooking or diet, except the whole no pork, and no mixing meat and dairy."

"That's very sweet of you Kurt" Rachael said with smile. "I have a lot of cookbooks on Jewish cooking and even my own family recipes. I'd love to share them with you. It's been along time since I used or worked on my cooking."

"That'd be great Rachael, thank you."

"It's no problem Kurt, although I don't see what the big deal is. You didn't have to bring us here just to ask me that."

"Actually, the reason I brought you here was because I wanted to discuss your problem."

"What problem?" Rachael asked, confused once more.

"Finn" Kurt stated simply.

"Kurt no offence but you wouldn't understand" Rachel said trying to end the conversation.

"Rachael, look I didn't mean to start this fight between you and Finn, and I can't believe I'm getting in the middle of this but, when Finn slept with Santana you were dating Jesse, so Finn never cheated on you."

"Kurt, it's not about that!"

"Then what is it about Rachael, cause I know you can't be mad at Finn for something he did while you weren't even together."

"I can get over him sleeping with Santana Kurt, it's just that…"

Kurt stayed quite, waiting for her to continue.

"It's just, he lied to me about it, and now… now I don't know if I can trust him."

"Then Rachael, why don't you tell him that? Talk to him and confront him about it instead of just fighting with him. I'm sure you can work everything out. You've come too far from last year to just thrown in the towel now. Don't you think so?"

"I guess you're right" Rachael said.

"Of course I'm right" Kurt declared like it should have been obvious from the beginning.

Rachael laughed and gave Kurt a hug. She left in high spirits, probably to look for Finn. Now he needed to talk to Finn and make sure tonight went off without a hitch. He headed for the choir room only to find it empty. Sam hadn't found Finn apparently, which was just as well. He was dreading the confrontation but he knew he had to face Finn head on. He sat himself at the piano and began to play Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata".

As the notes quickly filled the room, he went over the day so far, not understanding so many things. The port-a-potty ride was proof that he was doing the right thing by leaving Lima behind. He was going to make sure his friends would be ok, and then he would be gone, off to NYC. The idea of leaving all his friends and his father was heartbreaking, but then they wouldn't get caught up in all of his battles. Even though it was completely homophobic, Finn had been right. He was painting a bull's-eye on the backs of everyone he cared about and this morning was just the tip of the iceberg.

And then there was Sam. They had just met and had already proven himself to be a great friend. To do what he did was no small feat, and Kurt knew he would always be grateful. However, in the shower when he looked into the blondes eyes there was so much pain there. It was a look he had seen many times in the mirror, and he wondered what exactly had happened to Sam to put that pain there.

Sam said he knew what Kurt was going through, even though he was straight. At the time Kurt had just let it go but now he wondered, what exactly had happened to him to make him so understanding and sympathetic. After all, not even Noah would ever get in a shower stall with him despite how badass he was, no matter what the reason. Sam clearly had no problem or fear with the idea of being nude with Kurt Hummel. The entire thing had not once turned sexual in anyway and Sam thankfully knew without asking he didn't want to tell anyone to know about what had happened. Quinn was truly lucky to have found a man that was truly chivalrous.

All of the feelings of frustration, pain, and humiliation he had felt were now resounding through the room in his music. Trying to calm down Kurt just stopped thinking and concentrated on music and closed his eyes. It was good to just let the world fall away and let himself drown in the music. If it was one thing in this world he knew he would never let him down it was music. It was his mother who had originally taught him how to play the piano and sing, and he had continued to learn long after she had died. As he played the last note he let out a deep breath and let some of the tension inside of him go.

"That was awesome" Sam said from behind him.

Kurt turned and saw Sam standing behind him with Finn standing right behind him, looking like he wanted to be anywhere else.

"Thank you Sam" Kurt said, giving the blonde a smile.

"I'll be outside if you need me" Sam declared.

Kurt gave him a silent nod and waited for the door to close before he turned his attention towards Finn. Finn crossed his arms over his chest, clearly agitated, and Kurt really couldn't care less.

"We need to talk."

"What do you have to say Kurt? You completely humiliated me in front of the whole school and now because of you Rachael won't even talk to me."

"I talked to Rachael for you. I smoothed things over for you, at least to the point where she's willing to let you explain yourself. She isn't so mad that you had sex with Santana; she's more upset that you lied to her about it. Just explain yourself as best you can and you two should be back to making honeymoon eyes at each."

"You… really did that?" Finn asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes," Kurt answered.

"Thanks Kurt" Finn said after another long silence.

"Don't thank me, I didn't do it for you" Kurt informed finally standing up from the piano bench. "I did it because despite the fact that everything I said was true, I shouldn't have said it. Least off all in front of the entire junior class in the cafeteria at lunch time."

"Kurt what is your problem?" Finn yelled.

"Look Finn, we could go on and on in circles about who's at fault here but in the end it's just not worth the aggravation."

"Fine whatever" Finn snapped.

"By now you know I invited you and your mother over for a family dinner tonight. Regardless of our problems, I want your word that while our parents are around, we will at least be civil towards each other. My father is in love with your mother, and I want them to be happy. It was stupid of me to get them together, but in the end because of it they found someone they both love and I'm not going to stand in their way anymore."

"None of this would have happened if you had just left me alone!"

"I know that! I screwed up Finn, I know. Believe me I do. But let me ask you something Finn. Did you ever once wonder why I had such a crush on you?"

Kurt watched as Finn tried to come up with an answer. Finn really was slow when it came to… well Finn was just slow. There was no other way around it.

"I thought… well I thought it was because I was the quarterback and well Quinn and the girls in school thought I was cute."

"Finn, you are so far from reality it really amazes me you can even walk and talk at the same time." Kurt declared.

Finn looked like he was ready to slug Kurt at any moment.

"My crush on you started one day when you and Noah were walking down the hall and Noah pushed me into the lockers. You reprimanded him, and in that single moment, I thought I saw something in you. Something that clearly was just a figment of my imagination. I though you were different from the rest of jocks, but your not."

"That's not true Kurt. I am different." Finn said sadly

"No you're not Finn!" Kurt insisted. "You're just a homophobe like the rest of them. The only difference now, is that I can see it clearly."

"I don't care that you're gay Kurt! And none of this is even my fault! You were the one that was all over me!"

"You're right Finn I was" Kurt admitted. "But even before I ever made a move on you, you made it clear you didn't want me anywhere near you. Remember what you said to me when I tried to ask for your help getting on the football team? Before I even had a chance to ask you what I wanted, you told me you already had a date for the prom, but you were flattered since you knew how important school dances were to teen gays!" Kurt yelled.

Finn just looked down, remembering the encounter all too well.

"So like I said, whatever baggage we have stays between us and away from our parents. I'm going to be stuck with you now that I got our parents together and as long as their happy, I can live with it."

"Kurt, I'm sorry alright. None of this is easy for me."

"Yeah and it's just a walk in the park for me" Kurt said sarcastically. "Everyday I get up and have to come here where I'm constantly harassed and humiliated simply because of what I am. And I don't know where you get off thinking you can tell me who I can be friends with, and going behind my back telling Sam to stay away from me."

"Kurt, I'm just trying to look out for you! I know that whatever we have isn't normal, but I thought we were family. I… I thought we were brothers" Finn admitted sadly.

Kurt just couldn't believe how delusional and skewed Finn's view on things was. He took a deep breath to calm down and ran his hands threw his hair which he found was still slightly damp and in probable bad need of styling.

"Look out for me? How is it looking out for me, when you try to talk to Sam out of doing a duet with me, or telling me to stay away from him?"

"Kurt, I want you to stay away from Sam because I know you're only going to try and mess with him like you did to me. Sam's new here and if you start trying to get him to like you, he's going to freak out and take so much crap that he'll quit glee."

"Too late for that since we spent the morning washing each others naked bodies" Kurt thought to himself.

"Once again your stupidity and homophobia seep to the surface Finn. I'll admit that yes Sam is very attractive, and even I wondered at his sexuality when he first joined the club. But that wasn't why I wanted to sing with him. I didn't ask Sam to be my duet partner to try and get him to go out with me. I asked him to be my duet partner in the end because… because I wanted to try and make a new friend."

"Kurt…"

"No… I don't want to hear it Finn! I'm so sick and tired of this crap and I'm not putting up with it anymore. You have no idea how lonely it is being unable to even talk to another guy because they just automatically assume I just want to get in their pants!" Kurt yelled. "Sam and I are friends now whether you like it or not. And in the extremely short amount of time that we've become friends he's proven himself to be more honorable, chivalrous, and brave than any other guy I know, including you."

"Kurt, I'm sorry" Finn stated looking remorseful, like a small child being chastised by its mother. "I was just trying to look out for you."

"No you weren't!" Kurt snapped, wanting to just slap the Finn in the face. "If you really cared about me, you wouldn't have let Karofsky and Azimio beat the crap out of me the other day!"

"I didn't…"

"Yes. You. Did. I saw you in the hallway. You were right behind Karofsky and Azimio cowering behind your locker. You saw them heading for Artie and you didn't do anything to stop them. You saw them attacking me and you just watched as they tried to beat me up."

Finn couldn't say anything. There was nothing he could say.

"Artie is one of us and I actually put myself on out there for him. And when they picked on Tina I stood up for her too. I know I can't beat them, I know their stronger then me but I still stood up for them. Instead of even sticking up for me or even Artie after you helped him get on the football team you still just stood there and did nothing, while they did this to me" Kurt said and lifted his t-shirt up showing the bruises that littered his torso.

Finn paled at the damage that was done. Kurt's abs were now a solid black from the blows he had taken today and his sides were now a mixture of bruising colors that were still healing from Wednesday mornings fight. Kurt put his shirt back down and tried to calm himself down but he just didn't care anymore.

"You actually have the gall to stand there and tell me you think of me as a brother? You have some twisted ideas of what family is. I remember when we were spending time together and you were telling me all about your father and how he died a hero in desert storm. Looking at you now, I don't understand how that man is your father. That man fought and gave his life to save this world, and you. He died so you could have a better life. And I don't mean having a house and money or any of that because in life none of those things really matter. With his last act in this world he showed you a better way of living your life Finn! That you're not supposed to give up! You don't just let things happen! You make a stand! You say 'no'! You fight for what you know is right when everyone else just runsaway!"

"I'M NOT A SOLDIER!" Finn screamed.

"IT'S NOT ABOUT THAT!" Kurt screamed right back.

Sam ran into the room at this point, having heard most of their conversation because of their yelling. Sam stepped in between the two, and pulled Kurt back, not wanting this to escalate. Kurt just nodded letting Sam no it was alright. Sam stepped aside and stood behind Kurt, refusing to leave the room again.

"I'm not a soldier either Finn, but I still managed to stand up for myself and my friends. I stood up for Artie, Tina, and even you when Karofsky and Azimio were hassling you and they told you to slushy one of us. I slushied myself for you and I asked you to think if they would have done the same for you. You can cower and hide all you want Finn but I'm not going to."

"Why? Cause you think you're better?" Finn asked.

"No you lummox, I didn't mean that! It's because I don't have a choice. Your father is a hero because he made the choice to fight. I never got the chance to make that choice since even before I came out; I've been bullied, humiliated, and ridiculed. But regardless of how much they put me through I refuse to let them take away my dignity."

Kurt was so fed up with this. Finn had his head too far up his own ass to even see just how wrong he was.

"All you ever do is cave in and let those guys tell you what to do even as they laugh at you and all of your friends. You're nothing but a coward Finn Hudson. I'm glad your father isn't here to see what a pathetic, worthless, coward his son grew up to be."

WHAM!

Finn's fist slammed into Kurt's face knocking Kurt down to the floor. Sam rushed forward and knelt down beside Kurt, checking to see if he was ok. Kurt just said he was fine and let Sam help him up. Finn seemed frozen, shocked at what he had done.

"Kurt… I'm"

"No, just don't Finn. I don't want to hear it anymore. This ends now. After we leave this room it's over Finn. I just want your word that you'll leave your mother and my father alone."

"If you don't want anything to do with me anymore, than why are you trying to get our parents back together?"

Kurt just stayed quite, not really wanting to give him the truth. In the end he decided to give him only part of it.

"Remember last year when I sang 'A House is Not a Home'?"

Finn just nodded, letting Kurt explain.

"Well, it's true Finn. A house is not a home, a chair still a chair. And for me a dresser is just a dresser" Kurt said, his voice begging to tremble. "When you and your mother moved in, everything changed. The broken dresser that once belong to my mom, is gone now Finn. My dad threw it out and now your mother's dresser is there instead. All the pictures that had my mother in it are now stored away in some closet except for the few I have in an album stashed away in my room. That house, stopped feeling like home to me soon after."

"That's another reason why I'm leaving" Kurt said to himself.

"But you know, in the end, I stopped moping about it, when I saw how my dad looked at your mom. The only time I ever saw him look so happy was before my mother died. It's like something just magically woke him up one day and there was life in his eyes again. And despite the fact that I still don't feel at home anymore, I love my dad more than anything. And after everything he's sacrificed for me, I have no problem sacrificing just as much for him to be happy. I like your mom Finn. She's a good woman and she deserves to be happy too, and she's just as lonely."

"And I need her to take care of my dad!"

No one said anything for a while, as Kurt's partial confession had rather left both the other men speechless.

"So I want your word that all this drama ends. I leave you alone and you do the same. And when our parents are around we act civilly towards one another and play nice."

"Alright, if that's what you want Kurt." Finn agreed, looking sadder by the minute.

"None of this is about what I want Finn. If it was up to me, I'd find someway to just have your mother without having to bring you along for the ride but I can't. And my dad likes you, so having you around will be easy for him already."

"I wasn't lying Kurt."

Kurt just looked at him, not comprehending what the jock was talking about.

"When I said I liked you. I wasn't lying" Finn explained.

"Well… that's nice, but it didn't do me much good now did it?"

With that Kurt grabbed his bag and calmly walked out; Sam following with one last look towards Finn. Sam caught up to Kurt and followed him to the auditorium. Sam sat down with Kurt at the edge of the stage and both just stayed quite until Sam broke the silence.

"Kurt, I know I don't know the full story, but what you just said to Finn was like real wrong man."

"Yeah I know, but I had to say it. Finn needs to grow up, and that's not going to happen if I just let him get away with everything."

"Especially if I'm going to leave him with my father"

"What's really going on with you guys?"

"It's a long story" Kurt stated but not elaborating.

"Well, we still got half the day before school is up. How about we skip it and go get something to eat and come back in time for glee."

Sam's stomach seemed to agree as it made a loud growling noise, making Kurt laugh. Kurt agreed and they both took off towards a café Kurt knew was nearby. The place was nice and comfortable. It had one section with small tables and chairs in the front, and in the back there was a section with couches and big over stuffed loveseats. They were arranged so they were all around small coffee tables. As soon as they walked in they were given menus and were asked were they would like to be seated. Kurt said the back since he wanted to be as comfortable as possible. They were shown to a big brown couch and then left to look over the menu. It was in the middle of the so thankfully there was barely anyone in the café.

When the waiter came back and asked if they were ready Sam ordered the lunch special which was two grilled cheese sandwiches and a bowl of tomato soup, and for a drink he asked for some hot chocolate. Kurt ordered the same, except he ordered a double espresso for a drink. Kurt needed some energy since the days events, from his port-a-potty ride, the shower with Sam, and the whole thing with Finn had just taken everything out of him. Plus his throbbing head from Finn's punch wasn't helping much either.

"So, how about you tell me what that was all about?" Sam asked.

"Like I said it's a long story and it's rather embarrassing."

"Kurt, this morning we were both naked together, washing shit off each others bodies. I don't think it could get any more embarrassing" Sam retorted.

Kurt couldn't help but blush at the recent event which made Sam chuckle. Conceding the point Kurt began to tell Sam everything that had happened the year before. Starting with how Finn had been one of the bullies to toss him in the dumpster and how he would just cave in to peer pressure. How he had first fallen for Finn, how Finn was tricked into believing he was the father of Quinn's baby. Finn's reactions to him and his growing homophobia, and his growing loneliness. How he tried to sabotage Finn's relationships and how he had gotten their parents together in a plot to try and grow closer to the quarterback.

He only stopped when the food arrived and they both dug in with gusto. Neither of them realized how hungry they were until the smell of the food hit them. Sam tore into his sandwiches making quick work of them and the soup. Kurt, ever mindful of his manners still ate at a much more sedated pace, savoring the delicious meal. He continued to tell Sam the full story, from his tricking Rachael into dressing like slut to get Finn's attention to Finn finally moving in with him. By the time it was over Kurt felt a little better at getting it all of his shoulders. Sam had listened quietly through the whole story, never saying word, just letting his friend vent.

"Kurt, from the way it sounds, the both of you are pretty screwed up" Sam finally chimed in.

"I know" Kurt admitted.

"What you did was really screwed up, but Finn was just as wrong. It sounds like he knew the whole time how you felt but instead of just confronting you about it he choose to just ignore you which made things worse. If he had confronted you earlier on it none or most of that would have happened."

"Maybe," Kurt replied, taking another shot of espresso.

"But, what I don't get is why you went off on him like that. I know you had good reason, but you were really mean Kurt. Finn looked like he was about cry, and even I can't blame him for slugging you after what you said about his dad."

"I know I went too far, but it's the only way you can get through Finn's thick skull most of the time. I know I screwed up bad, and I admit it and I'm really sorry, but according to Finn everything is my fault only. And now he keeps trying to tell me who to be friends with. When I asked him about Noah being in juvie he actually accused me of asking because I wanted to try and get with him. And then he tells me he was trying to look out for me."

"Kurt, I know you're saying you're angry with him, and yes you have a right to be. But to tell you the truth, looking back on that whole conversation, it sounds more like your trying to help him. I'm not that smart Kurt but even I can see that" Sam told his new friend.

Not wanting to talk about it anymore, Kurt decided to try and get to know his new friend better. He found out that Sam had never gone to a public school before. Instead he was sent to private all boys Catholic schools, until he reached high school. Despite his dyslexia he managed to just barely test into an elite all boys' prep school called Excelsior. Kurt found that Sam was actually Irish, and his family was all strict Catholics and how he actually had some family still in Ireland. He wouldn't elaborate much more than that though except that he didn't live with his mother and father anymore. They were still down in Iowa and he was now living with his uncle who was actually a major in the army. Seeing how uncomfortable Sam was getting he steered the conversation away from less personal things.

Sam loved comic books and his favorite superhero was Batman. He had fallen in love with comics when he was eight and had never stopped loving them. He also loved science fiction and Kurt laughed when he started talking in 'na'vi'. Not only that but he also loved Star Trek and Star Wars. Once again Kurt laughed when he admitted to speaking some klingon and being able to recite the klingon drinking song perfectly. Sam also loved football and a lot of sports like basketball, baseball, and wrestling. But Kurt was also surprised to find out he and Sam were both health food nuts, though for different reasons. Kurt ate healthy foods simply because it was healthy and most foods today were overly processed and non-organic. Sam ate healthy because he wanted to stay in shape for sports and he also loved to work out and usually adhered to a very strict diet. Sam actually admitted to feeling guilty sometimes for cheating and eating junk food, which sometimes made him feel like he was getting fat which made Kurt laugh all the more.

"How do you feel fat? I've seen every last inch of you, no pun intended, and you have like zero body fat."

Sam blushed deeply, but had a big smile on his face at the compliment. They continued talking with Kurt revealing more about himself to the blonde. Telling him he was German and that his family on his father's side actually came to America around the time of his great grandfather, before the war started. He spoke the German language fluently along with several others, which included French, Italian, and Spanish. Kurt also told him some about his mother. How she taught him how to play the piano originally before she died and as well as how to sing. She had also taught him how to sew and cook. From his dad he learned cars which were a secret passion of his. His father had always dreamed about building a hot rod from scratch along with Kurt, but never got around to it as his mother got sick from breast cancer and all the money he had saved for the project was used to pay her medical bills.

They continued to talk and spread out on the couches and relaxed, with the waiter bring them new drinks now and again, although Kurt switched from espresso to hot tea since he was already starting to feel the espresso run through him and he didn't need to go hyper from all the caffeine. Kurt and Sam were deeply enjoying each others company and were both very sad they had to go back to school. Sam asked if he could start being tutored this weekend and Kurt said he'd love to. He couldn't do it in the morning since he and Noah had to get him a new bed and he also planned to fix up his truck first thing before heading to Ikea. Sam said he didn't have any plans for the weekend since Quinn was going to be busy with her mom helping out at her church and his uncle was currently away on an assignment.

They decided that Sam could come over Saturday afternoon and they could just hang out and relax and sleep over. On Sunday they would start tutoring bright and early and cover all the stuff Sam was having trouble on right after breakfast. Needing to head back for to school, they both paid the bill and headed back just in time for glee. The two of them walked in together with everyone else already there.

"Kurt! What happened?" Mercedes said immediately as she saw Kurt come in with a black eye.

"Oh just an accident," Kurt quickly stated, noticing Finn look very guilty as he held Rachael's hand. "I tried to practice this triple axel flip combo and landed right on my face."

Kurt sat down next to his friend and let her fuss over him. Mercedes really was great friend to have.

"Ok," Mr. Shue said, "Does anyone have a song for their assignment?"

"Mr. Shue" Sam replied with a raise of his hand.

"You got something for us Sam?"

"Well actually" Sam began with a look towards Kurt who gave him a nod. "Kurt and I kind of prepared something for the group."

"We dissolved our duet partnership due some creative sensitivities" Kurt said, not looking in Finn's direction. "However we have resolved our issues and have made a musical selection we are both satisfied with. So if we may, Sam and I would like to give it a shot."

"By all means" Mr. Shuester said and gave them floor.

Sam went to grab the guitar and everyone watched as Kurt got up and excused Brad from the piano. Sam looked over at Kurt making sure he was ready and with a smile Kurt and Sam began to play accompanied by the rest of the choir band.

Sam:

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there's a time to change, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey

Kurt:

But tell me, did you sail across the sun?
Did you make it to the Milky Way
To see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated?

Both:

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star?
One without a permanent scar
And then you missed me
While you were looking for yourself out there?

Kurt and Sam voices actually blended well together as they sang, and soon the entire room was looking at them in surprise. Kurt and Sam had chosen this song since this was the best one they could find that satisfied their different tastes in music and because Kurt could very easily make this voice match Sam's and the vocal range on the songs music sheet.

Sam:

Now that she's back from that soul vacation
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey
She checks out Mozart while she does Tae-Bo
Reminds me that there's room to grow, hey

Kurt:

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
I'm afraid that she might think of me as
Plain ol' Jane told a story about a man
Who was too afraid to fly so he never did land

Both:

But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet?
Did you finally get the chance
To dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky Way?

Sam:

And tell me, did Venus blow your mind?
Was it everything you wanted to find?
And then you missed me
While you were looking for yourself out there

At this point Quinn almost laughed as Sam looked up at her, understanding the reference to their encounter in the science class room.

Sam:
Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you
Even when I know you're wrong?

Kurt:

Can you imagine no first dance, freeze-dried romance
Five-hour phone conversation
The best soy latte that you ever had, and me?

Sam:

But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet?
Did you finally get the chance
To dance along the light of day
And head back toward the Milky Way?

Kurt:

But tell me, did you sail across the sun?
Did you make it to the Milky Way
To see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated?

Both:

And tell me, did you fall for a shooting star?
One without a permanent scar
And then you missed me
While you were looking for yourself?

And did you finally get the chance
To dance along the light of day?
And did you fall for a shooting star?
Fall for a shooting star?
And now you're lonely looking for yourself out there

As soon as the song finished the glee club gave them a huge applause. Sam gave Kurt a high five and a big hug which the small soprano returned.

"Now that was amazing!" Mr. Schue declared clapping them both on the shoulder.

"Why didn't you guys do that duet for the contest? That would have been hard to beat" Artie asked.

They both looked at each other before Kurt finally said:

"We just couldn't find a good song that we could both agree on, since Sam never saw 'Singing in the Rain'" Kurt joked.

"Well maybe next time we can do a song from Repo, now that I've seen that" Sam replied also laughing.

Everyone just laughed except Finn who still hadn't said a word but had clapped for the new two friends. Rachael had noticed Finn's solemn mood since the two walked in and was wondering what was wrong. The rest of glee hadn't noticed as they were still showering the duo with praise. Sam and Kurt sat back down in their seats and Quinn gave Sam a kiss while Kurt received big hug from Mercedes. Mr. Shue then asked if anyone else had a song or their assignment. Kurt looked over and saw Brittany walk forward.

"I have a song Mr. Shue."

He gave Brittany the floor and she stood in front of Artie looking very nervous and sad.

Should have left you standing right where you stood
Should have let you go, should have had the sense to know
Like a train you'd come, and I'd lose my place
Now I'm on this trip, I took a fall from grace

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
From the look of love, from the eyes of pride
Nowhere to go, no place to run
From the look of love, now I've come undone

By now everyone knew what had happened between the blonde and their friend in the wheel chair. Santana had pretty much made sure of that in her typical fashion. What they didn't know was how deeply her time with Artie had affected her. It really shouldn't have been so surprising considering that Artie was a really good guy. Not to mention that most of Brittany's past experiences in romance were with people who just wanted sex from her. Kurt really wasn't surprised the blonde fell for him, since Artie just wasn't the type of guy to use her and then cast her aside like tramp.

I've had a map laid out from the day I was born
But the roads are blocked, and the paper is worn
And all the books I've read, and the things I know
Never taught me to laugh, never taught to let go

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
From the look of love, from the eyes of pride
Nowhere to go, no place to run
From the look of love, now I've come undone

Artie never took his eyes off the cheerio who had broken his heart as she sang. He really didn't know what to do. She had used him and stolen his virginity, something he always dreamt about giving to someone he loved. He thought that person would be Tina but before he even knew it she had dumped him for another guy. She told him he was a bad boyfriend and yes while he could have done things better this summer, she was just as guilty as he was. Whenever he tried doing anything with her she was preoccupied with her own things and then she took off for Asian camp and never heard back from her all summer. Now, Brittany said she liked him and he didn't know if he could trust her or not.

My conscience is clear I know right from wrong
That's a lie I know nothing except that you're gone
But there's more to learn from the look in your eyes
That trip round this world, the stars in the sky

Now all the books I've read, and the things I know
Never taught me to live, never taught me to let go

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
From the look of love, from the eyes of pride
Nowhere to go, no place to run
From the look of love, now I've come undone

Brittany was singing her heart, hoping Artie would give her another chance. She felt so guilty for what she had done, and even though everyone thought she was stupid, she was smart enough to know Artie hadn't deserved what he got. She really liked him, and like Kurt he didn't make fun of her, which made her feel real special.

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
From the look of love, Lord knows I've tried
Nowhere to go, no place to run
From the look of love, now I've come undone

[Nowhere to hide]
[No place to run]
[Nowhere to hide]
[No place to run]

Everyone clapped for the blonde that is except Santana, and surprisingly Tina. Artie didn't clap, but instead looked like there was a war going on inside his head. Brittany just stood there looking at him looking just as sad as before.

"Brittany, where have you been hiding that voice?" Mr. Shue asked, as the clapping died down. "I've never heard you sing like that before."

"I asked Kurt for help and he coached me" Brittany answered, still staring at Artie.

Everyone looked over at Kurt but he ignored their questioning looks as he was more interested in what was going on with the Brittany and Artie.

"Artie, I'm so sorry. I didn't know how important sex was for you. But I really like you a lot. Will you have dinner with me at 'BreadstiX' tonight?"

Artie pushed his wheel forward directly in front of Brittany.

"I'll pick you up at seven" he said and held his hand out.

Brittany smiled and took his hand and let him guide her down to his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her huge kiss. All the guys in room stood up and cheered, and Kurt even let out a whistle which got everyone laughing. The girls looked like they were about to cry from all the romance and Mercedes actually did, wiping a few tears away. Santana just sat there in her seat glaring at the couple. Tina looked at her ex-boyfriend kissing the cheerleader and looked like she was watching the twilight zone. Thankfully Santana didn't start anything, and Kurt wondered why Tina seemed so uncomfortable considering she was the one who dumped Artie. But what really started to bother Kurt was the looks Noah kept throwing his way. It looked like the halfback wanted to say something to him but what that was would be anyone's guess.

After glee was dismissed Brittany gave Kurt a big hug and a small kiss and thanked him. Artie thanked him also for helping Brittany. Kurt told him it was his pleasure to help his friends find love which got him a laugh. Sam came over and gave Artie a high five along with Noah. Mercedes asked about how Kurt had helped her out and coached her which Kurt didn't really like. Mercedes just wasn't gong to let the whole thing with the portfolio go and Kurt just didn't want to deal with it. Oblivious to Kurt's growing discomfort Brittany told them about how Kurt had coached her the night before and helped her pick a song. Artie and Mercedes were looking at him, knowing he had used some of the stuff he had written down for Brittany's vocals in his book from what Brittany had explained.

Not wanting to get too drawn in, Kurt said he had to go. Sam gave him hug goodbye, along with Mercedes, who told him she would talk to him later. Kurt just told her to call him, suddenly remembering his phone was ruined and he needed to get a new one. Noah and Kurt left and Kurt told him to drive to the grocery store since he needed to get some things for dinner before they got home. Without a word Noah drove them to the store, while still giving him a strange look. It wasn't until Kurt and Noah where walking down the aisle that he finally said anything.

"Did Karofsky and Azimio do that?" he said while pointing to his now slightly swollen eye.

"No they didn't" Kurt answered as he picked up some green bell peppers.

"I know what they did to you. The whole team was laughing about it at lunch time."

Kurt just stood there, not wanting to relieve the nightmare he went through this morning.

"I went looking for you and found the crap shack under the bleachers but you were gone."

"They grabbed me while I was on my way to meet Sam. When I never showed up, Sam managed to track me down after he found my bag and stuff thrown on the floor near the door to the parking lot. When he found me I was still trapped inside and he managed to set me free. I showered off and put on my spare clothes. Not wanting to deal with the rest of the day Sam and I ditched the rest of the school day and just came back for glee. So that's pretty much it so let's just move on."

Continuing with his task Kurt just ignored Noah as he pilled in more things he needed for home.

"You want me to beat shit out of them?"

"No, don't!" Kurt replied furiously. ""Noah, I really appreciate the thought, don't think I don't, but you can't afford to get into any trouble right now, and Karofsky and Azimio aren't worth it. And no offence Noah, but as badass as you think you are, we both know you can't take on the entire football team in fist fight."

"Hey, last time I checked revenge, fear, and the merciless infliction of pain is my territory."

"Noah, that's very wrong, yet sweet of you. But, if we started to mess with them things will get a lot worse. If you beat them up they'll just attack you and me regardless. Things for you are going to get bad enough when everyone finds out you are living with the flaming faggot of WMHS. There is no point of inviting more attention to ourselves."

"Since when do you care what people think. And I'm a stud. I go to school in drag and I'd still be badass."

Kurt laughed at his friend's bravado, knowing full well he would probably get his ass kicked if he went to school in drag.

"I'll tell you want then. Say the word and I'll dress you up like Marilyn Monroe myself and we'll see just how badass everyone else thinks you are."

Noah just snorted, insisting how badass he was. Kurt just finished up with groceries and paid for everything. He had thankfully found everything he needed for his Spicy Grilled Eggplant and pasta recipe, along with the other things he needed. The ride home was thankfully short, which meant Kurt would have more time to fix dinner. Burt was on the phone when they walked in, by the looks of it talking to Carole. Kurt hoped Finn hadn't gotten home and started more drama. He had enough of it already, today especially. Kurt went into the kitchen to put everything away and get dinner started, leaving Noah in living room with his dad.

"Kurt," his father called out as he hung up.

"Yeah dad" Kurt answered as he continued with dinner.

"I just got off the phone with Carole. Finn is bringing…"

Kurt looked up and saw his dad looking at him, or more importantly his eye. It had swollen up more since the afternoon since Kurt hadn't done anything to it. Burt took one look at it and demanded to know what had happened. Kurt quickly told him same lie about the flip as he done to Mercedes. Kurt by now was used to hiding things from everyone that it was pretty much second nature. This however didn't mean Burt was an idiot. He knew his son enough by now to know Kurt hid things, even if he didn't know what they were. His son could be as stubborn as a mule, something he inherited from both his parents. Burt accepted Kurt's story although Kurt knew he was still suspicious. His father told him Finn had invited his girlfriend along and asked if that was ok. Kurt said it wouldn't be a problem since he always made more than enough since he knew his dad had a hearty appetite, and so far it was the same for Finn, not to mention Noah from what he could see. He wondered if that was a trait all hetero men had.

Burt went upstairs to shower and change since he was still in nothing but his pajamas and bathrobe. Noah stuck around with Kurt in the kitchen and actually grabbed a spare dish towel and put some ice cubes from the freezer it and gave it to Kurt. It was surprising to see Noah doing anything considerate, let alone for him. He looked up at Noah and saw a strange look on his face, one that he would call guilt if it wasn't Noah Puckerman standing before him. Kurt thanked him but told him he needed both hands if he was going to finish dinner at a respectable time.

They talked for awhile as they were left alone in the kitchen. As Kurt continued to cook, Noah started to tell him stories about the sexual escapades he had gotten himself into. Kurt just rolled his eyes at the self proclaimed sex shark. He talked about how his pool cleaning business had opened his eyes to the M.I.L.F. population in Lima and how much fun they were compared to High school chicks. Kurt told him he thought it was actually rather pathetic that he was so bad with women his own age that he had to go for desperate housewives. This of coarse got Noah started on how he wasn't pathetic but was actually so hot that everyone of course wanted a ride on Puckasuarus. At this Kurt just made gagging noises pretending to vomit as Noah bragged about what a stud he was.

The both of them just laughed at each other, marveling at how easy it was to talk to Kurt. He was by far better at keeping up at conversation than Finn was, and how bold Kurt could really be. When he and Finn were always hanging out Finn really was a push over, but Kurt just didn't seem like he was willing to let Noah get away with anything. It really was too bad Kurt wasn't a regular guy, although he didn't really care that the soprano was gay. It was more like he wanted to see just how much trouble the two could cause, seeing as how Kurt would be way better at picking up chicks than Finn, or even most of the guys in school. He just had this confidence that matched his own, and if Kurt had been born straight they could both be knee deep in pussy like porn stars.

The two continued talking, but curved their conversation to safer venues as Burt came back down the stairs and went to the living room to watch some TV. In no time it seemed like the bell rang indicating the arrival of the Hudson's. Kurt watched as his father sprung up and went to open the door. Immediately his arms were full of Carole as they embraced and kissed each other sweetly. Kurt looked away, he was glad his dad was happy, but like any teenager, the sight of his parents doing anything even remotely sexual just grossed him out. Finn and Rachel walked in right behind them, with Rachael holding up a plate of what looked like cookies.

"Hello Mr. Hummel," Rachael greeted him warmly. "Thank you very much for inviting me to your family dinner."

"You're quite welcome" Burt told her.

"Oh, Kurt told me you were still on a diet, so I took the liberty baked some of my special kosher low fat cookies. Their made with fresh soy milk and all organic ingredients."

"Uh…"

"Thanks Rachael, just bring them in here" Kurt called out from the kitchen which made everyone look over.

Rachael's smile widen as she saw Kurt standing behind the kitchen counter fixing up what smelled like a heavenly meal with Noah sitting on a stool on the other side. Finn looked over seeing Puck also and couldn't understand what on earth he was doing here.

"What are you doing here?" Finn asked looking at Puck like he was some intruder.

"Finn!" Carole admonished her son for his rudeness, already obviously having heard from Burt that Noah was staying with them.

"Noah is living here with us for the time being" Kurt answered simply.

"Why?"

"Finn, Puck's mom kicked him out so Kurt and Mr. Hummel were nice enough to take him in" Rachael explained.

"You knew!" Finn exclaimed.

"Kurt just told me this afternoon since he wanted to ask me some advice on Jewish cooking so he can cook acceptable food for Puck."

"Finn" Kurt stated simply, causing the quarterback to look back towards Kurt.

Kurt just looked at him blankly, which caused Finn to close his mouth.

"Rachael, Carole, why don't you take the men to the living room and relax. Dinner will be ready shortly and in the mean time you can relax and I'll send Noah out with some drinks. Rachael, thank you for the cookies. They will be perfect to serve along side the desert I made."

"Oh, honey let me help you" Carole said.

"Now don't worry about it. I'm almost done and I'm sure dad would appreciate your company" told her with smile.

The four of them took themselves to the living room while Kurt got out a tray and some glasses. He filled them all with some fresh iced tea he had made himself and told Noah to take them to the living room.

"Do I look like a waiter?"

"No, you look like a guy who's going to get smacked upside the head if he doesn't give me a hand" Kurt glared as he pushed the tray over to the jock.

Noah grabbed the tray mumbling 'whatever' and took it out to the living room coming right back, despite Kurt having put a glass for Noah so he could join the rest of them in the living room. Kurt soon had everything finished and set the table, calling them all to the table. Burt sat at the head of the table with Carole taking the seat on his right and Finn. Kurt sat on the other end of the rectangular table opposite his father which left Noah sitting on his left and Rachael to his right. Kurt began the family meal by serving them each a bowl of vegan carrot soup with whole grain croutons.

"Oh Kurt this is wonderful" Rachael declared as she tasted it.

"Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy it. It was so difficult to make since it's so hard to find saffron in this town."

"Tell me about it. You have to really drive out of the way just find something organic. My dads and I always have to buy in bulk whenever we do our grocery shopping."

The meal continued peacefully for the most part, although Kurt kept catching Finn throwing dirty looks at Noah. That is until Carole asked about his black eye. Kurt just said the same thing as before and Finn just kept his eye on his food. Noah and Burt started discussing the football season and what teams looked good this year. Kurt was glad that they were hitting it off so far. Rachael and Kurt were discussing their cooking, inviting Carole into the conversation as she was always the one doing the cooking at home for herself and Finn. Finn it seemed was almost as bad as Kurt's father in the kitchen, although Burt at least knew better by now than to dry his shoes with a George Forman grill.

The main course was served and once again Rachael was delighted with the food. The spiced eggplant and wholegrain pasta was served along with some whole grain biscuits that Kurt had made from scratch. Kurt was happy everyone was enjoying themselves, except Finn who only seemed to talk when he was talked to directly.

"So Kurt, how did you and Sam come up with that amazing duet?" Rachael asked.

"We just found a sound that was pleasing to both of us" Kurt answered.

"It's too bad you didn't partner with him for the contest. You might have won if you sang with him like that."

"Well I'm actually glad I didn't. Winning would have been nice but if I had sung with Sam he and Quinn might not have fallen for each other which is more important" Kurt said honestly.

Sam really was a nice guy and after bonding with both Mercedes and Quinn last year, he knew she deserved a good man.

"That's true" Rachael agreed.

"Oh, speaking of which, dad, I invited Sam to sleep over Saturday, is that ok?"

"Why is Sam sleeping over here?" Finn asked clearly annoyed, which made Rachael turn to look at him.

"Sam has a bad case of dyslexia, if you remember correctly. Because of it his grades are suffering and if his grades fall any lower he will no longer be eligible to play on the football team. So I offered Sam my services as a tutor. My GPA is nearly perfect so I can safely say I can probably break down the material better for him. Saturday night we're going to just relax and have a guy's night in and Sunday we'll be spending most of the day going over the material he needs the most help in and so forth."

"That's very thoughtful of you Kurt" Carole told him with a big smile.

"Well, he's my friend and I know he'd do the same for me if the roles were reversed."

"Are you gonna go for a pair of wings next?" Noah asked sarcastically, but with a smile.

"Why? Are you hoping you can hitch a ride on me to heaven?" Kurt asked suggestively with a raised eyebrow.

Finn spit out his food while Noah broke out laughing and Rachael covered her hand with her mouth trying to stifle her own laughter. Carole had a big smile on her face; Kurt's father however really wasn't ready to see his gay son flirt with another man. Even if it was obviously just a joke. Kurt immediately regretted what he had just said as soon as he saw his father's shocked face.

"In your dreams Hummel" Noah said in between laughs.

"In believe we covered that this morning" Kurt said throwing his own sarcasm at the jock.

Noah just threw him a weak glare at the memory of Kurt dumping a cold glass of water down his crotch. The conversation thankfully turned in another direction as Kurt told his dad what had been going on at the garage. Burt was proud his son proved to be so capable of running the place in his absence. While Daniel was good at day to day stuff, Burt had always been the major share holder in the business and ran it to the success it was now. Kurt had been with him the whole time and seemed to have really picked up his father knack for it.

"I'll be heading there tomorrow morning with Noah. There are still some repairs I want to do to the truck and I need to finish some more of the paperwork for the invoices and inventory."

"Well if you need any help just ask."

"Daniel and I got everything under control dad. You are resting until you pass your stress test" Kurt reminded his father.

Carole smiled as she watched the two of them banter back forth. Even though her son and Kurt had some difficulties before, she always liked how sweet Kurt was. He clearly loved his father with all his heart and wasn't afraid to show it in everyway possible and vice versa. When everyone was done with the main course it was time for desert. Kurt asked if Rachael would like to give him hand to which she quickly agreed. A minute later they came back with trays filled with what Noah thought looked like wine cups for those gay drinks you get bars. Only instead of wine inside they had something else inside of them he saw when Kurt put one in front of him.

"What is it?" Noah asked.

"This is a matcha and fruit granola parfait." Kurt declared as he served on to his father, while Rachel served Finn and Carole theirs.

"What's matcha?"

"Well, I was looking for healthy desserts online and I came across a bunch of parfait recipes. But they were either to bland and boring or way to sweet and full of sugar. Finally I just made my own. Matcha is actually Japanese green tea ice cream. I found a recipe to make it yourself by hand and made a huge batch of it for dad. Then I took the ice cream and used it to make this parfait. Instead of the artificially sweetened granola people eat in cereal and health food bars; I got this granola that's purely organic with none of the extra artificial sweeteners. Then for a natural sweetness I added all organic fruits to the parfait, specifically blackberries, blueberries, kiwis, and bananas. The whipped cream on top is actually another recipe I found online. It's made out of soymilk and hand whipped for consistency. For some fun I asked Rachel if I could take a few of her cookies and smash them up and we sprinkled there crumbs on top."

"Kurt this looks amazing" Carole said in awe.

"She's right Kurt, we really have to get together and work on recipes. Maybe we can sell some of these in school to raise some money for the glee club since are budget was slashed so badly."

"While I admit it would be a vast improvement over the prison food we get served in school, I doubt many people our age will actually care about eating healthy. Least of all enough to get enough money for transportation."

Everyone dug in and even Noah couldn't deny it tasted amazing, even if he just admitted it to himself. Rachael was raving about it and begged Kurt for the recipe. Kurt told her he could teach her how to make it but it was in fact two separate recipes. The ice cream itself was one and the whipped cream was another. The fruits and granola you could just buy and mix them in if you found the right store. Even Burt couldn't complain at the dish his son had made, even if healthy food just wasn't his style. Finn once again stayed quite and just poked at the parfait barely even tasting it. Rachael kept glancing over at him, trying to figure out what was wrong.

When everyone was done they all went back to the living room to unwind. Except Kurt who claimed he needed to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Both Rachael and Carole offered their help which Kurt politely declined, insisting he had everything underhand. Kurt then cleaned up and when he was done he excused himself, and went down to his own room. Kurt went into his closet and took off his boots and socks and grabbed one of the ice packs he always kept in his hidden fridge. Pressing it to his eye he lay down on his bed, completely exhausted from the day's drama and events. Before he realized it he dozed off lightly until he felt someone close to him. He opened his eye and saw Finn standing over him.

"Finn, if you came here for a fight, I'd like to remind you we agreed to stop this drama in front of our parents. Which by the way you didn't do a very good job at up there."

"Kurt…"

The soprano just stayed silent for a long time looking up at quarterback from his position on the bed waiting for whatever Finn had to say, knowing he wasn't going to like it.

"Why did you invite Puck to live here?"

"Because no one else cared Finn. No one else was going to help him, and regardless of what he's done, I think he's worth taking a chance on."

"Kurt, you cant live with Puck!"

"I thought I made it clear Finn Hudson, you don't tell me who I can or can't socialize with."

"Kurt, I'm not talking about socia… soci… whatever that is. Puck is a bad guy Kurt. He's just going to use you and hurt you real bad."

Kurt just looked up at Finn, not knowing whether to scoff at his lack of vocabulary or to just flip him off and tell him to fuck off. Instead he just stood up and dropped his ice pack on the bed.

"Finn, what Noah did to you last year was horrible. He was supposed to be your best friend and then he steals your girlfriend's virginity and knocks her up all in one shot. I get it. But after what happened between you and me, I learned that you have to see all of a person. Especially if you're going to claim to love them. I invited Noah to live here with me and my dad, because I see something in him worth giving a second chance. And yes, he might hurt me, I knew that from the beginning, but he's not the only who can hurt me" Kurt said and pointed to his swollen black eye.

Finn looked guilty at the damage he had done to Kurt's face.

"That was different! And I'm sorry I hit you, Kurt I really am. But Puck is going to do something a lot worse to you."

"Like I said Finn, I'm willing to take that risk! And if he does hurt me, I'm not even going to be around long enough for it to have any long lasting repercussions!" Kurt yelled, suddenly realizing his slip.

"SHIT!" Kurt screamed in his head.

Finn looked even more confused, well more confused than usual. He was saved from Finn about to ask him what he meant as Noah himself called out from the top of the stairs.

-Upstairs-

Noah could feel Finn glaring at him from across the room. He couldn't blame his former friend, after what happened last year he seriously doubted they would ever be friends again. However that isn't to say the glares didn't make him want to go over to the other side of the room and punch his face in until he broke his jaw. The only thing stopping him was Kurt oddly enough. This was his house and he was sure he would get kicked out if he started a fist fight in it. Not to mention Burt Hummel would probably come to Finn's defense, and as badass as he was he wasn't stupid enough to think he could take the man on without taking some serious damage in the process. Plus even with all the stuff he had done Burt was actually being really cool to him since he got here.

He would have just gone down stairs with Kurt and started playing his 360 but Kurt obviously wanted to just get away from everyone right now. The dude needed his space which Noah could understand. So he tried to keep talking to Burt, which still felt completely weird. In the end he just stuck to safe stuff like sports, which Burt seemed to be cool with. After another few minutes Finn got up and excused himself, heading off into the kitchen. The guy had no subtly Noah observed. As he watched him go the phone rang, which Burt answered.

"Who is this?" He said to whoever was on the other line. "Yes Artie, Kurt's in his room, let me go get him" Burt informed.

"I'll go get him" Noah said standing up quickly.

He took off only to pause at the top of the stairs listening in on the argument Kurt and Finn were having, peeking over the door frame to watch.

"Why did you invite Puck to live here?"

"Because no one else cared Finn. No one else was going to help him, and regardless of what he's done, I think he's worth taking a chance on."

"Kurt, you cant live with Puck!"

"I thought I made it clear Finn Hudson, you don't tell me who I can or can't socialize with."

"Kurt, I'm not talking about socia… soci… whatever that is. Puck is a bad guy Kurt. He's just going to use you and hurt you real bad."

Curiosity was the only thing keeping Noah from storming down the stairs and beating up Finn to a pulp. Along with his shock of at watching Kurt Hummel defend him.

"Finn, what Noah did to you last year was horrible. He was supposed to be your best friend and then he steals your girlfriend's virginity and knocks her up all in one shot. I get it. But after what happened between you and me, I learned that you have to see all of a person. Especially if you're going to claim to love them. I invited Noah to live here with me and my dad, because I see something in him worth giving a second chance. And yes, he might hurt me, I knew that from the beginning, but he's not the only who can hurt me" Kurt said and pointed to his swollen black eye.

"That was different! And I'm sorry I hit you, Kurt I really am. But Puck is going to do something a lot worse to you."

"Finn gave him that black eye?" Noah thought, confused since he thought it was Azimio and Karofsky that hit him.

"Like I said Finn, I'm willing to take that risk! And if he does hurt me, I'm not even going to be around long enough for it to have any long lasting repercussions!" Kurt yelled, suddenly realizing his slip.

"Kurt!" Noah called out from the stairs and walked straight down, glaring at Finn the whole time. "Artie's on the phone upstairs."

Noah watched as Kurt looked at him, obviously wondering how much of he had heard. Although his glaring at Finn made it obvious he had heard at least most of it.

"Your dads waiting" Noah said.

"Fine, but I don't want either of you starting anything in this house" The brunette said looking at both of them.

Kurt took off upstairs, leaving them alone against his obviously better judgment. Finn and Noah just glared at each other, the animosity making them look like rabid starving dogs fighting over a bone.

"I'm not gonna let you hurt Kurt, or my family!"

"From what I just heard, you're the one who's hurting him" Noah bit back, taking a menacing step forward into Finn's personal space.

"You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Since when do you ever know what you're talking about?" Noah laughed, mocking Fin's low intelligence. "Kurt's done more for me in three days than you ever have. And you're wrong if you think I'm going to let you wail on him. I don't roll that way!"

"No, by the way you roll; you're probably just going to get him drunk on wine coolers and take his virginity. Do you feel bad you can't knock him up too?"

With that the gauntlet was thrown.

-upstairs again-

"Artie" Kurt asked as he picked up the phone.

"Yeah, it's me. I just got back from my date with Brittany."

"That's great Artie; I hope you guys had fun."

"Yeah it was great, but… well I was hoping… could we talk?"

"Artie… well you kind of got me at really bad time right now."

"I'm sorry Kurt, I tried to call earlier but your phone just keeps saying unavailable."

"Yeah, I have to get a new phone tomorrow. I accidentally dropped mine in the toilet at school this morning" Kurt lied.

"Well, I was hoping we could talk in person anyway, would it be cool if I come over tomorrow?"

"Well, I don't know, I got stuff to do in the morning with Noah, but Sam is coming in the afternoon and he's spending the night here with us. We're kind of having a guy's night in, and Sam needs help with a bunch of school stuff so he's going to stay until late Sunday. If you want I can ask my dad if you can join us."

"Sure that'd be awesome" Artie answered.

"My dad says it's cool. So do you want us to pick you up or do you want me to just you directions to my house."

"Come and pick me up, since my parents will be using the car this weekend."

"Alright then after I get my new phone I'll call you and let you know when were on the way."

With that they said their goodbyes and Kurt took off for his room. Sadly enough he wasn't surprised by what he had found. Finn and Noah were on the ground rolling around on top of each other, taking wild body shots at each other. Thinking quickly he closed the door to muffle the sound of the fight and ran down and yelled at them to stop. Needless to say it was a pointless endeavor. Finn was now on top of Noah and gave Noah a punch to the face making his nose bleed.

"Finn stop! Get off him!" Kurt yelled.

Receiving no response except Finn's cursing at Noah. On instinct Kurt grabbed the nearest thing he could grab, which ended up being the chair for his vanity table, and hit Finn with it with all his strength. The dainty wooden chair smashed to pieces on his back, making Finn lose his grip on Noah as a shockwave of pain surged threw him from the blow making him give a silent scream. As he nearly collapsed on Noah from the blow, the halfback took his chance and drove his knee right into Finn's gut. Any chance of a counter attack was stopped as Kurt kicked him in the ribs, effectively knocking him off Noah.

"Get the fuck off him!" Kurt repeated in rage.

Finn was coughing and gasping on the floor, trying to breath and holding his side where Kurt kicked him. Noah got up and tried to go for more, but was held back by Kurt.

"I have had enough of this! Get up!" Kurt demanded.

Finn took a moment to comply, getting up slowly and wincing at the pain from his back. Kurt looked him over and saw he had no visible damage done and except for his rumpled clothing, along with the pain on his face, looked fine.

"Go up stairs and use the bathroom passed the kitchen to clean yourself up and make yourself look presentable. Then just go back to the living room and pretend like nothing happened. From now on you don't exist to me Finn Hudson. And I swear if you ever come here and disrespect my home again you're going to be in a world of pain."

Looking back and forth between Kurt and Noah, Finn just turned around with a final glare at Noah and trudged up the stairs, hunching over like a troll. When he was gone Kurt dropped to his knees and let a deep breath and closed his eyes. He felt Noah's hand on his shoulder and it was oddly comforting. He opened his eyes and looked at the mess that was now his room. Pieces of wood were everywhere from the broken chair, and most of his books from his shelf were scattered along the floor. Joining them were many bottles of his skin care products along a few broken bottles of perfume. He then looked up at Noah and saw all the blood running down off his nose.

"Let me take a look at that" Kurt said standing up.

"I'm fine" Noah tried shrugging him off.

"You gushing blood all over is not fine Noah" Kurt grabbed him by the elbow and practically dragged him to the bathroom.

Kurt pulled out a stainless steel stool from the corner of the bathroom and brought it over to the sink, pushing Noah to sit on it.

"Jeeze Hummel, you're not my mom or something."

"Stop whining already. Tilt your head back."

Kurt took a wash rag and started to clean Noah's face of all the blood, which was still pouring out.

"It's not broken" Kurt finally declared after examining it. "Just keep your head tilted back and it will stop in a minute or so."

Getting nothing but a grunt in reply Kurt told Noah to stay there until he came back which got him another annoyed grunt. Kurt washed his hands of Noah's blood and went back to his room. He started to pick up all the books and put them up on the shelves. He would rearrange them later. When they were up he then took all the pieces of wood and dumped them in pile by the vanity mirror, resolving to throw them out in the morning. The cosmetics and skin care were easy to put back but the broken bottles he would need a mop and a bin to throw all the broken glass in.

Leaving the glass on the floor he went back to check on Noah who still had blood running out of his nose.

"I told you to keep your head tilted back. You're just going to make it bleed more that way" Kurt snapped in frustration.

"Since when did you become a nurse?" Noah bit back angrily.

"Ever since you and the rest of the jocks started wailing on me and I was forced to learn to treat myself so my dad wouldn't find out how bad I have it outside this house" Kurt snapped as he snatched the bloody rag from Noah's hands.

Kurt ran the towel under the sink with cold water, rinsing it as much as possible and then dousing it again with cold water. He brought it back to Noah's face and cleaned him up once more. He then heard his father's voice calling him from upstairs.

"Here, press the towel to your nose and tilt your head back so the blood flow will stop" Kurt instructed firmly.

He left Noah in the bathroom and went upstairs; hoping Finn hadn't started anything else.

"What's up dad?" Kurt asked as he walked out of the kitchen.

"We have to get going" Carole answered. "We just wanted to say goodbye."

"Where's Puck?" Rachael asked.

"Oh, he's in the shower right now" Kurt answered easily.

"Oh, well tell him we said bye then. And thanks so much for the lovely dinner. I'll bring the cook books on Monday. I can't wait to swap recipes" Rachael said excitedly.

"I'll bring my recipe book Monday and we can look through it over lunch."

Finn had already walked out the door, not even bothering to say good night to Kurt or Burt, which Kurt didn't really care about. As long as he didn't say anything he was fine with it. Carole complimented on the food also, and Kurt said he'd be happy to teach her some of recipes since he still wanted his dad to start taking care of himself, to which Burt said he was able to already.

"Men" Kurt stated with a roll of his eyes, which caused both Rachael and Carole to laugh.

They left and Kurt went back to his room, getting the mop and a plastic bag on the way. He left the mop and bag by the vanity and went back to the bathroom, relieved Noah for once did what he was told. Kurt took the rag from his hands and pulled it away from Noah's face.

"There, see, the bleeding stopped" Kurt said triumphantly.

Once again all he received was an annoyed grunt for his trouble. Kurt rung the towel out once more and began to clean his friend's face of all the blood that had gushed out over it.

"Why didn't you tell me Finn was the one who hit you?"

"It doesn't matter, and I deserved it at the time" Kurt answered as he continued to wipe the blood away.

"You deserved him throwing you into port-a-potty and nearly drowning you in shit!"

"He didn't do that. Azimio and Karofsky did that. Finn and I had a confrontation of our own after Sam rescued me from the portable toilet. I said some things that were out of line and Finn snapped, end of story."

"What did you say that made Finn actually hit you?"

"I said some stuff about his dad being better off dead so he wouldn't have to see what coward his son grew up to be."

Noah just looked at Kurt like he grew a second head.

"So why were you and Finn brawling in my room?" Kurt asked, looking straight into Noah's eyes.

Noah looked away feeling uncomfortable under the smaller man's scrutiny.

"I told you two I didn't want you starting anything in here. I'm trying to get Carole and my father back together. So what happened?" Kurt demanded.

Knowing Kurt wouldn't let it go, he began explaining what happened between his former best friend and what was said.

"Well, I'm sorry to say you kind of made your bed with both Finn and Quinn, speaking metaphorically of course."

"You're actually taking his side?" Noah spat incredulously.

"You know that's not what I mean. Right now Finn has had a bunch of drama dumped in his lap, namely because of me. However, he also has no right in telling me or you what to do with our lives. And if you heard enough from your eavesdropping, you know I told him as much. But, even you can't deny that there's a certain truth to what he said Noah."

"What truth?" Noah yelled, pushing Kurt's hands away from his face.

"Noah, first and foremost, you've purposely built up this 'badass' reputation. So you can't really complain when people just automatically assume the worst about you." Kurt explained. "Secondly, I know you still have feelings for Quinn. I don't need Brittany to know that much. I'm betting she was also part of the reason you snapped and went kamikaze in your mother's car. Isn't it?"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Noah yelled, getting right in Kurt's face.

All Kurt did was look at him with a look of sadness on his face. After a moment of silence Kurt simply put his hand on Noah's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"Noah, I want to tell you something. It's something very personal and I need for you to hear me out. Since the moment I talked to you in juvie, I've been completely honest with you about everything, whether or not you liked it. So please, just let me explain something to you, without you flying of the handle. Alright?"

Noah didn't know why, but there was something in Kurt's eyes that made something inside him ache. The jock crossed his arms over his chest defensively which Kurt decided was at least some progress.

"By now you know I'm still a virgin" Kurt began waiting for some kind of response from the halfback, which he did not get. "The closest I came to losing my virginity was when I tried pretending I was straight and started going out with Brittany."

"Is this going somewhere? How the hell is your sex life or lack of it anything to do with this?" Noah yelled.

Kurt took a steadying breath, hoping he could get through Noah.

"Please, just listen to everything I have to say. I promise you this is important."

Noah just nodded for him to continue, to which Kurt did after another deep breath.

"You asked me how far I went with Brittany before, and the truth is, we got pretty far. I was so jealous of how much time my father was spending with Finn that I thought if I was straight and acted like my father he would spend time with me instead. So I tried dating Brittany, and seeing if I could be with a woman. At first it was just a lot of groping and kissing. I made sure my dad would catch us so he could see how much of a man I really was. Needless to say it didn't work. I got so angry that I just decided to go ahead and just have sex with her to prove to everyone, my dad especially, that I was straight. I…"

Kurt had never told anyone this, not even Mercedes. It was so embarrassing and so… painful he had wanted to forget that night.

"I started kissing her furiously, and before I knew it we were both naked on my bed, with Brittany giving me oral."

Noah was surprised to say the least. He didn't know what shocked him more, the fact that Kurt had gotten that far with Brittany or the fact that he was even hearing about it after Kurt refused to give up any info on it.

"But, no matter how hard I tried to force myself, I just wasn't enjoying it. In fact, it made me feel awful, regardless how well Brittany was performing with my erection."

At that Noah laughed, despite how serious Kurt was being. Kurt just let him laugh; glad some of his anger was draining away.

"Since that wasn't working I flipped her over and… and I tried going at her breasts. I started sucking, biting and licking her nipples like a wild man. Brittany started moaning and panting after a minute, and as I kept going she started screaming and moaning out my name at the top of her lungs. By then I wasn't even hard anymore, I was completely turned off. I kept going for a pretty good while, but I still couldn't feel anything good. By the time I stopped, Brittany's breasts were covered in bruises, hickeys, and bite marks and she left a huge wet spot on my silk sheets."

By now Noah was laughing like lunatic at what Kurt was telling him. Kurt didn't know at this point if he should even bother continuing. He furiously wiped at a stray tear that had escaped his left eye, deciding to just keep going.

"When I looked at her lying beneath me, I felt so empty and hallow. I knew then and there that no matter how hard I tried I would never be straight. Because before I even tried pretending I was straight, I always saw myself with another man, not a woman. I couldn't just throw away my virginity, because when I always imagined myself finally doing so I wanted it to be with someone who loved me. And I always envisioned that when I finally did find that man, we would… we would both make love to each other."

Noah finally stopped laughing, as he realized what Kurt just admitted to him.

"You mean you actually want to… top another guy?"

"Yeah I do" Kurt replied defensively. "Taking it up the ass doesn't make you any less of a man. It's not about that. I want to do both, and I want someone who will be willing to let me explore and experience all of those kinds of things with him" Kurt explained angrily.

"Alright, already! But, what the hell does any of that have to do with me?"

"My point in all of this Noah, is that to some people sex, isn't just sex. Sex to you Noah is all about you getting off. You just sleep around with whoever you want, whenever you want. For me, sex… sex is supposed to be an expression of the feelings that you have for one another. And for Quinn, she feels exactly the same."

"How would you know?"

"Remember when I told you about how she told me and Mercedes that you stole from the from the bake sale?"

"Yeah so?" Noah said, getting very impatient.

"I can't believe I'm breaking Quinn's confidence, but that isn't all she sobbingly confessed to. The only reason I'm telling you this is because you need to understand why she moved on instead of trying to patch things up to be with you" Kurt told him.

"What did she tell you?" Noah asked, wanting to know why Quinn wouldn't give him a chance after Beth was born, even after he got a vasectomy.

"Noah, you were both drunk when you slept with her right?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"How much do you remember, about… that night?"

"Everything!" Noah yelled. "Get to the point already!"

"You remember everything from that night, but Quinn doesn't. Almost everything passed you saying 'Trust me I got it' is nothing but a blur to her. The only thing she can remember clearly is a shit load of pain as you broke her hymen, and more pain as you just jack hammered yourself into her. Her first time and she can barely remember any of it other than how you made her feel horrible Noah. You took something precious from her that she can never get back. You made her feel like she was just some random whore, like everyone else you have sex with!"

"That's not true! I told her it wasn't just another hook up for me!"

"There a big difference between saying and doing Noah." Kurt kept trying to explain. "Yes you told her it wasn't just some random hook up, but then as soon as you were done you just picked up clothes and left! Then when she found out she was pregnant you told her you would take care of her and the baby. When she finally gave you a chance to prove you meant it, you spend most of the night sexting with Santana! Then you told her that a man has 'needs' and you just kept sleeping around with Santana, not to mention most of the cheerios and most of the middle aged women in Lima. By the time Beth was finally born you had her heart so messed up that she couldn't even trust herself or you. That's why she gave Beth up Noah! She couldn't trust you to be there for her and she didn't want to put Beth through that either."

When Kurt finished explained it to Noah neither spoke a single word. Kurt just kept silent, as he watched Noah clearly go through every single moment he spent with Quinn in his own head.

"If that's how she felt, why didn't she just tell me?"

"She tried to. But whenever she did you wouldn't really listen to her."

"I told her how felt about her. After she gave Beth away, I tried to make things right between us. I did everything I could but she said she didn't want to be with me"

"Noah, I know this isn't what you want to hear, but Quinn never had any romantic feelings for you. When she found out she was with child, she tried to give you chance, even though she knew if you both got together and tried to be a family it would ruin all of your lives. But you completely blew any chance you ever had with Quinn Fabray. I don't know if you ever had any real feelings for her. I'm not going to presume to know what's in your head and least of all your heart since you've rarely even showed that to anyone. But if you do care about Quinn, just let her go. Sam managed to get her to open back up, and he's treating her the way she always wanted a guy to treat her."

"So that's it then? I just sit back and watch her be happy with some other guy."

"No, you let her move on with her life, and you move on with yours. The best you can ever hope to be with her is her friend. And you're already walking a fine line at that. You have to start growing up Noah. I think we all do."

Once again neither said anything for a good while.

"I know this must be hard for you. But Sam is coming over tomorrow and Artie as well, since I invited him to spend time with us. Why don't you take the opportunity and try being their friend. Artie is really cool, and he loves to play Halo and stuff. And I know that if you just give Sam a chance you and him could hit it off. The three of you are on the football team now so you should at least be able to find some common ground."

"Kurt, I'm not really down with this whole togetherness crap."

"I'm not expecting you to give them both hugs and kisses and start singing corny summer camp songs. I just want you to try and just have some fun and relax. Haven't you ever just tried hanging out with the guys or something?"

"Kind of, back when I and Finn were friends, but that always ended up in disaster."

When Kurt asked him to explain, Noah told him about the few times he would drag Finn out to bars to cruise for women. Kurt just scoffed at their stupidity.

"We won't be cruising for chicks. Sam already has Quinn and Artie now has Brittany. And I'm gay. Besides, even though I already have a fake ID I doubt Artie or Sam have one."

"Since when did you have a fake ID?" Noah laughed.

"How do you think I bought the liquor I have stashed in my closet? I got my fake ID after April left and I had to get my own booze."

They both just laughed, finally getting letting go of all of the emotional tension that had built up.

"Maybe after things calm down we can get Artie and Sam ID's and we can go out for the night. Maybe play pool or something and just forget about Finn and everyone else that's making our lives a pain. I'm not trying to change who you are Noah, I just want you to try and actually be who you are. It's like I told Finn, I think there's something worth while in you. And even Quinn must have seen that if she was willing to give you a chance in the first place. Why else would you offer to beat up the football team for hurting me?" Kurt smiled.

Noah just rolled his eyes at Kurt, which got him a laugh from the soprano.

"Look, why don't you take a shower while I clean up the rest of the mess you two made and then turn in. We got an early day tomorrow and were both exhausted. Plus I'll need all the strength I can get if I want to finish the rest of the repairs on your truck."

"Sounds good to me" Noah said with a shrug.

Kurt left the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Then he got to work cleaning up the last of the mess on the floor, careful not to cut himself on the glass. Afterwards he just mopped up the rest and put the mop away upstairs. Kurt started to reorganize his books until Noah came out of the bathroom, and noticed the bruises on his sides. Kurt gave him some of the cream he had used the day before, then grabbed his sweatpants and oversized shirt he used to sleep in and went to the bathroom to take a hot bath before he turned in himself.

-End chapter-

Songs used in chapter:

Train – Drops of Jupiter

Madonna – The Look of Love

First and foremost I want to thank all of those who reviewed. Your kind words and constructive criticism keep pushing me forward. To tell you all the truth I'm not happy with the way this chapter came out. I wrote the entire thing with a huge case of writers block and had to stop and go back to either add or subtract stuff to try and make it all fit as well draw on the show itself for some inspiration. For those of you who think I went too far with the port-a-potty idea, I'd like to remind you that the football team tried to do it to Artie but Finn saved him. This time they just did it to Kurt instead in revenge for what happened in the previous chapters. And for those of you who kept asking, yes this is going to be a KurtXPuck story. Then as far as Finn goes, I personally don't know how I'm going to go with him; it's all up in the air for the moment. Like I said before I don't really have any idea of what's going to happen until I write it. But I did warn you guys last chapter that things were going to get worse on the Finn front. If anyone has any thoughts on the issue, once again please let me know.

Also about the unedited chapters, I've decided to post them on . As soon as I remake an account on the site I'll let you all know. Beyond that I wanted to ask all of you for your opinion on something. As you might have guessed from my previous chapter, I put in a Rocky Horror sub plot into Kurt's portfolio. I decided to put it in after I heard they were gong to do a Rocky episode for Halloween. Sadly enough, I was very disappointed in the episode. So since I was planning to put it into my story, I've decided to start a poll. I want to know who you want to play Frankenfutter. Your choices are, either, keeping it Mercedes Jones, or Mike Chang, or Kurt Hummel. I'm kind of leaning towards making Kurt to do it, but if any one can convince me otherwise before I write the Halloween chapter which is still a ways off I'll choose one of the other two.

Finally, I would like you all to forgive my horrible grammar. Spell check sucks and no matter how many times I go over it manually I still keep missing lots of errors. And so I'm putting the word out for a beta reader. If anyone is interested, let me know. Any help I get would be a godsend.