Disclaimer: I do NOT own rights to any of the characters from Glee. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Awww *sob* - I'm such a girl sometimes – the response to my little bitchfest in the last chapter has resulted in so many new people reviewing my story and it's humbling and I'm crying and I feel like such an overemotional queen!
Oh and in answer to Supercaptain – I gave great thought to whether to keep Puck's sister in the story or not. I do have something in mind to explain where she went but unless I have a major change of heart she won't be making an appearance in this fic. But, that's all for later. I just didn't want to have to go through all the angst of leaving a 10 year old girl with Jeff given that I have him pegged as a violent man and potentially more. As much as it might have made for more drama it made me feel a little bit sick inside.
Oh and yay, I got tears for Burt's story – that was exactly what I had when I was typing it and I was the one writing the damn fiction. I am way too invested in my characters for it to be healthy!
Chapter 7 – Off Limits
The drive to school was fairly relaxed as both Kurt and Puck shared in the relief that breakfast with Burt had not descended into the bloodbath each privately thought it would.
"I still can't believe my Dad...", said Kurt for the umpteenth time as Puck rolled his eyes.
The soprano had been stuck in a loop for the past couple of miles as he'd tried to process his Dad's sudden and completely random offer to the jock. It was so like his Dad however to try to offer help to someone in need.
When the garage had first opened when he was growing up, Kurt could remember his Grandma scolding his Dad for going out at all hours of the day and night to pick up stranded motorists; and for no charge as well. He'd just said that it was the right thing to do and Kurt supposed his offer to Noah now was just a further example of the same selflessness he'd come to associate with the man.
"I know...", said Puck while he stared fixedly out the window.
Puck himself was shocked at the ease with which the older man seemed to have sized up his home situation before making such a generous offer to a boy he barely knew. A boy who the day before had all but admitted to bullying his son.
"At least... at least you'll have somewhere to go now... that is if you need it...", Kurt sounded positive as if the new arrangement could be a good thing, whilst inside he was truly dreading the possibility and cursing himself for doing so.
'Can I share space with Noah if I'm attracted to him... what if he finds out? He'd kill me for sure...'
"Yeah..."
Puck didn't intend to sound less than enthusiastic at the prospect of sharing a room with Kurt because internally he was blown away by the offer made by Mr Hummel. Having somewhere he knew he could go to as and when he needed it was more than he'd ever expected. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he failed to see the effect his single word response had on the brunette.
There was no further conversation for the remainder of the journey to school as each boy remained fixedly in their own thoughts.
As they pulled into the parking lot at the school Kurt asked a question he'd been thinking of for most of the journey,
"So what are you doing after school?"
Shaking himself from his contemplation Puck considered,
"This is Wednesday?...", Kurt nodded before rolling his eyes at the boy's obliviousness, "... well after football practice I have to go work. I have two pools to clean today."
"Oh..."
Kurt's face fell slightly and he realised he actually felt disappointed that he wasn't able to spend further time with Noah. This time however Puck was paying attention and saw the disappointment on the soprano's face,
"It's not much fun... but you can come along if you like, hang out?"
The boy's smile was reward enough for the jock, as he realised this whole having friends thing wasn't maybe as screwed up as he'd first thought. Hummel was pretty cool and he did enjoy spending time with him surprisingly.
"Yeah, that'd be great – we could work on Glee."
Puck recalled the same offer being made by Aretha the night before and was about to tell the boy about his prior acceptance when the Navigator pulled to a stop and both boys unhooked their safety belts before hopping out.
Throwing his bag over his shoulder Kurt started to make his way towards the entrance, expecting that Noah would round the Navigator and fall into step beside him. He was not surprised therefore by the tall shadow that fell over him a second later.
"So do you think you'll want to come over to my place after?", he asked absently as he dug his cell out of his top pocket and checked his messages. The deep voice that replied to him caused him to jump and sent his cell skittering across the asphalt,
"I don't know homo, I might catch something if I did that."
'Shit...'
Looking up for the first time into the smug face of Karofsky, Kurt realised Noah was nowhere in sight. The beefy jock slung an arm over Kurt's shoulder just as Mr Schue's rattling blue car pulled past and he offered a friendly wave to Kurt which he half-heartedly returned.
'Stupid oblivious teachers...'
Without any further preamble Karofsky, flanked by the ever present Azimio guided the soprano in the direction of the dumpsters and Kurt followed robotically.
Where was Noah? Kurt knew he'd told the boy not to try to be a superhero for every picked on kid in the school but he'd truly thought the boy had at least understood that Kurt wouldn't truly mind if he protected him? Obviously not though. His heart ached at the betrayal of the absent jock. He thought he had changed at least a little.
Arriving at the dumpsters, Kurt sighed in resignation at the thought of yet another stunning outfit which would be forever tarnished. Apparently his delaying had annoyed Azimio as the large black jock grabbed at his book bag from him as Karofsky spoke,
"Quit stalling homo, you know what's coming."
Kurt looked on as Azimio proceeded to scatter the contents of the appropriated satchel all over the asphalt before pantomiming throwing the soft leather bag into the dumpster, enjoying the repeating look of horror on the brunette's face.
Both jocks laughed at Kurt's expression as he fought valiantly to keep the tears that had formed in his eyes from falling. He thought things were going to be different now that Noah had become his friend.
'Noah where are you? Please...'
Karofsky and Azimio had each taken a grip of him under his arms when a voice, the one voice Kurt had been hoping for, came to his rescue.
"Hey Karofsky."
As the Navigator had come to a stop and he'd hopped out, Puck had almost face-planted on the hard asphalt as his lace got caught up around his ankle and he overbalanced. Shutting the car door, he shucked his heavy book bag and set it against the wheel.
Kneeling down as he retied his sneaker he wondered where Kurt had gotten to, but figured he'd just be waiting for him a short distance away.
Finally finished securing his sneaker once again, Puck shouldered his bag, wincing as the strap lay across a particularly tender bruise on his shoulder before he rounded the Navigator.
'Where's Kurt?'
Scanning the area Puck spotted the soprano a short distance away, flanked by the two hulking figures of Karofsky and Azimio.
Should he try to intervene? Prevent what was obviously going to be yet another in a long line dumpster dives that the small brunette had taken in his life?
'Kurt said not to be a hero.'
Puck was prepared to let things play out until the moment that Azimio took things beyond the 'standard' dumpster dive. The jock had ring-mastered enough dumpster dives to know that there was always a line to be drawn between humiliation and destruction of property. One could be explained away as being overzealous, the other was a sure sign of hostility and hate.
If as happened on some rare occasions, the geek in question developed a backbone and reported the jocks for their mistreatment, it was always harder to explain away destruction of property and so for that reason Puck had never allowed it to happen on his watch.
Only it wasn't his watch anymore. Though none of the jocks would ever challenge his badassedness one-on-one, since joining Glee Puck couldn't deny that his stock had fallen drastically. So far that a knuckle-dragging mouth-breather like Karofsky was now the MC for the dumpster dives.
'MC? It's fruity Glee thinking like that, that got you into this mess in the first place Puckerman...'
As much as he liked Glee, he couldn't deny that it had obviously had an adverse effect on his rep.
All consideration to his reputation as a stud and a badass went out the window however when he saw the tears forming in Kurt's eyes as his precious belongings were violated and strewn around like trash.
'How did I never realise how wrong this is before?'
Crossing the lot he considered how he could best prevent things from escalating to violence. Simply kicking seven shades of shit out of both Karofsky and Azimio would have normally been Puck's go-to response to the situation but with his ribs in as poor a shape as they were at present, the jock wasn't even sure if he could throw a punch without doubling over in white hot agony.
He was also worried that if he did resort to violence, all it would take was a single flinch on his part and both of the larger jocks would set upon him like wolves smelling blood.
Watching as both jocks, grabbed the boy tight enough that he was almost certain they'd leave bruises on the petite brunette, Puck realised he was out of time and he had to act now.
"Hey Karofsky."
The tension in Kurt's shoulders was relieved as he heard Noah call on his tormentor. He was equally relieved when the motion to throw him into the dumpster was halted, and he was released by both jocks.
Quickly sidestepping and rounding the two hulking jocks, Kurt came to stand next to Noah, throwing him a grateful look. Puck however didn't dare take his eyes off either Karofsky or Azimio for a second.
"Puck. What the Hell dude?", asked Karofsky in confusion.
Finally dropping his glare to glance at the brunette, Puck's voice was unusually soft,
"You OK Kurt?
The brunette just nodded shakily as Puck wound a supporting arm around his waist and pulled him into his side. A sharp intake of breath drew the half-back's attention back to his teammates.
"Dude... seriously? You're gay for like Hummel now? And what happened to your face?", asked Azimio.
Ignoring the question about the bruise on his jaw, the glare that Noah shot the black jock had Azimio snapping his mouth closed and looking slightly fearful.
Puck's stock may have dropped since he decided to hook up with Homo Explosion but he was still a tough mother in a fight and Azimio remembered the last time he'd gotten into a dust up with Puckzilla. It hadn't been pretty.
"I'm no fag!"
Puck realised his slip when the small body tucked securely into his side tensed and a feeling of guilt washed over him, but he had no choice but to press on.
"Then why man? I don't get it – time gone by you'd have been the first to toss the homo in with the trash."
"Cos you moron, what do you think Coach is gonna do to you, to any of us if he finds out we're still treating our kicker like shit?"
It was a flimsy excuse and Puck knew it but he hoped that the two jocks would take the bait allowing him to segue,
'Definitely spent too much time around Kurt if I'm saying segue and understanding what it means...'
"Puck dude, he'd probably give us a medal...", said Karofsky as he high-fived Azimio and they laughed.
"And what about Mr Schue? Coach Sylvester? Miss Pillsbury? Mr Karlsson?",
All four of the assembled teens shuddered at the final thought of the creepy Geography teacher, seriously – Mr Karlsson and Mr Ryerson both in the same school – how many paedophile teachers does one school need?
Puck's audience, including Kurt, looked confused however by the logic the half-back was employing,
"Uh... I don't know?", offered Azimio, his eyes crossing as he tried to work out the puzzle.
"I'll tell you then jackass... you'd get suspended. I'd get suspended and then what would happen?"
A look of dawning comprehension washed over both Karofsky and Azimio's faces as Azimio answered,
"We'd lose games."
Nodding emphatically and squeezing Kurt slightly without thought, Puck summed up,
"You're damn right we would and it'd all be our own fault cos we got caught."
Azimio simply nodded and accepted Puck was probably right rather than try to form an opinion of his own however Karofsky was slightly more on the ball and pointed out,
"Well we just won't get caught then..."
Puck just rolled his eyes before glaring at Karofsky hard enough to make the larger boy actually take a step backwards,
"Good plan moron, what? Just roll the two-ton dumpster out of sight somewhere?"
"Uh... yeah... I get ya..."
"Good. So here's the new plan. Hummel's off limits. Spread the word."
Spotting Jacob Ben Israel cycling into the school on his chopper, he tilted his head in the direction of the oblivious school reporter.
"Take him instead."
Both jocks smirked cruelly before pouncing on the boy, who squealed as he was bodily lifted from his bike and in one smooth motion tossed headfirst into the dumpster.
Puck could tell that Kurt was not pleased with his solution but Hell, it was the best he could come up with on the fly and give him some credit – it had worked.
"We cool then?", Puck asked the jocks, who looked satisfied now that they'd been able to dumpster toss someone.
"Yeah man, we're cool."
Puck couldn't help but try to assert some more dominance while he had the upper hand. Maybe it would go towards repairing his rep.
"I think you should both apologise to Hummel here and you should gather up his shit."
The little brunette who had been silent until now as he snuggled into the larger boy's side squeaked as he replied,
"No it's OK, no apology necessary."
"Bullshit."
Glaring at both jocks, Puck made to ensure their compliance and to reassert himself as Alpha.
"Sure thing Puck... no problem.", said Karofsky as he scooped up the book bag and began hurriedly throwing compacts and brushes and bottles and lotions back inside. Azimio meanwhile was collecting up the sheaves of sheet music he had scattered on the ground before stuffing it too back inside the bag.
Finally, Karofsky took a step forward and offered the bag to the brunette, who still wrapped up in Noah's embrace accepted it shyly.
"Sorry Hummel.", said Karofsky and he truly seemed to mean it.
"It's OK. Just don't do it again.", said Kurt.
Puck wasn't truly happy with Karofsky's apology however he didn't think forcing the boy to call the brunette Kurt would be quite as easy to explain away. So he decided to take what he could get.
Nodding to Azimio who had retrieved Kurt's cell as he handed it over to the grateful brunette, the tardy bell rang and both jocks retreated to the relative safety of the school.
Kurt's could have sworn that his heart stopped the moment that Noah wound his arm around his waist and pulled him in to lean against him.
'One, two, three... *thump*... oh thank God...'
All the sound that had momentarily disappeared from the world suddenly reasserted itself as he found himself unable to fight the urge to snuggle into the warm body that was currently protecting him.
'I shouldn't but it's so nice... maybe this is what having a boyfriend would be like...'
"I'm no fag!"
Kurt couldn't help the shudder that passed through him as Noah vehemently spat out the term like it was poison, as he listened to the heated exchange in silence.
"Then why man? I don't get it – time gone by you'd have been the first to toss the homo in with the trash."
'Yes, why Noah? He's not lying...'
"Cos you moron, what do you think Coach is gonna do to you, to any of us if he finds out we're still treating our kicker like shit?"
'Oh... that's not a half bad idea Noah...'
Kurt was initially just as confused as Karofsky and Azimio but soon realised the angle that the half-back was going to try to exploit, it was risky but it might just work. Either it would end up with Kurt being exempt from future dumpster dives, or it might end up with both he and Noah in the dumpster.
Zoning back into the conversation he heard Karofsky,
"We'd lose games."
Kurt cheered as the mouth-breathing jocks took the bait hook, line and sinker. When Karofsky had suggested that they just not get caught, Kurt had to stifle his chuckle as he could almost hear Noah's eyes rolling as he shot him down in flames.
Kurt felt Noah tense slightly before he made the suggestion to the two jocks to sacrifice Jacob to the dumpster gods. Although he disapproved of the decision, he couldn't help the momentary twitch of satisfaction as the annoying reporter was given a well deserved dumpster dive. Seriously the boy was just creepy.
Noah's final declaration surprised even the brunette however,
"I think you should both apologise to Hummel here and you should gather up his shit."
'No Noah... don't push it too far...'
"No it's OK, no apology necessary.", he'd offered but clearly Noah wasn't going to be dissuaded.
"Bullshit."
To his surprise however both Karofsky and Azimio seemed to agree with Noah and proceeded to gather up his belongings before offering what seemed like genuine apologies. Sure they were borne out of intimidation but Kurt wasn't one to look gift-horses in the mouth.
Taking back his cell and checking it over for damage, which thankfully there was minimal, Kurt missed the point where both jocks retreated in silence. Looking up in surprise to find that it was just he and Noah again and that he was still wrapped in the taller boy's embrace he blushed and wriggled free.
"You really OK Kurt?"
Kurt checked his outfit and the rather abused contents of his satchel before he realised that the taller boy didn't mean physically but emotionally. Clearing his suddenly tight throat he nodded though his voice cracked slightly,
"Yeah. I... I thought you'd abandoned me for a minute..."
Puck looked chagrined as he explained,
"Stopped to tie my shoelace and then lost you for a bit..."
Kurt's heart was thudding in his chest like a jackhammer as he stared up into the compassionate eyes of half-back.
"Compassionate eyes? Don't get all Hallmark on me Hummel...", chuckled Noah as Kurt blushed realising he must have whispered the phrase.
Deciding to take pity on the blushing soprano Puck swung his own bag over his shoulder before jerking his head in the direction of the school building,
"C'mon you're already late for class and I'm late for my morning nap."
Kurt just rolled his eyes at the terminally education deprived jock before joining him in walking steadily in the direction of the school.
As they crossed the threshold and each boy realised they were due to go in separate directions Kurt spoke his voice hoarse with repressed emotion,
"Thank you Noah.", he didn't have to say what for.
"What are friends for right? I'll see you at lunch."
And with that Puck disappeared down the hallway in the direction of the nurse's office.
By the time Kurt had been able to get to his locker, sort through his abused possessions and reorganise he'd missed almost all of first period. Deciding he'd simply give up on Spanish as a complete loss and apologise to Mr Schue later, Kurt headed for the empty auditorium instead.
Setting his bag down on the edge of the stage and perching with his legs dangling over the side, Kurt fished out his iPod and began thinking about his solo for his Glee-Off with Mike.
Mike was kind of an enigma, the Asian jock was clearly a kick-ass dancer, so his choreography would be impossible for the brunette to top, so he'd have to choose something which would blow the boy's vocals out of the water. His vocals were just a complete mystery so it was better to be safe than sorry.
Scrolling as far as 'M', Kurt found a viable option and decided seeing as the Auditorium was empty that he'd try it out. Standing and crossing to the side of the stage, with a practiced hand borne of many hours of rehearsal, Kurt hooked his iPod to the sound system and flicked the dials to remove the vocals from the track.
Hitting play, Kurt wandered back out to the centre of the stage as the music took off,
"The French are glad to die for love,
They delight in fighting duels,
But I prefer a man who lives and gives
Expensive jewels.
A kiss on the hand may be quite continental
But diamonds are a boy's best friend
A kiss may be grand... but it won't pay the rental on your humble flat
Or help you at the automat
Men grow cold as boys grow old
And we all lose our charms in the end
But square cut or pear shape these rocks don't lose their shape
Diamonds are a boy's best friend"
Kurt knew he was taking minor liberties with the lyrics but he was just cutting loose and he did like diamonds, so he felt perfectly justified,
... Tiffany's!
... Cartier!
Black Starr & Frost Gorham!
Talk to me Harry Winston tell me all about it!
There may come a time when a lass needs a lawyer
But diamonds are a boy's best friend
There may come a time when a hard boiled employer thinks you're awful nice
But get that ice or else no dice
He's your guy when stocks are high but beware when they start to descend
It's then that those louses go back to their spouses
Diamonds are a boy's best friend
As the Marseilles kicked in Kurt spun in pirouettes as he imagined he was being led a merry waltz in some strong man's arms,
I've heard of affairs that are strictly platonic
But diamonds are a boy's best friend
And I think affairs that you must keep liaisonic are better bets
If little pets get big baguettes,
Time rolls on and youth is gone and you can't straighten up when you bend
But stiff back or stiff knees you stand straight at... Tiffany's...
Kurt's voice soared as he hit the final high notes in the song, high kicking his way across the stage as the brass accompaniment wailed,
Diamonds... diamonds... I don't mean rhinestones... but diamonds... are a boy's best... best friend..."
Breathless and panting, Kurt sank to his knees as a single hand clap broke the stillness. It was quickly followed by a second and a third and eventually all the way up to a seventh as Kurt tried to peer out from the stage into the gloom but couldn't see anything as a result of the stage lights.
The clapping stopped and Kurt thought that his audience had perhaps left, however the identity of his mystery fan became apparent a moment later as Noah stepped into the spotlight holding a slushie in each hand.
Kurt's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the veritable slush-o-rama being carried by the jock and for a moment had a sinking feeling that the contents were destined to stick to his skin.
Smirking as he'd clearly worked out where the brunette's thoughts had automatically gone, Puck made a big show of sticking a straw into his mouth and taking a long draw on the drink,
"Aaaah... tasty..."
Kurt blushed as the jock held the other slushie out to Kurt who accepted it warily. Thirst won out over suspicion however as Kurt daintily placed the straw in his mouth and he sucked gently whilst keeping his eyes on the jock should he decided to double cross him.
Tasting the drink and finding nothing immediately wrong with it Kurt's tense shoulders relaxed as Noah's deep rumbling laughter filled the empty space. Sitting down in front of the brunette Kurt watched as Noah stretched his legs out in front of him.
"You were really good there. Better than that Aussie chick from that movie Santana made me watch one time..."
Kurt blushed at the praise before filling in the blanks for the jock,
"Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge.. it's one of my favourite movies. That however was Marilyn Monroe's version of the song, I much prefer it."
The jock just rolled his eyes before answering honestly,
"Too fruity a film for my tastes, give me Mad Max any day!"
Kurt giggled at the half-back as he took another sip of the sticky sweet drink.
"So... why aren't you asleep in the nurse's office?"
Puck just shook his head before answering with a smirk on his face,
"Reporter Geek is in there right now, tripped over the edge of the dumpster getting out and landed on his face...", Noah scrunched up his face before continuing, "... y'now I'm Jewish and even I didn't understand half the Yiddish crap he was spewing. I did recognise 'Er zol kakn mit blit un mit ayter' so maybe I should warn Karofsky and Azimio to make appointments with their Doctors just in case..."
Kurt's blank expression clued Puck into the fact that the soprano didn't speak Yiddish and he translated,
"Uh... I don't speak Yiddish much, but my Mom does and I think loosely 'Er zol kakn mit blit un mit ayter' means 'May you shit blood and pus'..."
Kurt's laughter rang out as he imagined the look on the jock's faces were Noah to ever tell them what Jacob had suggested for them. A moment later and Puck's own laughter melded with the brunettes.
"So... are you doing 'Diamonds' for your Glee solo?", asked Puck after a moment, looking disappointed for a moment that his slushie cup was now empty.
'Hmmm... that's the first time I've ever drunk a full slushie... and man they're nice!'
Unaware of the boy's introspection, Kurt considered the possibility, before shaking his head no.
"I think... though it's good... it's not great. I can find better."
"It was a smoking solo Kurt... definitely good enough to at least beat Mike."
Kurt blushed again before cursing himself,
'Stop blushing at everything Noah says...'
"I need to find something so good that the vocals will blow Mike's dance routine out of the water. I'll find it eventually though don't worry. Hey, you don't want some help choosing a song do you?"
Puck realised that he hadn't gotten around to mentioning Aretha's offer.
"Oh... no, it's cool thanks. Aretha offered to hook me up."
Puck watched confused as Kurt's face shuttered as he looked away and muttered under his breath,
"I'll bet she did..."
Were they anywhere but an empty auditorium Kurt's mutterings would not have been audible to Puck however the sound carried quite handily in the cavernous space.
"You bet she did what?"
Looking up in alarm Kurt floundered as he tried to find an appropriate response,
"I'll bet she did... some research to find the perfect song for you?"
Though in Kurt's mind there was clearly a question mark on the end of his utterance, Noah missed it entirely much to the brunette's relief as he simply shrugged.
"Who knows... maybe?"
"So when are you going to meet 'cedes?"
Puck shrugged again,
"No clue dude, I haven't spoken to her since last night."
"We... I mean I can still come with you to clean pools though right?"
Smiling at the soprano Noah nodded before surreptitiously switching Kurt's half full slushie cup for his own and taking a long drag.
"Sure thing... I actually kinda like hanging out with you Hummel, who'd have thought?"
Checking his watch Kurt realised it was time for their next set of classes. Both boys were still chuckling as they packed up and headed for English class together.
A/N: Chapter two for today and I'm just about to start work on Chapter three. My schedule is pretty clear so I'm dedicating some time to dishing out the chapters at a faster rate. I know that probably sounds silly considering I update daily but what can I say? I'm insane!
I hope you like the chapter, I realised it could end up very similar to the same point in WYW but I think I managed to keep it distinct. If I ever do get close to repeating myself however please let me know. I know I sound like a broken record, (for those of you under the age of say 18, a record is an old fashioned way of playing recorded music), but it really is a concern to me.
PLEASE REVIEW.
